The longest-serving, commoner-born, Modern 'DANCING QUEEN' - SILVIA of Sweden AT 75
Portrait published on November 22 (2018), ahead of Queen Silvia's Jubilee
Just before Christmas of 2018, Queen Silvia of Sweden turned 75. The wife of current King Carl XVI Gustaf, and Sweden's longest-serving Royal consort, marked her actual birthDay, December 23, privately with her husband, three children & seven grandchildren. Additional events however, including a seminar (familiar to her charity work) & a palace reception for high profile authorities took place in the week bwfore the Jubilee, while Her Majesty also spoke openly for the first time about the controversial issue of her German father's participation to the Nazi party, in an extended interview she gave to the Swedish state Television (SVT).
Celebrations:
Birthday celebrations, leading up to the Jubilee were announced a month earlier with the Queen's new portraits published by Swedish Royal Court. The events kicked off on Tuesday, 18 December (2018) with a 'seminar for invited guests' at Stockholm's Oscar Theatre. Special tributes were paid by the attendees to Her Majesty's contribution through charities and special initiatives to current issues, related to the wellbeing of children, young people & the elderly on a global level. It featured "a tribute show for Her Majesty the Queen" including moving tributes by her children and entertainment provided by artists from the musical "As It Is in Heaven" and pupils from the (country's) Junior Academy Music School. It was a behind-close-doors event, filmed and later broadcasted on TV.
Celebrations continued the next day with a reception at the Royal Palace (Stockholm) for members of "authorities, organisations and the(ir) equivalent", who congratulated Queen Silvia in person. Meanwhile, the same day (Wednesday, December 19), the Royal Palace's "Kingdom Hall" opened to people who wished to leave a birthday message to their Queen Consort, from noon till 3pm (local time). Congratulatory wishes were also available online. Finally, the Queen requested the wellwishers in lieu of gifts to donate into three organisations of her royal life's contribution: the "World Childhood Foundation", "Mentor Foundation" and "Silviahemmet".
Charities:
Queen Silvia (sitting) participates in a seminar
(in Brazil), with its topic, related to children
Queen Silvia has been actively involved in charities, especially ever since the 1990s. She established "Mentor International" in 1994 (in collaboration with UN's World Health Organisation). It is an international youth development NGO, preventing use of drugs & substance abuse and aiming to use mentoring as a way to inspire & motivate young people towards healthy choises in life. She is now the honorary board member of this foundation, along with other fellow royals, including Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and (dowager) Queen Noor of Jordan. Silvia also founded The World Childhood Foundation (or simply Childhood) in 1999, supporting children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, street children, children facing alternative care, or from families at risk. Over the last 20 years, it has supported at least 115 programs in 17 countries worldwide, playing still an active role, while engaging to a long list of corporate sponsors. The Queen is the charity's head & hopes to pass on this position to her younger daughter, Princess Madeleine, when the time comes. Furthermore, Her Majesty is the co-initiator of her husband's Global Child Forum, defending children's rights (according to the UN convention) & advancing them in business. She is additionally a honorary member of 37 organisations and has commited herself with dementia patients in memory of her mother, who also suffered from this ailment at the end of her life. SilviaHemmet is an initiative of the Queen to make hospitals & elderly caring centres more friendly for people with dementia.
Controversy:
Silvia (as a child,) pictured with her father
However, Queen Silvia's reputation didn't escape controversy. In 2002 sources arised that her German father (deceased in 1990), was involved into the foreign branchof German Nazi Party (NSDAP/AO) while working in Brazil to a (German) steel company. After it was proven that Walter Sommerlath (Silvia's father) joined the Nazi party in 1934 and seized the factory of a Jewish businessman in 1939 (as part of then Nazis' Aryanisation of properties' program), the Queen became subject of harsh criticism and international accusations by of having not spoken out about it since her marriage in 1976. She initially denied the knowledge of these facts (as her father did with the entire fact he was involved at all during his lifetime), and tried to indicate that he wasn't active either way in war actions (during WWII). Hovewer, after this subject's attention increased, and the truth became clear in the turn of years, Silvia wrote a complaint letter to a producer of documentary about her father's alleged past, accusing him of trying a "character assassination". In 2011, Queen Silvia published a report, commissioned from WWII expert Erik Norberg, concluding that Sommerlath recompensed (Jewish businessman) Efim Wechsler with a cofee plantation for the (traded) factory and helped him to escape from Germany. This report, thouth, was dissmissed by American Gathering of Holocaust survivors, citing that Norberg was a royal family's ally and comprising it to a "whitewash" from HM's side.
Jubilee Interview!
The Queen (left) with two of her grandchildren
& her daughter-in-law (Princess Sofia)
In an extensive interview to the Swedish television, broadcasted Monday, December 17 (2018), Silvia referred on this topic, for the first time openly to the public. She said that it came as a "big shock" when it became evident. The Queen also added that now, as time passed and things came out, she doesn't try to detract from reality, and justified her father as not an active member, who made his choice without expecting what happened afterwards. This interview featured Queen Silvia's lifetime in a hourly documentary, called "Drottning Silvia 75 år". Among others, Her Majesty expressed her adamant will not to retire and continue working in every fields as long as possible. She also told about their common determination with her husband the King, to continue perform their royal & state duties and let their elder daughter, Crown Princess Victoria to enjoy her time with her husband and two little children as much as possible. Silvia has always shown delight in her grandchildren, describing them as "the dessert of life" (a phrase probably previously used by her mother), tries to spend a lot of quality time with them, and has their photos even on the case of her cellphone!.
OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY PORTRAIT
'THE MODERN DANCING QUEEN'
Silvia Renate Sommerlath (as she was originally known) was born on 23 December 1943, the only daughter of Walter & Alice (née Soares de Toledo) Sommerlath. Her mother was of Brazilian origin, and she has three other brothers (two of whom still living). Silvia (who was born in Germany) and her family moved to Brazil in 1947 and stayed there for 10 years. Here she attended a bilingular college/school (with both German and Portuguese implemented). Being already bilingual from early on, Silvia later learned more languages and now also speaks English, Swedish, Spanish and French, bein also fluent in Swedish Sign language, used by the country's deaf community. She graduated from a girls' high school in German city of Düsseldorf(1963) and then studied at the Spanish-majority Munich School of Interpreting (1965-69), before working at city's Argentinian consultate.
The King & Queen at their wedding
Here in 1972, during the Summer Olympics where she worked as a translator and hostess, Silvia Sommerlath met her future husband, then Crown Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden. The latter claimed in a later interview that their 'just clicked' from their very first meeting. Silvia is 2 years older than Carl Gustaf. In 1973 he succeeded his grandfather (Gustaf VI Adolf) as King (Carl XVI Gustaf), while by 1974, Silvia Renate had already moved to his sister's appartment in Stockholm (, Sweden). Their engagement was announced on 12 March 1976, with Silvia (who wasn't yet so fluent in Swedish) being assisted by her future husband during their joint interview that day. The King gave her the engagement ring of his late mother (Princess Sibylla). At the Royal Variety Performance - the day before their wedding - the popular group ABBA performed their new hit "Dancing Queen" in its first live (& domestic) performance, as a tribute to the upcoming Queen. Carl Gustaf and Silvia married on 19 June 1976, with the latter becoming the first commoner Queen consort in Swedish history. It was a royal wedding of major interest (as no Sovereign monarch of Sweden had married while on throne after 1797), with the reception being broadcasted live worldwide to over a million of watchers. The bride & new Queen wore a gown designed by Dior with her veil dating back to the 1850s. Together the King and Queen have three children: Crown Princess Victoria (b. 1977), Prince Carl-Philip (b. 1979) & Princess Madeleine (b. 1982) - all of whom have married commoners - and through them seven grandchildren (all of whom do have a royal title at the time being).
With her entire family (of then-5 grandchildren) in Summer 2017's photosession
Queen Silvia of Sweden pioneered being the first commoner to wed a Swedish sovereign and becoming his consort. She also saw the change of Swedish Act of Succession, implemented on her children's generation, with male-preferenceprimogeniture turning into absolute (primogeniture) from 1980, and thus her eldest daughter becoming Crown Princessin her own right instead of her only son. With her husband reigning for 45 years, but becoming just last-year Sweden's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Silvia has already been the kingdom's longest-serving Royal consort since surpassing Queen Sophia (Carl XVI Gustaf's great-great-grandmother) in 2011. The Queen was often described as a down-to-the-earth human being, close to her Portuguese roots, who initially found it difficult to get accustomed of royal life, but has all along been thankful to the Swedish people for having accepted her. She enjoys concerts, operas and music, as well as gardering & sports (in which until recently, she was very active), shares the King's interest of nature & outdoor walks, and likes history of art too (though she had never learned it). Her Majesty is decorated with numerous national and foreign honors, having also received various awards and (honorary) doctorates (from both Sweden and abroad). Living at the palace, but enjoying privacy, being regular in her official duties, & causual in everyday life with a harmonious aura within her, she is indeed a modern 'dancing Queen'!
At a centenary event of Norway's separation from Sweden
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