23 September 2021

The King and Queen visit Uppsala County

On Thursday 23 September, The King and Queen visited Uppsala County to highlight initiatives being carried out in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The King and Queen visit The Hub at Uppsala Science Park.

The King and Queen visit The Hub at Uppsala Science Park. Photo: Pelle T Nilsson/SPA

The King and Queen's visit took place in Uppsala Municipality, and was hosted by County Governor Göran Enander and his partner Monika Sarstad.

Status update at The Hub

During the morning, The King and Queen were welcomed by the County Governor and his partner and by County Director Cecilia Magnusson at The Hub at Uppsala Science Park for a discussion on how the county has been affected by the pandemic, the current situation and the future.

The region

At The Hub, The King and Queen also met representatives from Region Uppsala and Uppsala University Hospital, and heard about their work during the pandemic.

Chair of the County Council Emilie Orring and Hospital Director Marianne van Rooijen opened the meeting. Vaccination coordinator Margareta Öhrvall spoke about Region Uppsala's vaccination campaign. Representatives from various areas of healthcare then shared their experiences of the pandemic and answered The King and Queen's questions.

The King and Queen also had the opportunity to visit the Academic Laboratory for a tour of the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene. Operational Manager Tommie Olofsson and Unit Manager Johan Lindh showed how the department works to receive and analyse coronavirus samples, before providing the results.

Uppsala Castle

At Uppsala Castle, The King and Queen were given a presentation of the Cooperative Organisation for Immigrant Unions in Uppsala (SIU). SIU's Amil Sarsour described how he has worked to inform people with limited Swedish language skills about the advice and recommendations during the pandemic.

Uppsala University

After lunch at Uppsala Castle, The King and Queen visited Uppsala University. There, they were welcomed by Vice-Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt who, together with some of his colleagues, spoke about the university's work in connection with the pandemic. This included a presentation of the Crush Covid research project, in which the university has worked with Region Uppsala to prevent the spread of infection.

Students Felicia Lööke, Björn Cronqvist and Johannes Öhlin also described how the pandemic has affected them.

The King and Queen visit Uppsala University, here in the main building which was opened in 1887.

The King and Queen visit Uppsala University, here in the main building which was opened in 1887. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

The Regina Theatre

At the Regina Theatre, The King and Queen met representatives from the theatre and freelance cultural worker Jacke Sjödin. Together, they described how their cultural work has been affected during the pandemic. Jacke also performed a number of musical pieces on the stage.

The King and Queen receive their tickets at the Regina Theatre.

The King and Queen receive their tickets at the Regina Theatre. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

Industry

Later in the afternoon, The King and Queen visited biotechnology company Novavax, where representatives from the company, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in Uppsala County and Apotea shared their perspectives on how the pandemic has affected industry.

The King and Queen visit Novavax in Uppsala.

The King and Queen visit Novavax in Uppsala. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

Old Uppsala Church

The visit to Uppsala concluded at Old Uppsala Church, where Dean Annica Anderbrant gave an account of how the pandemic has affected the county. After a church service, The King and Queen lit two candles during a moment of silence.

The King and Queen light candles at Old Uppsala Church together with the priest, Dean Annica Anderbrant.

The King and Queen light candles at Old Uppsala Church together with the priest, Dean Annica Anderbrant. Photo: Johan Tegel/The Royal Court of Sweden

The Royal Family visit Sweden's counties

In connection with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, members of the Royal Family will be visiting Sweden's 21 counties at the initiative of HM The King.

The first four visits took place in autumn 2020, but subsequent visits were postponed due to the second wave of the pandemic. The visit to Kalmar marked the resumption of visits to Sweden's counties during autumn 2021.

Through these visits, The King hopes to show the Royal Family's solidarity with those who have been affected and to highlight local initiatives within different sectors of society.

All visits will be adapted in view of the ongoing pandemic, and will be carried out in accordance with the Public Health Agency of Sweden's recommendations.