5 Things to Know About Sweden’s New (Ridiculously Good-Looking) Royal Couple
We all love a real-life fairytale, which explains our ongoing obsession with Kate Middleton and Prince William. But now there’s a new royal couple with a love story so Gen-Y, you’ll forget all about Wills and the Duchess. We’re talking about Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, who recently married former reality TV star Sofia Hellqvist, officially making her Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland.
While Prince Carl might not nab as many international headlines as Britain’s Prince William, the handsome groom definitely has that whole Prince Charming thing nailed. Here’s what you need to know about the newest—and most attractive—royal couple to watch.
1. They met through friends.
The couple started dating in 2010, and—aside from the royal titles and media attention—their love story is refreshingly relatable. Five years ago, the pair were eating in the same restaurant with friends who happened to know each other and introduced them. “We started with a shy greeting and everything followed,” Carl Philip explained after announcing their engagement. The two moved in together in 2011, announced their engagement in June last year, and tied the knot on June 13.
2. Philip is third in line to the throne.
Despite their grand titles, this royal couple will probably never inherit the throne—Carl Philip has an older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, who is next in line. For the first year of Carl Philip’s life, absolute primogeniture (the law that allows a younger brother to inherit before his elder sister) was still the rule in Sweden, so he was named Crown Prince Carl Philip. However, the law was abolished in 1980, making his older sister, Crown Princess Victoria, next in line. Carl Philip is now third in line for the throne.
3. Sofia was a reality star—seriously.
Before becoming a princess, Sofia was a reality TV star on the 2005 series of “Paradise Hotel.” She’s also a former ‘glamour model’ best known for this topless shoot with a boa constrictor when she was 20 years old, but Sofia says she’s got no regrets: “All experiences build a person, although I wouldn’t do it now if you asked me,” she said in an interview with Swedish TV. Of course not—you’re a princess now.
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4. But she’s also a brain.
Like Kate Middleton, Sofia was blessed with the gene for infallible bouncy brown hair and enters the royal family without any of her own titles, but that’s not the only similarities these two royal brides share. Like Kate, Sofia is beautiful and smart–she studied accounting in New York, as well as various courses in global ethics, child and youth science, and children’s communication at Stockholm University, and has volunteered in South Africa, Senegal, and Ghana.
5. The princess is also a yogi
Sofia is also a serious yogi, a passion she picked up while living in New York City. She became a certified yoga teacher after studying the practice at Yoga To The People, and later opened her own yoga center in Manhattan and launched a line of yoga gear called Drop of Mindfulness.
Aside from being third in the line for the Swedish throne, this pair also happen to be, well, ridiculously good-looking. So while they’ve only been married for a couple of weeks, we’d like to put in an early request for dozens of photos of the adorable, genetically-blessed royal babies these two will undoubtedly have.
