Queen Silvia was back in her home country of Germany to receive a special honour in her birthplace.
While in Heidelberg (where she was born in 1943), the Queen of Sweden was given honourary citizenship in a special ceremony.
Lord Mayor Eckart Wuerzner welcomed Silvia to the Great Town Hall, where he later paid tribute to the German-born Queen, saying: “You care tirelessly for those who desperately need help and give them a voice.”
She was made an honourary citizen of Heidelberg for her relentless work and social commitment and was given a gift by the city.
A very moved Queen Silvia expressed her thanks for the honour and talked about her foundation, Childhood, which has a location in Germany.
She said: “I like to talk with pride about the castle, the Old Bridge, the more than 600-year-old university, the “Philosopher’s Way” hiking trail, the Nobel laureates and last but not least about my foundation Childhood and Childhood House Heidelberg! It is not difficult to be an ambassador for this beautiful and famous city. … It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be honoured in this way by the city where I was born, Heidelberg.”
Chief Information Officer at the Royal Court, Margareta Thorgen, told Svenskdam about the Queen’s trip to Germany that she was “very much looking forward to going and is grateful for this honour she receives from her hometown.”
Honourary citizenship is the highest honour presented by the city, and according to the Swedish Royal Court, it is given to those “who have in exceptional and exemplary ways served their fellow men, the common good and the city and its reputation.”
Queen Silvia renounced her German citizenship upon her marriage to King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. She renounced her German citizenship and surrendered her passport two days before her wedding to the King. She then became a Swedish citizen and has become very beloved in her adopted country.
