First pic of new Swedish princess released

The first picture of Sweden's newest princess has been released, with the Royal Court publishing the image on its official Facebook page.

• Live Blog: Sweden celebrates new princess (24 Feb 12)
• 'This is a joy for Sweden': archbishop (23 Feb 12)
• 'It's a girl': Prince Daniel (23 Feb 12)

The humble family-photo features Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel holding a car seat with what appears to be the just hours-old infant wrapped in a blanket with a white hat on her head.

"It says a lot about Victoria and the kind of person she is," Roger Lundgren, previous editor of Queen magazine and expert on the Swedish royal family, told The Local.

"You wouldn't see the British royals or Kate and William publish a picture like that."

The picture was taken shortly before the proud parents left Karolinska University Hospital to return to their home at nearby Haga Palace.

Within minutes of being published on the Royal Court's Facebook page, the picture had garnered more than 2,500 likes and close to 600 shares, with both figures climbing rapidly.

While the Royal Court only joined Facebook a few months ago, it has embraced the social networking site's potential to help spread word about the birth of the new princess.

"We live in world where social media is how we communicate any there have been a lot of positive reactions on Facebook," said Lundgren.

The picture was released shortly after a 42 cannon salute took place in central Stockholm across from the Royal Palace.

Normally, only 21 cannons are fired to salute the arrival of a royal baby, but when an heir to the throne is born, the number is doubled to 42.

Thousands of onlookers cheered as the guns boomed welcoming the birth of the heir to the Swedish throne.

"I'm very touched, I'm sure not everyone is, but it's a great day for Sweden. And the sun's shining!" a member of the crowd told The Local

"Sun, cannons and sea - what a great day!" said another.

While Victoria and Daniel have reportedly decided on a name for their daughter, the official announcement isn't expected to take place until Friday.

At that time, the future regent is formally presented to the prime minister, speaker of parliament and the marshal of the realm at a traditional witness ceremony at Haga Palace, Victoria and Daniel's residence on the outskirts of Stockholm.

Media and betting sites speculated wildly Thursday about the choice of name.

According to TT, some likely ones include Christina, Desiree, Ulrika, Astrid, Margareta or Sophia, all of which are names used by the Swedish royal family in the past. Alice, the name of Victoria's late maternal grandmother, was also among the possibilities.

Congratulations poured in from politicians and public figures.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt noted that the Scandinavian country could now look forward to a succession of female regents, a first in Swedish history.

"My warmest congratulations to Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel and Sweden's new princess. It is a great day for the entire royal family and it is also a great day for Sweden," he said in a statement.

"With the birth of a new princess, the Kingdom of Sweden will in time enter
a new era of queens," he said.