Queen Silvia is the latest royal to receive the television treatment, and the actress slated to play Sweden’s queen consort is a member of Bavarian nobility herself.
German Queen is an upcoming German-Swedish co-production that will trace the early life of Silvia Sommerlath and how her fateful meeting with Crown Prince Carl Gustaf at the Summer Olympics in Munich in 1972 changed the course of her life. The royal couple’s relationship, including Queen Silvia’s commoner past and the constraints of public pressure and duty to the crown, will also be explored.
According to German tabloids, filming is set to begin this year, and the actress cast as Queen Silvia is a member of the Bavarian nobility. Alicia von Rittenberg is a countess of the Rittberg Family but does not use her title or style professionally.
von Rittberg is a German actress who’s previous credits include royalty: she played Queen Elizabeth I in the series Becoming Elizabeth, which traced the early life of the Tudor queen but was cancelled after one season. The series ended with her half-brother, Edward VI’s illness. Edward VI passed away in 1553, five years before his half-sister eventually acceded to the throne.
German Queen is set to begin filming scenes in Munich this year, though a release date has not been announced.
A previous Swedish version of The Crown was announced in 2022 and was said to have started filming though there have been no updates since then. Monarki, a six-episode series written by Åsa Lantz was said to cover the early years of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s life pre-reign, and further seasons would delve into his reign.
The Swedish Royal Family did not collaborate on the project, though they did answer questions posted by Lantz in the writing process.
Crown Princess Victoria was asked, at the time, her thoughts on the series and said, “I would rather not be portrayed. Maybe I’ll be away for the whole season.”
While Queen Silvia may soon be watching a dramatised version of her life on screen, she’s not the first royal to be the subject of a television series—and likely won’t be the last.
Queen Máxima’s early life and relationship with King Willem-Alexander is the subject of Máxima, and its newest season debuts this March. The first season ends with the royal couple becoming engaged and the second season will feature their wedding and Queen Máxima’s adjustment to royal life.
The Commoner traces the relationship of King Harald and Queen Sonja in the 1960s, when society—and pressure from his father—kept the couple from going public and marrying for nearly a decade.
