Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland (born Sofia Kristina Hellqvist; 6 December 1984), is a member of the Swedish royal family. Before marrying Prince Carl Philip in 2015 and becoming a princess of Sweden, Sofia was a glamour model and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

contestant. They have four children, Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Prince Julian and Princess Ines, who are fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the

line of succession to the Swedish throne The order of succession, line of succession to the Monarchy of Sweden, Swedish throne is determined by the Swedish Act of Succession, Act of Succession (), originally approved jointly by the Riksdag of the Estates assembled in Örebro and King ...

, respectively.

Early life and education

Sofia Hellqvist was born at Danderyd Hospital in Danderyd, to a Swedish mother, Marie Britt Rotman (born 1957), a marketing manager in the plastics industry, and a Danish-Swedish father, Erik Oscar Hellqvist (born 1949), an employment counsellor at the Swedish employment agency.Kvarnkullen, Tomas (11 June 2015). She was baptised on 26 May 1985 in Tibble Church. She moved to Älvdalen at the age of six. She has two sisters, Lina Hellqvist (a humanitarian project coordinator, born 1982) and Sara Hellqvist (a

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

, born 1988). She attended Älvdalen Montessori School and Älvdal School. She studied the arts programme at Vansbro Education Centre.

Career

At the age of 20, Hellqvist was published in photos in the men's magazine '' Slitz'' wearing only a

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

bottom and a live

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also known as the common boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the Family (b ...

around her upper body and was later voted ''Miss Slitz 2004'' by readers. ''

Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...

'' republished the photos in 2010 after her relationship with Prince Carl Phillip was confirmed. Hellqvist was subsequently cast in the '' Paradise Hotel'' reality show on TV4 where she made it to the final. Hellqvist was mentioned in some newspapers for having kissed American

adult film Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

star

Jenna Jameson Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American businesswoman, writer, television personality, and former pornographic film actress. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainm ...

while in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

to film the show. She had a much publicised feud with co-star Olinda Castielle and finally voted Castielle off the show. In 2005, she moved to New York to study accounting, specialising in business development while working as a certified yoga instructor. After relocating back to Sweden, she studied global ethics, child and youth science, children's communication and the

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

in theory, and in Swedish practice at Stockholm University. She also worked part-time as a

waitress Waiting staff ( BrE), waiters () / waitresses (), or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested. Waiting staff ...

and glamour model.

Marriage and motherhood

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia 2015-8064

In July 2010, the Swedish Royal Court confirmed the relationship between Sofia Hellqvist and Prince Carl Philip. In April 2011, the couple moved in together in

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

of Stockholm, which was confirmed by the palace. On 27 June 2014, the couple's engagement was announced, and in December, Hellqvist made an appearance at the Nobel Banquet with her future husband. In May 2015, it was announced that she would receive the title of princess. The couple

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

at Slottskyrkan in Stockholm on 13 June 2015. On 19 April 2016, Sofia gave birth to their first child, Prince Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil, Duke of

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

. Their second child, Prince Gabriel Carl Walther, Duke of

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

, was born on 31 August 2017. Their third child, Prince Julian Herbert Folke, Duke of

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

, was born on 26 March 2021. Their fourth child, a daughter, Princess Ines Marie Lilian Silvia, Duchess of

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...

, was born on 7 February 2025. All four children were born at Danderyd Hospital. On 7 October 2019, Sofia's father-in-law, the king, issued a statement rescinding the royal status of Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel in an effort to more strictly associate Swedish royalty to the office of the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

; they are still to be styled as princes and dukes of their provinces, and they remain in the line of succession to the throne. Sofia and Carl Philip commented that their sons now will have more freedom of choice for their future lives.

Charity work

In 2010, Hellqvist was one of the co-founders of non-profit organisation ''Project Playground'', a charity that assists underprivileged children in South Africa. Princess Sofia is the honorary chair. To mark the occasion of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's marriage in 2015, the couple founded Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's Foundation. The foundation's purpose is to counteract bullying. Princess Sofia is an honorary chair of Sophiahemmet since 2016. She succeeded Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, who had been honorary chair since 1972. In April 2020, the Princess completed a three-day emergency online training course from Sophiahemmet University, created to help hospitals amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It was announced that she would work as a volunteer at the Sophiahemmet Hospital in Stockholm, where she would support "doctors and nurses through kitchen shifts, disinfecting instruments and cleaning."

Titles, styles and honours

Sofia is styled as Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia, The Duchess of Värmland.

Honours

National

*: **

Member and Commander of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

Member of the Royal Family Decoration of King Carl XVI Gustaf ** SWE King Carl XVI Gustaf Jubilee Medal III

Recipient of the 70th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf ** Recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf

Foreign

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins () is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean state, the independentist gener ...

(10 May 2016) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

(17 May 2022) * : Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour (30 January 2024) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(17 January 2018) * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(2 November 2018) * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (11 October 2022) * : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (16 November 2021)

References

External links

*
Royal Court of Sweden - Princess Sofia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sofia, Sweden, Princess of 1984 births Living people People from Danderyd Municipality People from Älvdalen Municipality Swedish female models Yoga teachers Swedish people of Danish descent Princesses of Sweden Swedish duchesses Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Order of Civil Merit members Princesses by marriage Royalty and nobility models Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)