Swedish Crown Princess Victoria has irked many of her compatriots by wearing a Muslim veil during a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During a government visit fronted by Climate and Environment Minister Isabella Lövin, Crown Princess Victoria and her spouse Prince Daniel visited the Swedish IT company System Verification in central Sarajevo.
The royal couple also took a guided tour through Sarajevo's old town, where they visited a Serbian Orthodox church, a mosque, a synagogue, and a Catholic cathedral. During the visit to the mosque, Crown Princess Victoria donned a veil, which made many people's blood boil in social media.
“Disappointed over Crown Princess Victoria who put on a Muslim veil when she visited Sarajevo,” blogger and journalist Mira Aksoy tweeted.
“Closer than this to submission one will not come. What is this nonsense? Has Vicky converted to Islam? Why else does she wrap the oppressor's over over her head? Sick!” blogger, children's author and journalist Katerina Janouch tweeted.
“Have been a royalist until now. Victoria, as head of state, has to be a Christian. A non-negotiable demand on the head of state. If she wants to be a Muslim, it is not compatible with the role of queen”, another bitter user mused.
“We are probably many newborn republicans out there. At least I am”, yet another one voiced his resentment with what was perceived as excessive political correctness on the part of the Royal House.
“This is how I wished Victoria looked when visiting a Muslim country”, another user chipped in by posting a photograph of Ivanka Trump during her visit to Morocco, an overwhelming Muslim-majority country.
“So damn stupid and ignorant. There is no reason at all to wear a veil in Sarajevo”, another user raged. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not only a relatively secular country, but also a multicultural one, with Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats making up about half of the population. While the Princess only wore the garment in the mosque, other European female leaders have worn traditional Muslim dress throughout their visits to Muslim-majority countries, which may have generated some confusion about the perceived transgression.
Others, by contrast, maintained that it was a polite thing to do, citing “When in Rome, do like the Romans do”, citing similar dress codes in Catholic and Orthodox churches.
One user posted a photograph of former Vice President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton socialising with Islamic leaders without a veil.
42-year old Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden and Duchess of Västergötland is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be Sweden's fourth queen regnant, and the first since 1720.