Wednesday 1 February 2007
Silvia Superstar - Regina Suedorum
In the beginning no one took any particular notice. The attractive
brunette in the passenger seat of the royal Porsche was just perceived as
the latest of the Swedish Crown Prince Carl Gustaf's conquests. At the age
of 26 the handsome royal had quite a track record in the ladies field. He
could - and did - pick and choose among Swedish aristocrats and celebrities
like Titti Wachtmeister and Pia Degermark. If anyone fitted the "royal
playboy" epithet, Carl Gustav did! The anonymous woman was rumoured to be a
souvenir of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Whatever, everybody expected
her to be a passing fancy like her predecessors.
However blurred paparazzi photos of the brunette kept turning up. A stealth
shot from a Munich night club pictured her in intense conversation with Carl
Gustaf. Eventually she got a name; miss Silvia Sommerlath, a trained
interpreter and chief Olympian hostess of German-Brazilian stock.
I have to digress with a situation report of the Swedish royal family in
1973:
The royal family had slowly been minimizing itself by the course of
events in the 20th century. In 1950 68 year old Gustaf VI Adolf succeeded
his long lived father King Gustav V. Of Gustaf Adolf's five children by
Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882-1920) only one, Prince Bertil
(1912-1997) remained in the royal Swedish performing firm. The heir, also
named Gustaf Adolf ("the younger", b.1906), had died in an air crash in
1947. Princes Sigvard (1907-2002) and Carl Johan (b.1916) had married
commoners and were consequently stripped of their royal privileges. Princess
Ingrid (1910-2000) had married Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 1935. Prince Bertil was
unmarried, but not single. His long-standing relationship with the welsh
born Mrs. Lilian Craig was an open secret. Bertil had been indispensable in
the line of succession and yet another marriage to a commoner was ruled out
by his dynastically conscious father.
Gustaf Adolf "the younger" had five children by his marriage to Sibylla of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; four daughters were born before the much longed for heir,
prince Carl Gustaf finally arrived in 1946. The eldest, Princess Birgitta
had married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern and settled in Germany.
Princess Margaretha married English businessman John Ambler and left for
England. The third, Princess Desiree married Swedish baron Niclas
Silverschild and left for the Swedish countryside. Effectively all three
princesses gave up their royal duties only to appear at family events. The
youngest sister, Princess Christina eventually married compatriot commoner
Tord Magnusson in 1974. Like her two elder sisters she got a compromise
title, Princess Christina, Mrs.. Magnusson. She continued her royal duties,
and filled in the blank whenever a female royal was needed. Queen Louise (n�e
Mountbatten) had died in 1965 and the unpopular Princess Sibylla in 1972.
To sum it all up: After the death of King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973, Sweden
was in effect left with a young dyslectic playboy king, his brainy but
unglamorous youngest sister and his uncle, the bachelor spare. The
popularity of the royal family was fading. Although the late intellectual
gentleman king had been a respected figurehead of the Swedish society, his
values were rooted in a bygone age, and the image of the royal family was
rusty to the point of metal fatigue. The Swedes were not exactly optimistic
about the prospects of their monarchy, and the republicans were gaining
momentum in the then role model of a Scandinavian egalitarian welfare state.
However ironically, the ongoing question at the time was whether the Swedish
monarchy could survive a queen consort of commoner descent!
Whatever the considerations, the young king took his time and embarked on his
regal duties. Silvia Sommerlath's face would still appear at intervals, but
from 1974 there was almost a complete news blackout in Stockholm. No one
knew where the relationship was heading.
The news finally broke in March 1976: Miss Silvia Renate Sommerlath and King
Carl XVI Gustaf were engaged to be married on the 19th of June. The soft
spoken Silvia made a favourable impression at the press conference. " We
clicked!", the young couple told of their first meeting in Munich. The
Swedes liked what they saw, and on this day the Swedish media embarked on a
love affair with Silvia, which would last for several years, if it ever
ended!
All the stops were pulled out for the big day, and royalty flocked to
Stockholm. On the eve of the wedding, the celebrated pop group ABBA donned
wigs and rococo costumes, rendering their chart number "Dancing Queen" to a
bejewelled and giggling Silvia at Stockholm's opera house.
The following day the couple arrived together for the ceremony at the
Storkyrkan church. The bride looked radiant in a simple cut dress by Dior
and a lace veil held in place by the Queen Josephine cameo tiara. Silvia
entered the church as Fra�lein Sommerlath and when she and Carl Gustaf left
to the postlude by Johan Helmich Roman, the congregation bowed and curtsied
to Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden.
Queen Silvia soon picked up the royal way of life. After the honeymoon the
couple set out on a tour of Sweden, and Silvia carried out her public duties
with ease from the onset. She was quick to adopt the royal dress code of
classic understated elegance. In addition, she had one of the finest
European royal jewellery collections at her disposal and soon learned how to
show it off to the best advantage. It was Silvia here, there and everywhere,
and her sweet smile graced all the front pages.
There was no indication that she was ever struck by what was later to be
known as the 'princess' disease'. There were no signs of weight losses and
make-overs. The young queen did seek advice however, many years later she
would reveal that Queen Ingrid of Denmark had been one of her most important
mentors.
After a couple of years it was evident that the Swedish Royal family had
experienced a renaissance. The Queen turned out to be a discreet support for
the often insecure and gaffe-prone King, who obviously prospered at her
side. Like her mentor Queen Ingrid she developed an almost uncanny sense of
presence. Eventually the republicans realised that they were fighting a
losing battle.
Their first child, princess Victoria was born in 1977, followed by Crown
Prince Carl Philip in 1979. The king was powerless and frustrated when the
Swedish government changed the succession law in favour of absolute
primogeniture in 1980. Princess Madeleine completed the flock in 1982.
Queen Silvia soon became the patron of a number of charities and
organisations, with her main focus
on the disabled and the children. After her mother suffered dementia, this
interest group was added to the list. In 1999 she founded the World
Childhood Foundation, a vehicle for her engagement in child welfare,
especially in the developing world. After thirty years in Sweden the
popularity of Queen Silvia is rock solid. Criticisms have been few and far
in between. At 63 she is still attractive, looking younger than her years,
causing persistent rumours of discreet Brazilian face lifts. Her Swedish is
still laced with a slight German accent, and her low pitched voice is still
reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy's whisper. She is very disciplined about her
regime and royal duties, a German trait perhaps, rumoured to keep the palace
staff on their toes.
The news of her father's Nazi past did cause some turbulence, but nothing
devastating. However the Swedes, trying to come to terms with the alleged
Nazi sympathies of some Royal Family members during WW2, did wonder why (or
if) this information was withheld at the time of Silvia's introduction to
Sweden.
The Queen cherishes traditional family values and has been known to
disapprove when friends of the King traded in their wives for a younger
model. She would also appear as a hands-on parent, however the official
duties probably distracted her at a crucial time. The royal court was slow
to admit to the anorexia nervosa of Crown Princess Victoria in the mid
nineties. Eventually Queen Silvia decided to go public and share her worries
about Victoria's condition.
In the not too distant future the royal children will start their own
families. And the youthful Queen Silvia of Sweden must reconcile herself to
the idea of becoming a grandmother.
At the bottom line: Queen Silvia revived the Swedish monarchy and became a
graceful and beloved queen consort. She passed the test with flying yellow
and blue colours and has been a brilliant representative of Sweden for the
past thirty years. All there's left to say is, that if the new batch of
future queen consorts with commoner background in Denmark, Norway, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and most likely the United Kingdom turn out to
be just half
as charming, able and dedicated as Queen Silvia, their populations will have
something to look forward to!.
- Viv Rosendahl
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