How Princess Sofia went from being a reality TV star and model to a loved Swedish royal

It is becoming more common for ordinary people to have had careers before marrying into one of Europe’s royal families.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands was a Wall Street banker. Queen Letizia of Spain was a journalist for ABC and CNN.

However, none of them quite match the colorful past of Princess Sofia of Sweden, Duchess of Värmland, who once modeled topless with only a snake wrapped around her torso to maintain her modesty.

But even that couldn’t prevent her becoming a royal eight years ago today in a glamorous wedding to Prince Carl Philip.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden leave their wedding ceremony at the Royal Palace in 2015. The Prince’s eldest sister, Crown Princess Victoria, is heir apparent

The Prince and Princess with their two eldest sons, Prince Alexander, now six, and Prince Gabriel, five

Princess Sofia, now 38, then starred in a Love Island-style reality TV show before moving to New York, where she became a yoga teacher and studied accountancy.

When she joined the Swedish royal family in 2015, there was, as you might expect, a backlash.

However, she has since become one of the most beloved members of the Swedish royal family, praised for her work in hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sofia Hellqvist was born on December 6, 1984 in the affluent enclave of Danderyd north of Stockholm to a Swedish mother, who worked in marketing, and a Danish-Swedish father who worked at the Swedish employment agency.

She was the middle of three girls.

After graduating from school, she completed an art program at Vansbro Education Center where she did modeling to earn money while studying in Stockholm.

Known for her piercing blue eyes and dark brown hair, Sofia took part in her first modeling shoot when she was 20.

It saw her posing topless in camo print bikini bottoms and holding a live boa constrictor to maintain her modesty.

The racy photos were published in Slitz – a now discontinued men’s magazine in Sweden.

The photos were so popular that Sofia was crowned Miss Slitz 2004 by the readers.

She continued modeling, including some less mundane shoots for the French style magazine La Redoute.

After graduating from school, she completed an art program at Vansbro Education Center and began modeling to earn money while studying in Stockholm.

During the pandemic, Princess Sofia took a three-day medical course at Sophiahemmet University College in Stockholm. This allowed her to work in the departments

Princess Sofia and Prince Carl at the christening of Princess Adrienne, daughter of his younger sister Princess Madeleine

After modeling, Sofia got the chance to join the Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel – a mix between Love Island and Survivor.

The show documents a group of single people living in a luxury hotel. Sofia eventually made it to the series finale, where she was filmed kissing American porn star Jenna Jameson.

However, after the show, she decided to leave the showbiz industry for a life in the Big Apple.

Sofia arrived in New York in 2005 to study accounting and business development at the New York Institute of English and Business.

While attending the institution in the city, she also studied yoga where she became a qualified yoga instructor.

When she returned to Sweden, she continued her studies and took courses at Stockholm University on global ethics, child and youth studies and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in theory and Swedish practice. She also studied gender and international relations.

In July 2010, her relationship with Prince Carl Philip was announced by the palace.

It’s not entirely known how the couple met, but it’s clear that Sofia crossed paths with the prince, whose eldest sister Crown Princess Victoria is the heir to the throne, at a nightclub in Stockholm.

Princess Sofia attended the Nobel Prize Banquet at Stockholm City Hall in Sweden in 2018

Princess Sofia said she faced a “hate storm” when her relationship with Prince Carl was first made public

Nine months after their relationship was made public, the couple moved to Stockholm’s Djurgården, where they still live in the Villa Solbacken.

However, after their relationship was announced, Sofia faced a public backlash due to her past life as a glamor model.

She has spoken openly about her struggles from life in the showbiz industry to life in the royal family when she received a bout of online abuse from members of the public.

Princess Sofia told Swedish channel TV4 in 2021: “I got a huge hate storm from people who had an opinion about me as a person, about my relationship.

“I was surprised and it definitely touched me.

“I didn’t understand people’s need to express how bad they felt about me. It was heavy.

‘I don’t regret anything. All these experiences have made me the person I am.’

It was not the first time she spoke out about the public criticism she received.

Speaking about bullying at the Let’s Make Love Great Again festival in 2018, she described how the media raged “to overthrow her.”

She explained, “People had opinions about me and my relationship, and more. It was very heavy. People commented on everything possible, what I do and what I look like.’

“When my relationship with Carl-Philip became public, I was greeted by a huge storm of hate.

“People had opinions about me and my relationship, and more. It surprised me and knocked me over for a moment,” she told TV4 shortly before.

Sofia’s engagement to Prince Carl was announced on June 27, 2014 and the couple married on June 13, 2015 at the Royal Chapel.

Since then she has become a valuable member of the royal family,

It is not entirely known how the couple met, but it is clear that Sofia crossed paths with the prince at a nightclub in Stockholm

Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip who do not have HRH titles would give their children more freedom as they get older

After their wedding, the newlywed royal couple established the Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia’s Foundation.

Princess Sofia devotes much of her time to the charity, which mainly focuses on issues related to young people being safer online and with greater understanding and respect for people with dyslexia.

The princess devotes much of her time to the foundation, which focuses on issues related to a safer daily online life for young people and more respect and understanding for people with dyslexia.

In 2016, the couple’s first son Prince Alexander, six, was born, followed by their second son Prince Gabriel, five, in 2017 and their youngest Prince Julian.

In 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf decreed that Princess Sofia’s sons, as well as those of Princess Madeline, Prince Carl Philip’s sister, will not hold HRH titles.

Although they will still be prince and princess, they will not receive any taxpayer money.

At the time of the announcement, Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip said it would give their children more freedom as they get older.

When asked by Royal Central if she ever thought of retiring from royal life like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, she said: ‘No. Not really. I think I’ve found such a fantastic balance, and I really see it as a positive thing that I’ve made it through these stormy years.

In 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf decreed that the sons of Princess Sofia and Prince Carl Philip, and the sons of his sister Princess Madeline, will not hold HRH titles. Pictured: The couple’s sons Princes Alexander, Julian and Gabriel

“It’s such a huge advantage that we have the opportunity to be in both worlds a little bit.”

During the pandemic, Princess Sofia took a three-day medical course at Sophiahemmet University College in Stockholm, where she is honorary president.

This meant she could help with healthcare work and fight the pandemic that has killed 22,645 people since 2020.

Photos surfaced of her scrubbed, posing with other staff working at Sophiahemmet Hospital.