Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip share first birthday photo of daughter as questions remain over royal's public absence

The youngest member of Sweden's royal family, Princess Ines, has reached a very important milestone: she's turned one.

Her parents, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, shared a new photo of their daughter celebrating her first birthday on February 7.

The release of the photo came hours as the Royal House was forced to issue a statement clarifying why Princess Sofia had pulled out of a planned engagement recently after a lengthy conspicuous absence from official duty.

In the new photo, Princess Ines is pictured wearing a blue dress with a matching blue hair bow.

"Today we celebrate our little ray of sunshine Ines, who turns 1 year old," Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip said alongside the photo.

Ines Marie Lilian Silvia, who also has the title Duchess of Västerbotten, was born on February 7.

She is the fourth child and only daughter for Princess Sofia and her husband Prince Carl Philip, who have three sons: Prince Alexander, nine, Prince Gabriel, eight, and Prince Julian, four.

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Princess Ines is now eighth-in-line to the Swedish throne and the ninth grandchild for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

Princess Sofia spent the majority of 2025 on maternity leave following Ines' birth, attending only a couple of events with the rest of the royal family: the King's birthday and Sweden's National Day.

The little princess made her debut on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Stockholm to celebrate her grandfather the King's birthday on April 30.

And on June 6, Princess Ines was cradled by her mother as Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip opened the southern gates of the Royal Palace as part of celebrations for National Day.

Princess Sofia chose to miss other big events on Sweden's royal calendar including the all-important Nobel Prize Awards in December.

However, within hours of the royals' arrival at the Nobel event, news of Princess Sofia's past links with Jeffrey Epstein was revealed.

In 2005, a decade before her marriage to Prince Carl Philip, the princess, who was then known as Sofia Hellqvist, met with Epstein a number of times in New York.

Nothing untoward is said to have occurred during the encounters, which are believed to have taken place when Sofia was a student in Manhattan.

The Royal House of Sweden later confirmed to Dagens Nyheter Princess Sofia was "introduced to the person in question on a few occasions around 2005".

She had no contact with Epstein after 2005, the Royal House said, and did not accept an invitation to join Epstein at his island.

However, commentators in Sweden have noted Princess Sofia's long absence from royal duties. She has not been seen with the royal family since Princess Ines' baptism in June.

And last week, Sofia was forced to cancel a planned appearance alongside the King and Queen and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.

Sofia was due to attend an event at the palace on February 2.

According to Margareta Thorgren, the Royal House's head of communications, Sofia had fallen ill.

"The princess, like several others, has a cold," Thorgren told Svensk Damtidning.

Queen Silvia, too, cancelled her appearance at the event due to a cold.

"She doesn't want to spread the infection," King Carl XVI Gustaf was later heard saying of his wife.

Thorgren recently addressed concerns about Princess Sofia's absence from public life.

"[In 2025] Princess Sofia chose to focus on her family and the newborn family member. For natural reasons, now that Princess Ines is almost a year old, the princess will work to a greater extent and be more active with her assignments."

Princess Sofia is due to reappear in public on February 10 alongside her husband.

The prince and princess will attend an event in the captial to mark Safer Internet Day, which aims to make the online world a better place for young people.

Prince Carl and Princess Sofia will be there in support of their foundation, which has made online safety and bullying one of two core focus areas. The other is reducing the stigma around dyslexia, a condition which Prince Carl Philip has.

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