Carl Philip to marry Sofia: Official

@kungahuset.se

@kungahuset.se

UPDATE:  King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has given his permission to HRH Prince Carl Philip to marry Sofia Hellqvist.  Wedding to take place in the summer of 2015.

http://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalfamily/latestnews/latestnews/announcementfromthemarshaloftherealm.5.44b9de9714527ae8f1d2945a.html

Carl Philip proposed this morning at the couple's summer home. "Sofia has today said yes to the question to spend the rest of her life together with me. Today is a very happy day for Sofia and I."

 He told the press: “Sofia has a huge heart. Wise and warm She makes me feel comfortable."

Here is a link to her official CV, as prepared by the palace.  Let's just say the CV is a bit conservative, and leaves out a few things.

Sofia was born on December 6, 1984.  She worked as a model, and was Miss Slitz 2004.  She achieved this latter honor from the men's magazine, Slitz.  She posed for a photograph wearing only a bikini bottom and a boa constrictor around her upper torso.
She also appeared in the Swedish reality TV show, Paradise Hotel.

In 2005, Sofia came to New York City where she studied to become a yoga teacher. She also started her own Yoga center in New York.  She also caught the attention of the press when she acknowledged "making out" with American porn star Jenna Jameson in Las Vegas.  (So much for what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.)

Sofia became Carl Philip's main squeeze after his breakup with long time girlfriend, Emma Pernald.  They have now been together since 2010.

A year earlier,  Sofia spent time in Ghana  helping to build a women's center.  She is now involved with Project Playground, in Langa, South Africa, a center for orphaned and abused children  The charity was co-founded by Sofia and her sister, Frida Vesterburg.

http://www.project-playground.org/#


Since April 2011, the couple have lived together at Carl Philip's home in a house in Djurgarden.  He does not yet live in Villa Solbakken, which he had inherited from his late great uncle, Prince Bertil of Sweden.   Carl Philip was finally able to take possession of the home after the death of Bertil's widow, Princess Lilian, but the house remains empty.  (The irony of this:  Prince Bertil had to wait decades to get permission to marry the woman he loved.)

The semi-nude photos, the reality TV program, etc., are all apart of Sofia's past.  I stress the word past.  One can only assume that Carl Philip held his ground in order to win his father's permission (and the government, too) to marry Miss Hellqvist.

As a devout Lutheran, I am willing to give Sofia a chance to prove herself as a future royal.   She will never be queen.  One hopes Crown Princess Victoria will have at least one more child to move Carl Philip to fourth place in the line of succession.  What really matters now is how Sofia will live her life as a member of the Swedish royal family.  She could use her position to take a stand against pornography, and how it demeans women.   Just a thought.

The wedding is scheduled for the summer of 2015.  Plenty of time to metamorphous into someone who will have earned the respect of the Swedish people.