Press Reports about Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist, Part 2: April 2012 - June 2014

[Bine221]

I can imagine the Carl Phillip (and his spouse ) really supports CP Victoria in future years. But I do not see that for Prss Madeleine.

Assuming that the current situation will both lead in a marriage, Madeleine will (most probably) stay in the US and fly to Sweden 3 times a year to do some public duties, that´s it .... so no real help.
Whereas Carl Philipp will stay in Sweden and he even may take over some more patronages, same as Sofia. I even believe, that she will be quite good in it.... she definately is beautiful and worked hard on herself do get some dignity and a more princessian look and behaviour.
Whereas somebody is referring to the Middle East or similar - going to another country for a public visit may always imply that the media is printing the old pics again. That is her problem, that you cannot hide your past in modern Internet times.

BYe Bine

 

[Josefine]

i do not know sofia cant tell if she is a good person or not - posing naked i do not think a person is a bad person for that, maybe not best history to come into a royal family.

but she posing naked verses mette-marit taking drugs - i think mette-marit has done very well being crown princess of norway.

i am just saying

she can do a great job

 

[Artemisia]

I'm fairly traditional person so posing naked is a big no for me.
However, I still think Sofia deserves a chance - only one, mind you; if she does anything potentially embarrassing for the Royal Family, then it would be obvious she hasn't learn from her mistakes.

I've been going through old discussions here and one thing caught my eyes; before her engagement to Prince Joachim was announced, Marie was criticised for being attention-seeker and even gold-digger as well. Now, I'm not comparing Marie and Sofia; the former has never made any of the latter's bad life choices and certainly didn't pose naked with a snake. On the other hand, our opinions are based on subjective reporting; for all we know, Sofia may be a genuinely nice woman who made mistakes and is eager to correct her mistakes and embark on a new life with the man she loves. Of course, she could also be an attention-seeker intent on bagging a Prince.

 

[American Dane]

I'm fairly traditional person so posing naked is a big turn off for me.
However, I still think Sofia deserves a chance - only one, mind you; if she does anything potentially embarrassing for the Royal Family, then it would be obvious she hasn't learn from her mistakes.

I've been going through old discussions here and one thing caught my eyes; before her engagement to Prince Joachim was announced, Marie was criticised for being attention-seeker and even gold-digger as well. Now, I'm not comparing Marie and Sofia; the former has never made any of the latter's bad life choices and certainly didn't pose naked with a snake. On the other hand, our opinions are based on subjective reporting; for all we know, Sofia may be a genuinely nice woman who made mistakes and is eager to correct her mistakes and embark on a new life with the man she loves. Of course, she could also be an attention-seeker intent on bagging a Prince.

Yes but also remember that Marie was being interviewed or asked for comments by Danish journalists. Perhaps they tricked her since she was a foreigner and possibly misunderstood something they asked, and she responded in a certain way.
Sofia is a Swede. This is her royal family so she should have more of an idea of when a royal significant other should be talking to the press, compared to Marie who grew up in a republic.
Most of the opinions of the posters on this thread do not come from quotes in a newspaper, like they did for Marie early on, but Sofia's "writings" on her very own twitter [thus, not edited by someone else] and pictures from her youth that were taken with her consent.
There are tow questions here: should the King give his permission to a marriage between C-P and Sofia; and should Sofia be given a title as a member of the SRF, and thus become a representative of Sweden? As someone previously pointed out, it would be hugely hypocritical of a King with his own scandal to deny C-P the right to marry the-girl-with-a-past Sofia. I'm not disputing that. I think they should get married if they want to get married. But she shouldn't be given a title and not officially represent Sweden.
The King and Royal House can save themselves from controversy by removing C-P's title for "professional reasons", à la Martha Louise of Norway. Then Sofia wouldn't get the female equivalent of C-P's title. Also, if Madeleine's Chris doesn't get the full male equivalent of her title, it is discrimination. Here's another excuse why Sofia wouldn't get the title of princess when she is married.
I'm not old-fashioned in the least bit, and the naked photos don't personally bother me, but Sofia is not marrying a non-reigning royal. C-P has responsibilities to the Swedish State and Swedish people, and those will exist until there is a referendum that abolishes those responsibilities.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

The king of Sweden have no constitutional rights to ennoble a commoner, the only title a royal spouse can get is prince/princess and/or duke/duchess. Nor does the possibility of a morganatic marriage exist in Sweden.

There is a possibility that a future spouse of Carl Philip will not get the title of princess of Sweden and only become duchess of Värmland, not because of her past but because of the fact that when Madeleine got engaged to Jonas Bergström it was announced that his future title would be Mr. Jonas Bergström, duke of Hälsingland and Gästrikland. To give the spouse of Carl Philip the title princess of Sweden while not give the spouse of Madeleine the title of prince of Sweden would be considered as sexist, as both Carl Philip and Madeleine have equal rights when it comes to the throne and their spouses should not be treated differently just because one of them is male and the other female.

I don't understand. How is it sexist because Madeleine's husband won't be styled a prince? I thought the only way a man could be styled as prince is if he's married to a queen or future queen. Isn't that how it works? This is how it is in every other royal family, I don't see why the SRF is any different.

I'm sure Carl Philips wife will be styled princess, just like Princess Marie. That is if she doesn't have a terribly muddy past

 

[Meraude]

I don't understand. How is it sexist because Madeleine's husband won't be styled a prince? I thought the only way a man could be styled as prince is if he's married to a queen or future queen. Isn't that how it works? This is how it is in every other royal family, I don't see why the SRF is any different.

Sweden was the first country with equal primogeniture, and one consequence of that is that all children, regardless of sex, should have same rights of passing their title to their spouses and children. Before 1980 only Swedish princes got the title of duke, Victoria and Madeleine were the first duchesses suo jure in Sweden. This fact is a break with earlier traditions where the female spouse automatically got her husband's title or in case of a royal princess lost her title when she married a non-royal spouse. This break should also be reflected in an equal treatment of future royal spouses when it comes to what title a spouse will get. As Sweden is country where equal rights for men and women is an important matter, there will be quite a lot of protests if there will be an unequal treatment for titles for the spouses of Carl Philip and Madeleine, and as the SRF and the king have the lowest popularity numbers ever (with the exception of Victoria) they can't really afford it. (That the spouse of a future monarch should be titled diffrently from the spouses of junior members of the royal family is a different discussion.)

There will most likely be a similiar discussion in the other monarchies with equal primogenture in the future, but that discussion will most likely wait for at least 10-15 years or more, until the royal children there are old enough to think about marriage. It seems as Norway already have decided to "lower" the status of younger siblings of the heir to the heir, as prince Sverre Magnus is only HH and not HRH.

 

[Esmerelda]

I don't understand. How is it sexist because Madeleine's husband won't be styled a prince? I thought the only way a man could be styled as prince is if he's married to a queen or future queen. Isn't that how it works? This is how it is in every other royal family, I don't see why the SRF is any different.

:

Prince Lorenz of Belgium (Archduke of Austria-Este) received his title through his wife Princess Astrid, their children likewise. Although we already know that the SRF haven't chosen the option of making all the Royal children's spouses Prince/Princess from Madeleine's engagement.

The possible titles for Sofia if they get married are Princess, Duchess or nothing. All three are going to make some people unhappy. Nothing is unlikely unless Sofia herself says she wants a private life and doesn't want a title and if she does, some would say she was pressurized into refusing one and call the King hypocritical. Princess could lead to claims of sexism as Madeleine's husband will not be a Prince as well as amplify the objections to the photos. Duchess could be interpreted along the lines of 'naked model not good enough to be a Princess' as the press seem to refer to 'future Princess', 'Princess training', etc. Although they could very reasonably justify Duchess with being fair, general downsizing of the monarchy and giving Carl Philip's children more freedom in career choices.

The problem Sofia's past brings into this is that whatever the King chooses, the choice will always be overanalyzed and perhaps misinterpreted.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

People whine about that as well, they say the work she does is fake and only spurred because she wants to catch the Prince.

Of course they whine about that as well. Nothing Sofia will do will ever be good enough for people to stop judging her for her past. But as long as the people who actually matter have moved on I guess that is all that matters to her.
I have never heard that Marie was criticized before she married Joachim but Im not surprised. Even Kate has been accused of being a gold digger and social climber.
It seems there are a few royal brides who have a questionable past. Mette-Marit with her drug past and child and apparently there was some controversy about Mabel's past as well.

 

[LadyFinn]

Aftonbladet writes about that Sofia wasn't invited to the official celebration of the king's birthday. Royal expert Roger Lundgren explains again that you won't be invited to the official celebrations of the royal family, unless you are engaged to a royal. Carl Philip left the king's party and celebrated Valborg with Sofia and friends at a park, they sat at the grass. The court doesn't comment the prince's relationship, but many experts believe it will not be long before it's time for a royal engagement.
- It is simply time. Carl Philip and Sofia have been together long enough and live also together, says Lundgren.
He says there are many indications that of an engagement this year, he is not alone in his opinion.
- It may very well be any day now. Carl Philip and Sofia are so established as a couple. They have also been together for years so we will soon see an engagement. You also notice that a big part of the Swedish people have taken Sofia close to them, says Johanna Lejon, court reporter from SvenskDam.
Sofia ratad igen – på kungens födelsedag | Nyheter | Aftonbladet

Finnish MTV3 quotes Expressen:
Carl Philip has turned his back to his friends, who don't accept Sofia. He wants to show that he is fully supporting Sofia. It hasn't been easy for Sofia to get the acceptance of CP's parents, but she has succeeded in it. Because Sofia's past she wasn't accepted as CP's girlfriend in the beginning, but CP made it very clear, that Sofia has to be accepted or he wouldn't speak with them anymore. CP wants to show everyone that he is with Sofia. This was seen at Valborg, when CP was celebrating with Sofia and her friends, no friends of CP was with them. And of course part of the discrimination of Sofia is because of Emma, CP and Emma have mutual friends and social circle.
Carl Philip hylkäsi ystävänsä Sofian vuoksi - MTV3.fi - Viihde - Uutiset

 

[angieuk]

The big question is if he were first born what would happen with his choice of partner? Would he have to give up his succession rights?

 

[Meraude]

The big question is if he were first born what would happen with his choice of partner? Would he have to give up his succession rights?

If Carl Philip had been the heir to the throne his education and what was to be expected of him would have been very different and he would probably not have chosen the same kind of partner as he has done now. As for dating nude models, I remember reading that when the king still was a crown prince back in the late 1960:ies there were photos of him partying with a girl who was a nude model/soft porn star i Sweden.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Prince Andrew didnt get away with Koo Stark.

 

[Marengo]

Of course they whine about that as well. Nothing Sofia will do will ever be good enough for people to stop judging her for her past. But as long as the people who actually matter have moved on I guess that is all that matters to her..

Although you claim that she is judged for her past, from what I read here it seems it is more that she is judged for her present: namely her relentless search for fame, her dodgy charity project etc. etc. Most here mind that much more than the soft pornography that she posed for.

Furthermore, since when is having criticism/doubts the same as whining?

 

[NGalitzine]

^^^^
You have peaked my curiosity. What is dodgy about her charity? Have there been allegations of financial mismanagement or misappropriation of funds?

 

[Boris]

^^^^
You have peaked my curiosity. What is dodgy about her charity?

The funny thing is that history is being re-written by evoking the impression that Sofia H. has herself founded a rather important charity of her own as if she was a genuine philanthropist.
First of all, the South African ‚Project Playground’ is not her charity, but was founded by her friend and former model Frida Vesterberg; Sofia H. joined immediately after beginning to date Prince Carl Philip.
It’s a small organization with rooms in the Township Langa / South Africa with the purpose of providing (quote from their website) “after-school activities free of charge in Langa, where 300 kids today get the opportunity to play and engage in organized activities.”
Remarkably, the Swedish bank account given on pleas for donations for the charity was originally the private account of Sofia H., but later changed.
Also, the charity’s last major activity (apart from Sofia H. making appearances - though not in Langa / South Africa) was as far back as February this year and consisted of taking a few kids to (quote) “create art from junk cleared from the city’s beaches”, on the occasion of the Volvo Ocean Race, of which Prince Carl Philip is patron…
…and where Sofia H. was making an appearance indeed, mainly thanking her boyfriend in front of journalist's microphones.
Almost needless to say, Prince Carl Philip has since become Member of the Board of ‘Project Playground’.

By the way, for reasons probably best explicable to her tax advisor, Sofia Kristina Hellqvist already founded her own company reasonably called ‘SKH Agency’ (does this name indicate a trace of irony?), which in its company entry (Link: SKH Agency - Företagsinformation ) claims to have an office under a certain address but is not listed under said address (Link: Ratsit- Gratis upplysning på företag och privatpersoner ), and whose postal address happens to be none other than that of the villa bought by Prince Carl Philip recently, where Sofia H. is officially registered as well.

 

[NGalitzine]

So, in other words there is nothing wrong with the charity itself but some people have problems with Sofia being involved with /promoting a charity founded by a friend of hers.

 

[LadyFinn]

According to this blog, Carl Philip and Sofia flew to Zurich on 1st May.
defemblommorna - 1 Maj 2012
Carl Philip has his next work duty on 8th May, his last duty (besides his father's birthday) was on 18th April.

 

[Boris]

So, in other words there is nothing wrong with the charity itself but some people have problems with Sofia being involved with /promoting a charity founded by a friend of hers.

No, I'd rather say that some people have problems to consider her getting involved in the charity as sincere and question the timing as well as the agenda behind the make over of Sofia Hellqvist in general.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The funny thing is that history is being re-written by evoking the impression that Sofia H. has herself founded a rather important charity of her own as if she was a genuine philanthropist.
First of all, the South African ‚Project Playground’ is not her charity, but was founded by her friend and former model Frida Vesterberg; Sofia H. joined immediately after beginning to date Prince Carl Philip.
It’s a small organization with rooms in the Township Langa / South Africa with the purpose of providing (quote from their website) “after-school activities free of charge in Langa, where 300 kids today get the opportunity to play and engage in organized activities.”
Remarkably, the Swedish bank account given on pleas for donations for the charity was originally the private account of Sofia H., but later changed.
Also, the charity’s last major activity (apart from Sofia H. making appearances - though not in Langa / South Africa) was as far back as February this year and consisted of taking a few kids to (quote) “create art from junk cleared from the city’s beaches”, on the occasion of the Volvo Ocean Race, of which Prince Carl Philip is patron…
…and where Sofia H. was making an appearance indeed, mainly thanking her boyfriend in front of journalist's microphones.
Almost needless to say, Prince Carl Philip has since become Member of the Board of ‘Project Playground’.

By the way, for reasons probably best explicable to her tax advisor, Sofia Kristina Hellqvist already founded her own company reasonably called ‘SKH Agency’ (does this name indicate a trace of irony?), which in its company entry (Link: SKH Agency - Företagsinformation ) claims to have an office under a certain address but is not listed under said address (Link: Ratsit- Gratis upplysning på företag och privatpersoner ), and whose postal address happens to be none other than that of the villa bought by Prince Carl Philip recently, where Sofia H. is officially registered as well.

Thanks for pointing out Boris - it says it all, doesnt it.

 

[Artemisia]

Boris, your post was very informative, as always.
However, I'm not sure I understand how it portrays Sofia negatively. She may or may not have been sincere with her first charity project; the timing certainly is a bit suspicious, but on the other hand she might have just wanted to turn her life around. I just would love to know what exactly she was expected to do when her relationship with Carl Philip became more or less serious to earn approval. The way I see it, she just tried to leave all the controversy behind and make a fresh start - and I don't blame her for that.

Again, I'm not seeking excuses for her. Everyone here will probably concede that she is not only an inappropriate Princess material, but probably would be considered undesirable by any parent. Nevertheless, I do believe people must be given a second chance. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Marengo]

Well, lets say that she leaves the strong impression that it is more about project Sofia than project playground.

A fresh start by milking her status as girlfriend of prince CP (would the former Finnish president be seen with her otherwise?) is not quite the way IMHO. In all the years that I am watching royalty I have never ever seen anybody so brutally pushing herself in the spotlight. IMHO a better way to present herself would be to do as Mette-Marit, Daniël and all others did: be discrete, persue a study/carreer and keep your mouth shut! Instead this one uses every opportunity to present herself as Swedens spiced up version of mother Theresa and was even twittering about her dating the prince.

 

[Artemisia]

A fresh start by milking her status as girlfriend of prince CP (would the former Finnish president be seen with her otherwise?) is not quite the way IMHO. In all the years that I am watching royalty I have never ever seen anybody so brutally pushing herself in the spotlight. IMHO a better way to present herself would be like Mette-Marit, Daniël and all others did: be discrete, persue a study/carreer and keep your mouth shut!

Have no arguments with that; you put it quite well! Much as I try to like Sofia (on basis that people are innocent until proven guilty), I find the fact she often accompanies Carl Philip on official or semi-official events quite inappropriate.

 

[angieuk]

I hope they announce a Royal Engagement this year. The sooner it is dealt with the better. He is not going to dump her, so might as well make it official and give the public time to get use to her.

What I would like to know is why all the photos were done in the first place. Was the reason ---- she needed money desperately?

 

[Lenora]

I hope they announce a Royal Engagement this year. The sooner it is dealt with the better. He is not going to dump her, so might as well make it official and give the public time to get use to her.

What I would like to know is why all the photos were done in the first place. Was the reason ---- she needed money desperately?

Sorry, but it doesn't seem she needed money in such a way, it was the easiest way to make money and she enjoyed it, she was born in a normal family, it was just her choice, I guess.
Anyway, now it's already her past and not present.

 

[Esmerelda]

I hope they announce a Royal Engagement this year. The sooner it is dealt with the better. He is not going to dump her, so might as well make it official and give the public time to get use to her.

What I would like to know is why all the photos were done in the first place. Was the reason ---- she needed money desperately?

Nobody can know that they'll definitely not break up. As for the photos, there are other ways to make money even if you need it desperately.

 

[Marengo]

Well, she was 16 at the time of the first ones, no? How much money can you really need at that age? Esp. considering she still fell under her parents responsibility!

 

[principessa]

I hope they announce a Royal Engagement this year. The sooner it is dealt with the better. He is not going to dump her, so might as well make it official and give the public time to get use to her.

What I would like to know is why all the photos were done in the first place. Was the reason ---- she needed money desperately?

What do you think about a double engagement of Carl Philip and Sofia and Madeleine and Chris?

 

[Breffney]

What do you think about a double engagement of Carl Philip and Sofia and Madeleine and Chris?

Would Sofia, given her alleged penchant for attention seeking, want to share the limelight with Madeleine. ?

Would Madeleine, given her alleged unfriendliness towards Sofia, share her big moment with her. ?

 

[KitKat2006]

To be honest, if I were Madeleine I would either be faster than CP and Sofia or wait until after they're married if CP and Sofia are faster with their official engagement. I think it wouldn't do her any good if she would announce another engagement in the shadow of an engagement of a sibling. She and Chris (or whoever she will marry if it won't be Chris) should have her very own special engagement with everything that follows.

 

[EIIR]

I suppose all of this depends on what Carl Philip intends to do with his life. Does he intend to be a full time working royal? Or does he want to get an actual job or set up his own business? If it's the latter, I can't see that there should be much problem with him marrying Sofia. If he's going to be a full time working royal, the question then becomes does she have what it takes to assist Carl Philip in representing the royal house and, ultimately, Sweden? Only those directly involved who know Sofia personally can make such a judgement.