Princess Sofia

Background

Sofia Kristina Hellqvist, was born in Danderyd Hospital on December 6, 1984, to Swedish mother Marie Britt Rotman and Danish–Swedish father Erik Oscar Hellqvist. On May 26, 1985, she was baptized in Tibble Church. When she was six years old, she moved to Alvdalen. She attended Alvdalen Montessori School and Alvdalen School. Hellqvist studied the arts at Vansbro Education Centre. At the age of 20, Hellqvist was photographed wearing only a bikini bottom and a live boa constrictor around her upper body for the men’s magazine “Slitz,” and was later chosen “Miss Slitz 2004” by readers. “Expressen” released the images when her relationship with Prince Carl Philip was disclosed in 2010. Hellqvist was cast in TV4’s “Paradise Hotel” reality show after winning “Miss Slitz,” where she made it to the final. She had a well-publicized feud with Olinda Castielle on the show, and she eventually voted Castielle off.

She traveled to New York in 2005 to study accounting with a focus on business development. She has also studied global ethics, child and youth science, children’s communication, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, both in theory and in Swedish practice, at Stockholm University. She has also worked in New York as a certified yoga instructor. She moved back to Stockholm to study and work part-time as a waiter and glamor model. According to many tabloids, Hellqvist kissed American adult film star Jenna Jameson while filming a Swedish version of the reality show “Paradise Hotel” in Las Vegas. In July 2010, the Swedish Royal Court approved Hellqvist’s relationship with Prince Carl Philip. According to the palace, the pair moved in together in Djurgrden, Stockholm, in April 2011. The pair announced their engagement on June 27, 2014. Hellqvist accompanied her future husband to the Nobel Banquet in December. In May 2015, it was announced that she would be given the title of princess. The couple married at Slottskyrkan in Stockholm on June 13, 2015.

On April 19, 2016, she gave birth to their first child, Prince Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil, Duke of Södermanland. On August 31, 2017, their second child, Prince Gabriel Carl Walter, Duke of Dalarna, was born. Finally, their third child, Prince Julian Herbert Folke, Duke of Halland, was born on March 26, 2021. On October 7, 2019, her father-in-law, the king, revoked Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel’s royal status to better associate Swedish royalty with the office of the head of state. However, they will remain in the line of succession to the throne. Hellqvist and Carl Philip both stated that their sons will now have more choices in their future lives.