Discussion about Sofia Hellqvist's Past & Future Role in the Royal Family

[Stefan]

Just curious, how do you think Margrethe or Beatrix would have reacted if one of their boy's had brought Ms. Hellqvist to them for approval. Really, not being snarky here. Many mothers would have misgiving's royal or not so I wonder about The queen in this case.

From Queen Margrethe it is known that when Frederik dated a Katja ... (don't rember the exact name think it was Storkholm) who also had posed in underwear that the would not agree to a marriage. She was quoted as saying that an underwear Model would never become the next Queen of Denmark.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

From Queen Margrethe it is known that when Frederik dated a Katja ... (don't rember the exact name think it was Storkholm) who also had posed in underwear that the would not agree to a marriage. She was quoted as saying that an underwear Model would never become the next Queen of Denmark.

Same in Spain (Felipe & Eva Sannum) - but there is a difference between heir and third-born, I guess.

 

[LadyFinn]

Same in Spain (Felipe & Eva Sannum) - but there is a difference between heir and third-born, I guess.

Carl Philip is second-born.

 

[Lady Nimue]

From most of these post 's I gather the only people who act particularly royal or content Is Victoria and by extension her own family...the king looks like was weaned on a pickle, the Queen is quietly bland, the other two grown children are pampered and work shy and the new one has shown the world everything.

What am I missing here?

What you're missing is the reality. People have their own perceptions and biases.

In his youth, Carl Gustav was quite the elegant gentleman. Not classically handsome yet he was very appealing, albeit never as popular as Queen Silvia, who was not just a beautiful woman, but very well spoken and possessed of a delicate and unfailing charm. She remains to this day a very intelligent and classy lady, who has served Sweden well and has always been very popular among the Swedes. That's a fact. I would not listen to crass opinion regarding how she - or Carl Gustav - have aged. One ages - it is what it is.

It is a lovely family, not picture perfect - what family is? I love their down-to-earth quality. They live very much normal lives. For example, when the children were growing up the whole family used to go food shopping together. On Sunday afternoons King, Queen and children could be bumped into at the local market shopping for the Sunday evening meal that Silvia and Carl Gustav would cook. The SRF is unique among royals, I think (though admittedly, I don't know much) - and charmingly so imo. Even the PR incompetence everyone seems upset about is endearing. But then, I live in a world of sharp shooters - so that 'incompetence' in PR strikes me as refreshingly honest.

 

[LadyFinn]

From most of these post 's I gather the only people who act particularly royal or content Is Victoria and by extension her own family...the king looks like was weaned on a pickle, the Queen is quietly bland, the other two grown children are pampered and work shy and the new one has shown the world everything.

What am I missing here?

What is missing is dignity and discretion. The press conference in Friday was a good example of that. We saw the start of the royal reality show, the leading role played by Sofia.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Did Beatrix not approve the marriage of one of her sons to the ex-girlfriend of a drug lord? A woman who then admitted to lying to the government about the relationship? The Dutch government, from what I remember, refused to give their permission to the match because of the lies she told them. Given the apparently incredibly high standards Beatrix had for her sons, it's amazing that she approved of such a match, whatever Mabel's educational background.

I do not hold Mabel's past mistakes against her and I believe the same should be true of Sofia. Mabel proved herself a worthy wife to Prince Friso and, from what I can see, was accepted as a member of the royal house. Sofia deserves the chance to do the same.

I've seen one or two comments about CG's apparent unhappiness in the pictures/video, but this rather misses the point that he never looks anything other than miserable as sin. He always looks as if someone's just pinched his last cookie.

Mabel Wisse-Smit was no "girlfriend to a drug lord". During her student years, she -an addict to sailing- became befriended with to the said drug lord who was of her age, had good looks and a sail yacht as well. When the background of the gentleman became more clear, Mabel took distance.

When she engaged with Prince Friso, she and the Prince decide to muffle this not so fabulous part of her history under the carpet and that was the reason for the upheaval: the couple was 'not complete' about the truth / 'creative' with the truth. In hindsight Mabel and Friso better could have been 100% open about it. For the rest, no matter how nice Laurentien Brinkhorst, Mabel Wisse-Smit and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti are, also they erode the fundament of what differentiates people to be "royal".

 

[Mbruno]

Look, Carl Phillip Loves Sofia. She loves him. It's not like the world will end. She made some foolish choices when she was young, many make foolish choices all their lives. Some here have this inflated idea of today's royalty. They are just "celebrities "who happen to be born into this job of prince or king etc. Kings have affairs, as do princes and some princesses, or whatever. Lots of nasty things go on, like in the real world. They receive much for the luck of birth. In Sweden the king or queen is just a figurehead, today. I do hope people cut them some slack and do as one should, which is do not judge them, because who are you (a collective you)to judge them? Queen Beatrix was always supportive of Mabel, as was Sonja of Mette-Marit. And you know those women are wonderful.

Queen Beatrix might have been supportive of Mabel, but, because the Dutch parliament didn't approve Friso's marriage, he was removed from the line of succession and Mabel never became a member of the Royal House. She was never a "princess of the Netherlands" or a "working royal" then.

Sofia, in my opinion, is in a different category. She will be a princess of Sweden and a full-time working member of the royal family and is expected to take a full range of royal duties, even though she is, at first sight, far less qualified for the job than Mabel for example was.

I guess Mette-Marit is actually the only example I can think of that resembles Sofia's case, with the aggravating circumstance that Metter-Marit will one day probably become queen whereas Sofia, barring any unlikely tragedy, will not.

 

[Lee-Z]

Queen Beatrix might have been supportive of Mabel, but, because the Dutch parliament didn't approve Friso's marriage, he was removed from the line of succession and Mabel never became a member of the Royal House. She was never a "princess of the Netherlands" or a "working royal" then.

Sofia, in my opinion, is in a different category. She will be a princess of Sweden and a full-time working member of the royal family and is expected to take a full range of royal duties, even though she is, at first sight, far less qualified for the job than Mabel for example was.

P.Friso decided not to ask permission from the government for his marriage (expecting quite rightly that it wouldn't be given), and with that forfeited his right to the throne (he was always a very independent and professional person and never very much "royally inclined"; so imo it probably wasn't a huge step for him).

But this is indeed a big difference: had CP renounced his rights to the throne when he announced his engagement, that would have made a world of difference to the opinion of many "followers", imo..

 

[sjetajiem]

Queen Beatrix might have been supportive of Mabel, but, because the Dutch parliament didn't approve Friso's marriage, he was removed from the line of succession and Mabel never became a member of the Royal House. She was never a "princess of the Netherlands" or a "working royal" then.

Sofia, in my opinion, is in a different category. She will be a princess of Sweden and a full-time working member of the royal family and is expected to take a full range of royal duties, even though she is, at first sight, far less qualified for the job than Mabel for example was.

I guess Mette-Marit is actually the only example I can think of that resembles Sofia's case, with the aggravating circumstance that Metter-Marit will one day probably become queen whereas Sofia, barring any unlikely tragedy, will not.

Princess Mabel was not removed because of what she was, but because Prince Friso and Mabel were not open about a relationship of Mabel with a criminal.
The prime-minister of that time decided not to present the permission to marriage law to the Parliament.

 

[Mbruno]

Mabel Wisse-Smit was no "girlfriend to a drug lord". During her student years, she -an addict to sailing- became befriended with to the said drug lord who was of her age, had good looks and a sail yacht as well. When the background of the gentleman became more clear, Mabel took distance.

When she engaged with Prince Friso, she and the Prince decide to muffle this not so fabulous part of her history under the carpet and that was the reason for the upheaval: the couple was 'not complete' about the truth / 'creative' with the truth. In hindsight Mabel and Friso better could have been 100% open about it. For the rest, no matter how nice Laurentien Brinkhorst, Mabel Wisse-Smit and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti are, also they erode the fundament of what differentiates people to be "royal".

Máxima comes from a social class which, in Argentina, would be equivalent to the patriciaat. Her father was a landowner and a government minister, albeit in an authoritarian military government. Laurentien, on the other hand, although not technically a patrician (in the Dutch sense of being listed in the Blue Book), is also a daughter of a government minister and university professor. I don't see how either Máxima or Laurentien would be in any respect less suitable to marry into the Dutch royal familiy than any alternative minor aristocrat from Germany or the Low Countries.

 

[gemini85]

in this one Love Lola Heart blog there are photos of Sofia (also naked ones) and I read this :

" Fortunately, Sofia didn’t chose to work with victims of rape who Sofia has expressed she feels ’should work on their self-esteem so they will be better able to say no’."

She really said that?
I hope it's just something wrote by an hater.

 

[Marty91charmed]

It would be lovely
My congratulations to the couple.A marriage is always a beautiful news.
I don't like her,to me it seems there's something off with her I don't know what,it's just a feeling.
Anyway she is very pretty girl and seems to make the Prince happy so my best wishes to them.

I was looking for a HQ photo of the ring,didn't find it but I came across in these two blogs.
This one Princesses' lives: Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist are engaged! have images in a pretty good quality.

in this one Love Lola Heart blog there are photos of Sofia (also naked ones) and I read this :

" Fortunately, Sofia didn’t chose to work with victims of rape who Sofia has expressed she feels ’should work on their self-esteem so they will be better able to say no’."

She really said that?
I hope it's just something wrote by an hater.

Sadly, that quote is true And other things that I thought rumours I fear will end up as truth. Cannot prove anything but I read several things about her "making profit" of some money which were supposed to be for a charity... I won't say anything more though

 

[gemini85]

Sadly, that quote is true And other things that I thought rumours I fear will end up as truth. Cannot prove anything but I read several things about her "making profit" of some money which were supposed to be for a charity... I won't say anything more though

Many thanks for the answer.
Wow!!If she really said and done those things,I really hope she learned and understood her mistakes.
My dislike for her is growing
Let's hope she will be a devoted wife and a good Princess.

Oh and there also a couple of nasty comments below P.Madeleine facebook post.

 

[Marty91charmed]

Many thanks for the answer.
Wow!!If she really said and done those things,I really hope she learned and understood her mistakes.
My dislike for her is growing
Let's hope she will be a devoted wife and a good Princess.

Oh and there also a couple of nasty comments below P.Madeleine facebook post.

Yes, I've seen them... Hope they will be removed though

 

[Lady Nimue]

Well, I think they should get married but be Mr and Mrs Bernadotte, not attending royal events, not doing royal duties. That would be the wise and judicious thing to do.

BTW - is this something that the government could impose after due consideration? Especially if more and more disclosures come along and the circus-like atmosphere grows daily? I can't imagine this ever 'dying down' as she will always be front and center in every SRF event. The media is going to be all over her. I bet as we speak investigative journalism is going into hyper-drive.

 

[cepe]

This has been discussed ad nauseam on other threads on this forum.

Why go through it all over again??

 

[Dman]

Well, I think they should get married but be Mr and Mrs Bernadotte, not attending royal events, not doing royal duties. That would be the wise and judicious thing to do.

BTW - is this something that the government could impose after due consideration? Especially if more and more disclosures come along and the circus-like atmosphere grows daily? I can't imagine this ever 'dying down' as she will always be front and center in every SRF event. The media is going to be all over her. I bet as we speak investigative journalism is going into hyper-drive.

Sofia is marrying a working member of the Swedish Royal Family, it's her place to accompany her husband to official and family events; just as Daniel and Chris do with their royal spouses.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

If he was going to be king he probably wouldn't be allowed to marry her. But he's not so the family is accepting. I've always stated that I trust the king queen and princesses more than a bunch of forum members on what kind of person Sofia is. Would him marrying a better girl who doesnt have her past be nice? Sure, but he loves her and chose her and nobody official has expressed any problems, not that I have seen.

 

[principessa]

I hope that Sofia get the chance to show that she is a nice, natural, helpful and underrated woman. She deserves it.

 

[wok_kym]

Sadly, that quote is true And other things that I thought rumours I fear will end up as truth. Cannot prove anything but I read several things about her "making profit" of some money which were supposed to be for a charity... I won't say anything more though

The quote is true????

 

[LadyFinn]

Sofia is marrying a working member of the Swedish Royal Family, it's her place to accompany her husband to official and family events; just as Daniel and Chris do with their royal spouses.

We don't know yet if Carl Philip will be continuing to be a working royal after the wedding. Maybe they will move to South Africa. At least one can hope that.

If they stay in Sweden and Sofia will do royal work duties, the court has a big problem to find her a suitable way to work so that she will not totally outshine her husband. Because she, unlike Daniel, doesn't know how to be discreet.

 

[xenobia]

About titles: I'm not 100% sure that Sofia will become a princess. Jonas Bergström wasn't supposed to get a HRH-title when he was engaged to Madeleine. We know that Chris O'Neill declined titels, but we don't know if both the option of prince and duke was on the table. Daniel is a different story since he is married to the heiress. From the moment he married Victoria, he was a full-time royalty. Sofia? I'd say her situation is more like Jonas and Chris. So I wouldn't be surprised if she became Duchess of Värmland, but not princess of Sweden.

I'm on the fence when it comes to Sofia. On one hand, I don't think that people should be forever judged on what they did when they were younger. She, just like everyone else, deserves a break. Give her time to prove herself.

On the other hand, my biggest problem with her is that I unfortunately don't get the impression that all the charity work she has been doing (aka Project Playground) is done for the right reasons (which in this case would be that she has turned her life around and wanted to help others who aren't as privileged). It just feels like something she's doing to clean up her CV. Sorry about that, Sofia, but that's how I feel.

But time will tell. I'm willing to give her the benefit of a doubt. If she somehow, through hard work and a more appropriate behavior, proves that she's the right woman for the job - good for her, and good for the whole Royal Family.

 

[Bine221]

Well, as Princess Madeleine will rarely do Official Events in Sweden in order to minimize her sister´s workload, CP Victoria may be happy having some sort of help from Carl Philipp and Sofia.
BYe Bine

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

CP hardly works, I don't think that will change. Sofia will tagg along to the odd event but she will generate her attention from other events than royal work. IMO she will push her foundation to the limit to become Saint Sofia of Sweden and act more than a top class socialite rather than a working royal.

 

[Tilia C.]

On the other hand, my biggest problem with her is that I unfortunately don't get the impression that all the charity work she has been doing (aka Project Playground) is done for the right reasons (which in this case would be that she has turned her life around and wanted to help others who aren't as privileged). It just feels like something she's doing to clean up her CV. Sorry about that, Sofia, but that's how I feel.

I have the same doubts about her charity work. She only started it after she started dating CP. She had no proper job training or any decent career, and needed to brush up her CV. Princesses do charity work, so she started at that. Besides it suited her on her conquest of fame. Basically Project Playground only became known on a wider scale becaused she used her relationship with the Prince to promote herself and her charity. Project Playground made it possible for her to give interviews, pose for the press, attend glamorous charity galas in posh dresses.

To me that smell just like a continued chase for fame and publicity: modeling, tv show, charity gala posing, princessing. It all seems to fit together, imho.

 

[xenobia]

I have the same doubts about her charity work. She only started it after she started dating CP. She had no proper job training or any decent career, and needed to brush up her CV. Princesses do charity work, so she started at that. Besides it suited her on her conquest of fame. Basically Project Playground only became known on a wider scale becaused she used her relationship with the Prince to promote herself and her charity. Project Playground made it possible for her to give interviews, pose for the press, attend glamorous charity galas in posh dresses.

To me that smell just like a continued chase for fame and publicity: modeling, tv show, charity gala posing, princessing. It all seems to fit together, imho.

I actually don't have a problem with her using her relationship with C-P to bring attention to Project Playground. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you run a charity: use your connections so that you can raise both money and awareness? Those are the rules of the game, not just for her but for everyone in the charity business.

Having said that, I still don't think she's doing this for the right reasons. I would have had more respect for her if she started educating herself in a more sincere way (aka university or something similar) when she met C-P.

 

[Empress Merel]

We don't know yet if Carl Philip will be continuing to be a working royal after the wedding. Maybe they will move to South Africa. At least one can hope that.

If they stay in Sweden and Sofia will do royal work duties, the court has a big problem to find her a suitable way to work so that she will not totally outshine her husband. Because she, unlike Daniel, doesn't know how to be discreet.

The women usually outshine the men. It's a moot point you're making here.

 

[LadyFinn]

The women usually outshine the men. It's a moot point you're making here.

Not always. I don't mean that the press writes more about women, it is natural because of the fashion and clothes, but a woman herself can make a big difference. Queen Letizia doesn't outshine king Felipe, she knows that the king is the main person and the regent.

I hope to see Sofia understanding that but after having followed her, I'm really skeptical.

 

[roseroyal]

I have to say in general my favorite Royals to follow are the women. William being the exception.

 

[Marengo]

This has been discussed ad nauseam on other threads on this forum.

Why go through it all over again??

The idea is that we reserve this thread for the discussion so that the other threads won't be sidelined by it. Moving the posts will however take some time. And it will also take some time before all posters will get used not to write their opinions about Sofia's suitability in the other threads.
Any engagement news will be snowed under by comments pro and contra Sofia Hellqvist at this moment. And this way posters who are not interested in the debate can simply ignore this thread, while still getting updated on other things about the couple.


But although I personally agree that the things has been debated ad nauseam, many still want to discuss the matter, and in the end this is a discussion forum. So this thread will provide an opportunity for those who are interested.