Caught On Camera! Queen Falls Asleep During An Important Event

Queen Silvia and her daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, fell asleep while attending the state opening of parliament in the Swedish capital of Stockholm on Sept. 10. Photos spread showing the two shutting their eyes for brief moments at the ongoing state event.

The photos show Queen Silvia and Princess Victoria enjoying a few moments of shut eyes as Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven reads the government declaration. Princess Victoria was sitting next to her husband, Daniel Westling, when she was caught dozing off. Queen Silvia, on the other hand, was sitting two seats down when she woke up in shock after moments of falling asleep.

The Swedish royal family had a hectic day planned ahead at that time. They were scheduled to attend a concert for the opening night of the national assembly after the state opening of the parliament.

Queen Silvia, King Carl XVI Gusta, Princess Victoria — (L-R) Queen Silvia of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden attend the Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony at Concert Hall on Dec. 10, 2017, in Stockholm, Sweden. Pascal Le Segretain/WireImage

Interestingly, this is not the first time that a royal has fallen asleep during important events. The British royal family has its own share of dozing-off stories as well.

In April last year, a video of Prince William napping during an important event caught the media’s fancy. He’s seen sitting next to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during a ceremony, and he was spotted shutting off his eyes for a brief period of time.

Because of their busy schedules, it’s not unlikely for royals to not get sufficient sleep during the night. This is probably the reason why in England, the upper class has always followed a norm to sleep in separate bedrooms.

“You don’t want to be bothered with snoring or someone flinging a leg around,” Lady Pamela Hicks, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, once said.

It has been learned that the Queen and Prince Philip don’t sleep on the same bed and in the same room. Lifestyle and wellness expert at Nectar Sleep Erin Berman explained that as the Queen gets older, it’s important for her to get sufficient sleep.

“[T]he queen should still be aiming for seven-nine hours of rest in order to avoid napping on the throne,” she said.