Swedish royal birth lifts monarchy gloom

Swedish Crown Princess Victoria arrives at Oslo Cathedral to pay her respect to those killed in last month's bomb and shooting attack in Oslo August 21, 2011.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The heir to Sweden's throne, Crown Princess Victoria, gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday, an event which could boost a monarchy damaged by a string of embarrassing allegations against the king.

Newspaper headlines in the last two years have been dominated by the alleged philandering and playboy lifestyle of King Carl XVI Gustaf, who has been on the throne since 1973. He has largely denied the claims.

But the birth of a daughter to Crown Princess Victoria on Thursday appears to have given the Swedish monarchy a chance to claw back public affection and the mood was joyous.

"My feelings are a little bit all over the place," said Prince Daniel, the 34-year-old Victoria's husband, holding back tears at a news conference.

He said the "very sweet princess," who is next in line to the throne after Victoria, was 51 cm (20 inches) long and weighed 3.28 kg (7 pounds). It was the first royal birth since Victoria's sister, Madeleine, was born in 1982.

"The crown princess feels brilliant, she is so happy and everything has gone very well," said Daniel, a former gym owner and Victoria's personal trainer. He became a prince at their glittering 2010 wedding.

The Nordic country's royal family has long enjoyed strong popular support but little public scrutiny, compared with royal families elsewhere in Europe such as Britain's.

But in recent years the Swedish monarchy's popularity has fallen.

A poll in 2011 showed that only 35 percent of people trusted the monarchy, while another poll in December of that year showed a majority of Swedes wanted the king to abdicate in favour of Victoria. He has rejected that idea.

The media has subjected the monarchy to much tougher scrutiny in recent years, particularly after book about the king in 2010 documented an alleged affair, strip club visits and connections to the underworld.

In an unprecedented May 2011 interview with Swedish news agency TT, the king apologised for undermining trust in the monarchy.

He denied visiting a strip club and any knowledge of a friend's underworld contacts, though he did concede he might have visited the "Folies Bergeres" music hall in Paris famed for its semi-nude dancers.

German-born Queen Silvia has also faced awkward questions about the extent of her father's Nazi connections.

The name of Crown Princess Victoria's baby will be announced by the king at a cabinet meeting, which Daniel said would take place on Friday or Saturday.

On betting site Betsport, the name Desiree was favourite.

That was the original name of the wife of the first monarch from the Bernadotte family, which has ruled Sweden since 1810. She later changed her name to Desideria.

The first Bernadotte king was Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, who was a marshal in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte.

(Editing by Andrew Osborn)