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Sweden

Sweden’s Princess Sofia weeps at the warm public welcome on her return to her homeland as a royal

Princess Sofia married her Prince in a lavish ceremony on 13 June 2015 in the Royal Chapel at Stockholm. Before she was known as Sofia Hellqvist and had a questionable career as a glamour model, which earned her the title Miss Slitz in 2004. For the first time since marrying 30-year-old Princess Sofia returned to the mythical Älvdalen in the Dalarna region, where she grew up. During the two-day-trip to Dalarna, she was accompanied by her new husband, and it was her first official trip as Sweden’s newest Princess.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia Wedding June 2015

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia Wedding June 2015

 

On Monday, the two met children in Borlänge, saw the Falun Mine, which is a World Heritage site and visited a bread bakery in Landsvägen. She introduced Carl Philip to the crowds as “This is my husband,” as if they were seeing him for the first time. She was moved to tears when she saw how many people had come out to see her.

On Tuesday, the couple traveled to a Sami village, who are the indigenous people of Scandinavia. The region is known for its preservation of an ancient Viking dialect called Elfdalian. Many people in the area still speak this dialect. The spokesperson for the city council was very pleased with the visit, as they see Princess Sofia as ‘their’ Princess.

Princess Sofia held a short speech while Prince Carl Philip dutifully held her flowers. Sofia spoke of the Elfdalian dialect and regretted that she does not speak it. She grew up in a generation where it was not particularly cool to speak it. Despite looking slightly nervous, the speech went quite well.

The two-day visit coincides with rumors that Prince Carl Philip will stand as godfather to his newborn nephew Prince Nicolas, who was born to his sister Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill. The baptism is set to take place on 11 October 2015 at the Royal Chapel of Drottningholm Palace.

Photocredit: Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia by Bengt Nyman via Flickr.com