Queen Silvia of Sweden is in Washington, D.C., on a largely private visit. She is in the Nation's Capital for her work with the Mentor Foundation, an international drug prevention organization. On Thursday, she visited the Cesar Chavez Public Charter school, where the organization is considering a grant. As the queen greeted school officials, reporters were permitted to take photographs, but not ask questions. She also stopped into a SAT-prep class, and chatted briefly with students. One asked the Queen if he could be her king.
Queen Silvia is the wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
"Thanks to my position when I married His Majesty, I can attract attention to certain issues like the handicapped, drug problems, sexual abuse of children, or the elderly dementia. I'm very thankful for that."
The Queen, who is fluent in six languages, including English, later told reporters that it was a difficult balance. "Even if you have a question close to your heart, I don't want to interfere politically. I feel that people understand that and respect me for that."
Queen Silvia, a German-born commoner, married King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. In June, the couple's eldest child, Crown Princess Victoria, married her longtime boyfriend, Swedish commoner, Daniel Westling, who is now HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden.
"As a mother, it was a very big moment. Of course, you have all those questions with the dress, the cake, all those bits and pieces.... I must say, the people of the court did a wonderful job. But I think the best job were the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel. They were able to make a private area around it, but share it with everybody. So I think everyone felt they were a part of it."
Last night, Queen Silvia attended the Mentor Foundation's awards dinner at the Four Seasons hotel.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/10/rs-_queen.html
a short video http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/10/15/VI2010101502969.html
Earlier this week, the queen and her younger daughter, Princess Madeleine, were in New York City for the World Childhood Foundation, which the Queen founded 11 years ago.
http://www.mentorfoundation.org/
http://www.childhood.org/eng/
http://www.childhood.org/eng/pages.asp?r_id=45479
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