Queen Silvia of Sweden’s 72nd Birthday

On December 23, Queen Silvia celebrates her seventy second birthday.

Queen Silvia (née Silvia Renate Sommerlath) was born on 23rd December 1943 in Heidelberg, Germany. She is the daughter of Walther Sommerlath and his wife, Alice (née Soares de Toledo). She has two older brothers, Ralf and Walther Sommerlath, as well as another brother, Jörg, who died in 2006.

During the years 1947 and 1957, the then Silvia Sommerlath lived with her family in Brazil, South America. She then moved back to Western Germany with her family.

At the Summer Olympics of 1972 in Munich, she met her future husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, for the first time. Their engagement was announced on 12 March 1976, which was followed by their wedding on 19 June that same year. Their marriage was the first marriage of a reigning Swedish monarch since 1797.

In 1977, their first daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, was born. She was followed by Prince Carl Philip in 1979 and Princess Madeleine in 1982. Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf also have three grandchildren: Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland, Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland and Prince Nicolas, Duke of Ångermanland. The couple are due to have a further two grandchildren next spring as Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip’s wife Princess Sofia are both pregnant.

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Tagged Birthday, Queen Silvia of Sweden.

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