My anxiety is still with me, admits princess

CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA of Sweden has opened up for the first time about her battle with anxiety.

Speaking ahead of her 40th birthday, Princess Victoria told the Swedish station SVT that although she was no longer struggling with anorexia, she continued to live with anxiety problems.

Earlier this year Prince Harry spoke about his struggles with mental health problems following the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

“The performance anxiety I had is still there,” Princess Victoria said. “I’ve been given different kinds of tools and learned how to manage it.”

She added that the problem had eased with the passage of time.

When asked if her role as a royal had contributed to her anxiety, she dismissed the idea. “There are as many reasons to feel bad as there are people,” she said, adding that her own struggle had been “very complicated”. The princess also said she was concerned that mental health problems were becoming more common among young people.

She spoke of the pressures heaped on them thanks to “all the perfect images that are uploaded” online and the fact that “everything has to be polished” in order for them to feel accepted.

She is married to her former personal trainer Daniel Westerling, now known as Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, with whom she has two children.

Princess Victoria has previously opened up about living with anorexia and dyslexia. Speaking of her schooldays, she said: “I used to think I was stupid and slow.”

When she was 20, the palace announced that Princess Victoria was struggling with anorexia after she was photographed looking much thinner at public events. Her parents, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, intervened and she sought treatment in the US.