Queen Silvia’s 70th Birthday

On 23 December 2013, Queen Silvia celebrated her 70th birthday. Silvia’s birthday was celebrated with a gala performance at the Oscars Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden on 20 December. On the day of her birthday, the flag was flown at the Royal Palace in Stockholm and a salute also took place.

Queen Silvia (née Silvia Renate Sommerlath) was born in Heidelberg, Germany on 23 December 1943. She is the younger child of Walther Sommerlath and Alice Soares de Toledo. She has two elder brothers; Ralf and Walther. Her third brother, Jörg, died in 2006 and Queen Silvia founded a foundation in his memory. During her childhood, Silvia and her brothers lived in São Paulo, Brazil. She was educated at Colégio Visconde de Porto Seguro, a traditional German School. Silvia and her family returned to Germany in 1957.

During the 1972 Olympic Games, Silvia met her future husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf, who later said that “it just clicked” when they met. They became engaged on 12 March 1976 and married on 19 June 1976 at the Storkyrkan Cathedral in Stockholm, Sweden. They have three children; Crown Princess Victoria (born on 14 July 1977 – in 2010 she married Daniel Westling and they have a daughter, Princess Estelle), Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (born on 13 May 1979) and Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (born on 10 June 1982 – in 2013 she married Christopher O’Neill and they are expecting their first child).

Filed under Sweden
Tagged Birthday, Queen Silvia of Sweden.

7 Responses to Queen Silvia’s 70th Birthday