Princess Christina on her breast cancer and life now

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Almost a year has passed since we found out that Princess Christina Mrs Magnuson had been diagnosed with breast cancer and the treatments came to an end last December. Since then the princess has celebrated her 68th birthday and can soon look back to another active year where she has not only recovered from cancer but also carried out many engagements, attended social events regularly and of course celebrated the marriage of her son Oscar to Emma Ledent in France this past September.

Princess Christina, who I feel is our time’s most underappreciated royal, has chosen not to keep quiet about her breast cancer and personal reflections on the illness since the news became public. Instead she wants to use her own experiences to put the spotlight on the illness and what can be done to prevent it, because after all she’s not alone in her experiences. In Sweden around 7.000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year out of which 80% are cured.
- During my illness I received first class care. Now I want too, if possible, give something back and be a support for other women and the research around breast cancer.

In September, the princess chose to speak to weekly women’s magazine Året Runt and their reporter Gertrud Dahlberg about her experiences as the magazine had a breast cancer special.
- The notice came like lightning from a clear sky and I became all week in my knees. Then followed a period where I felt quite self centered and thought: Why me, why should I be affected. And why now when I have so much to do? So unfair! It’s probably how most react.

Princess Christina also called on women to go to their mammography examinations and not postpone or ignore the invitations sent out by the care system.
- I don’t dare to think about what would have happened if I had waited a year, she told the magazine and its readers.

As we have all seen, Princess Christina’s hair has grown back. She does pilates regularly and goes for long walks with her dog and today she looks great again. But when that breast cancer notice came last year, things went fast. After her mammography exams it only took three weeks before she underwent surgery and after that followed two more operations plus chemotherapy and radiation.

So even if the year seems to end on a positive note for the princess, it was not easy to undergo the illness. Princess Christina told Året Runt:
- I’ve had the fortune of having a good network and a strong family that supports me. It has of course also been difficult also for my surroundings, not the least for my three adult sons. Even if I received great support and help, there was a feeling of great loneliness and vulnerability. I really didn’t feel good from the treatments. Usually I like both cooking and eating food but now everything tasted like a cardigan. Not fun at all. It was also difficult when the hair fell off, because the change became so obvious.

Now, in the December issue of monthly magazine Femina, there is a beautiful five-page spread with Princess Christina that includes an interview and beautiful studio photos. She is interviewed by Katarina Danielsson, photographed by Anna-Lena Ahlström, styled by Anna-Karin Amilon and with make-up by Jessica Wahlgren. And the feature here is not only about her illness, but also about other more general aspects of her life. Lovely to see her get some well earned attention in more ways than one.

In the Femina interview, Princess Christina continues to talk openly about her breast cancer. She tells that the hardest part about it, superficially, was losing her eyelashes. And even if it has soon been a year since the treatment ended, she has problems living in the present and constantly carries the illness with her:
- I carry the anxiety with me all the time. The way to being pronounced cured is such a lengthy process, and I really don’t know if one becomes so much stronger as a person afterwards. It probably depends on which phase on is in in life.

Not only has her husband and three sons been a great support for Princess Christina through her illness, she tells the magazine that she and her three sisters are closer than ever. Princess Désirée Baroness Silfverschiöld lives more than 400 kilometres from Stockholm, Princess Birgitta lives in Spain and Princess Margaretha in England.
- We live far from each other, and therefore don’t meet very often. But lately I have spoken more to them than I have done in the last thirty years. They have taken an enormously large part in my illness and troubles. We have different lives, but when it comes to a point siblings stand closely together.

Princess Christina also mentions how her strong faith in god has helped her through difficult periods in life, that the church is where she finds guidance and can be herself completely and fully. After going through all the changes that breast cancer means, including breast reconstruction, the princess says:
- What interests me most right now is how we could prevent the need of surgery; it is such a big matter for a woman to remove the breasts in surgery – no matter age.

We also get a quick glimpse into her and husband Tord’s home, situated in an apartment building opposite the Royal Palace, when the reporter asks about her home style.
- We have an incredible mix of styles, no white sofas, no white walls. There is a multitude of paintings and strong colours, bright yellow, bright red. We started purchasing art when we were newlyweds, both were especially fascinated by pop art. And then one could buy paintings at reasonable prices. Now we have a nice collection that I’m very happy about.

About the Crown Princess Couple, their coming baby and the monarchy, Princess Christina says:
- Those two are worthy of everything. Victoria has longed so, and Daniel will be a fantastic father. I believe in the monarchy thanks to the young generation. They will be able to handle it. But I understand that many wonder how the royal house will change with its time. How it will fit into the new openness.

In a quick Q&A Princess Christina lets us know that her favourite museums are the Prado in Madrid and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, that she likes white wine (especially Grüner Veltliner), loves liquorice allsorts candy, thinks that George Clooney is the best eye candy on the big screen, that her husband Tord is a hoarder and cannot throw anything out and that she has a grainy black and white photo of her and the siblings from when her brother, King Carl XVI Gustaf, was around six months old on her bedside table.

And with Christmas fast approaching, Princess Christina mentions her family’s favourite annual tradition to Femina and its readers:
- Before Christmas buffet and presents we always go out to my parent’s grave at Haga. When the children were small we stood there shivering each year, in the cold and wind and rain. They complained loudly and wanted to go home. Both as adults they cannot be without it either. When I light the Christmas candles on the graves I feel very clearly that now… now it is Christmas.

PHOTO: taken by me of Princess Christina Mrs Magnuson arriving to Princess Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Alexander Johannsmann’s church wedding in Bad Berleburg, 18 June 2011.

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