I thought it would be nice to start a thread about the current queen of Sweden, since she has really modernized the Swedish monarchy and brought so much color and grace to her position.
Carl Gustav promised his grandfather that he would not marry before the age of 30. After he met and began to date Sylvia, the Swedish press put a lot of pressure on him to marry, but he refused to comment. Sylvia was a beautiful woman but a foreigner and not royalty, so there were mixed feelings about her. The fact that she did not speak to the press made her mysterious.
After the King died and Carl Gustav succeeded, he proposed to Sylvia and they were married. He was madly in love with her, but there was some question as to whether she felt equally in love or simply thought this would be a good future for her. After all, Carl Gustav is not the most interesting person on the planet nor the most handsome!
Within a very short period of time, Sylvia became the most beloved Swedish royal. She dressed exquisitely, had a beautiful hairstyle, and always said the right thing. People flocked to see the royal couple - quite a change in this socialist country where although the old king was much loved, the people weren't convinced that a monarchy was still the way to go. Sylvia was on the cover of every magazine and there were articles about her every day.
As the children were born, Sylvia made sure that there were photo opportunities and that the children, while living a pretty simple life, were exposed to the people. Every year, a book is published about the royal family and what they did and where they went.
As time has gone by, Sylvia has become slightly less popular. She is perceived by some to be clinging to youth - plastic surgery rumors - and to be domineering of her husband. Some have insinuated that her strong personality and fixation on appearance contributed to Crown Princess Victoria's anorexia. However, she remains extremely popular and contributes her time and energy to a variety of causes all over Sweden and the world.
