Here is a portrait of the Swedish royal family over the weekend, celebrating National Day (June 6th). Even though Sofia Hellqvist has not officially married into the family yet – the wedding is this weekend – she was still allowed to participate and wear the traditional Swedish garb. Anyway, I’ve been sort of surprised by the sparse advance coverage for this wedding. Granted, people in America care more about the British royals and I truly wasn’t expecting, like, Kate Middleton-marrying-William type of excitement, but I genuinely thought this would be a bigger story. Instead, we’re getting half-hearted propaganda from Sofia’s former boss in NYC. Yes, Sofia used to be a waitress in New York. And her boss thinks she has a beautiful smile.
Sweden is preparing for the royal wedding of the summer between Sofia Hellqvist and Prince Carl Philip on Saturday — but less than 10 years ago, Sofia was a waitress and bartender in New York. The beauty worked at Italian restaurant Serafina, on 55th Street and Broadway, from 2005 to 2007.
Restaurant co-owner Fabio Granato told Page Six, “I remember her very well because she always had the best attitude with the customers and a really beautiful smile. If I was having a bad day, all I had to do was look at her, and I would feel better because she is the type of girl who is always happy and uplifting. She has a calming effect on people.”
He added that the restaurant had stayed in touch with Sofia, and, “We’re so happy that she is getting married and going to be the princess of Sweden. She always brought so much good energy to Serafina, and I’m sure she will be great for the entire country. [Serafina co-owner] Vittorio Assaf and I both have Swedish kids, so it is a very nice coincidence that one of our past employees is the future princess of Sweden. We’re really happy for her, and she will be a beautiful princess . . . We are so happy for her and we wish her all the best.”
Sofia was also a yoga instructor during her time in New York, and had previously appeared on a reality show and posed in a bikini — with a python — for a Swedish magazine called Slitz.
Yoga instructor, waitress, reality show star and softcore p0rn model. Just think about this: would Prince Harry ever be “allowed” to marry someone with those job descriptions in her CV? Maybe Harry would be allowed to marry a former waitress, as long as waiting tables was done “ironically” in Ibiza during one’s gap year or something like that. But it just feels like the Swedish royal family was like, “Ugh, anything goes with this one.”
Photos courtesy of Getty, Swedish royal family and WENN.
Weeds: “He always loved waitresses. They bring you food and their boobs are at eye level.”
Lol. I laughed loudly at that.
Are these just unflattering pictures or is she somewhat unattractive?
I think she is very pretty.
No exquisite beauty, but I think that pic in the white dress is just a bad pic.
she does not have perfect teeth, so what?
I agree, Delta Juliet, that she is somewhat unattractive (her forehead is enormous!). And that center part that she loves does her no favors, IMO.
“Her boss thinks she has a beautiful smile” – then you see the picture :S
Good job Kaiser lol
Delta- I have been wondering that in every article posted about her. How she was a model really throws me for a loop. I do think it’s her smile that throws me off… & it’s not the gap bc that’s not uncommon these days anyway.
I’d love to see how she stacks up against the people making disparaging comments about her looks. Pretty good, I’ll bet.
Nicole, you are saying before I comment about somebody’s attractiveness, first I need to decide if I’m more attractive than they are? If I’m not as attractive, I can’t comment? Huh…
And Mila…you’re the one who said she didn’t have perfect teeth. Nobody else mentioned that that would make her unattractive. That came from you– that judgement was all yours.
That done, she looks beautiful in the pic with the lavendar dress. I agree about that middle part in her hair– not a good idea with her high forehead. Also, she is maybe not very photogenic, some people just don’t take good pictures.
When did posing in a bikini become softcore p0rn? Is there something i missed? Seriously.
Also I think she has a lovely smile (my bestie has a gap tooth and I think it’s cute) but not in the pictures shown.
Yes, you must’ve missed something. People say “softcore porn” because she is known for her nude modelling and making out with pornstars.
The Thailand series (bondage) would be considered child porn by Swedish law.
@viv,
Good point. Most of Sofia’s modeling pictures are her in a bikini. There are pictures of Sofia in bikini bottoms but topless with the most notorious photos being of her with a snake, her breasts are covered in all those photos. There is also a video of Sofia from the reality show where she is again in a bikini bottom getting a massage, including on her bum, from one of her male castmates. Racy and tacky, yes but not soft-core porn.
Again, you are ignoring her topless (completely topless) and bottomless photo shoots. You just need to do a quick google search to see that you are incorrect.
@vivee,
What search term should I use because of the Google searches that I have done today and before today, I have yet to see any pictures of Sofia that go beyond PG-13? I checked my settings and the results are not filtered. I am not saying you’re wrong, just tell me what term to use.
To me the most questionable thing that she’s done are not so much the pictures she’s taken, but competing for something called Miss Slitz. The other questionable thing was that she had a blog where she wrote about her adventures and some of the comments she made were tasteless.
OK I did a search where I used the term topless and there are nude pictures of her, one is a head to toe rear-view picture of her, a butt close-up and another is a picture from the front that shows her breasts. So she’s done nude modeling but that is not the same as soft-core porn.
She modeled in a magazine and was literally referred to as a slut, in Swedish terms. Pretty porny.
Named Slitz model of the year. What an honor.
I agree completely!
Madeline’s half-smile says it all! She’s like, Ugh…
And she has to stand next to her all by herself! Poor Madeleine! 😉
Madeleine’s expression is probably more about that he husband bailed on an event – again. Chris has moved permanently to London leaving her heavily pregnant in Stockholm and obviously is not around at weekends either as this event was Saturday
He didn’t bail on an event. He is not a Swedish citizen, he is not a member of the working royal family. He refused titles and remains a private citizen, a dual citizen of the UK and USA. He can choose to attend events with his wife if he wants, but his presence is never required and would often be awkward.
If he’s in London right now, it is because he’s making final arrangements for their new home and prepping to move his wife and two young children there this summer. And unlike the rest of them, he has his own business to run. If he’s in Sweden this weekend for the wedding, he’d be working extra last week and weekend. IMO, he’s doing what he should be doing.
Why aren’t the men wearing traditional attire? The women look foolish next them in their suits.
That Page Six piece seems like PR.
I wouldn’t knock someone for being a yoga instructor or waitress- a lot of people do that and support themselves with those jobs. Which is not to say that she doesn’t seem shady, though (the reality show and soft-core p0rn modeling, for example) – but Carl Philip does, too.
If she did these jobs while in the US on her student visa, it is a violation of the visa, no?
There has been some news stating she was not allowed to work while in the U.S. on her student visa. Although, not sure how true any of it is.
F-1 students are allowed to work on campus jobs with permission. They are not allowed to work off-campus jobs unless specifically authorized by their schools and USCIS AND only if the work is related to their degree program. Most students and many employers knowingly violate these laws.
It seems highly likely that she worked illegally as a waitress and yoga instructor. The overwhelming majority of U.S. nonimmigrant work visas require people to work in jobs that require at least the attainment of a bachelor’s degree. There are a few short-term nonimmigrant visa categories that could theoretically allow her to work as a waitress and/or yoga instructor (e.g., J-1 or H-2B), but they would not allow her to work in the U.S. for two years. And I REALLY doubt that Serafina or the yoga studio would have been willing to sponsor her for a work visa, supply the required evidence to USCIS, and pay her the wages that USCIS would have mandated her to receive.
I’m sort of over the Sofia saltiness. If CP is happy, AND the King allowed the marriage, who the f*** are we to say to decide. What’s funny is that it’s mostly American bloggers who are kicking up a fuss. No one is perfect.
I just don’t like how long it took for the Parliment and the King to agree to Victoria’s marriage. They had to wait for years until it was clear to all involved that he wasn’t going anywhere.
A man running his own personal training business isn’t suitable to be consort to a queen but no one bats an eye with Sofia?
The double standards get to me. King Carl (?) Was against changing the act of succession as well. He wanted his son to be regent, not his daughter.
Carl Gustav is a douche. TBH I’ve found it weird how Sofia manages to attend all the major SRF events pre-marriage unlike the other 2. Also, Sofia deserves the clean slate the DoC got following her marriage. We’ll see whether she’s a lazy lay-a-about or not.
Maybe it’s just common sense. I smell a gold digger, but that’s obviously what he wants…
I also think that after all the affairs of his father went public it was easier for him to marry her. Plus Victoria follows her father, her brother is not that important…
I think she seems like a happy and fun person. I did a lot of stupid things in my 20’s.
Interesting how these royal men are “allowed” to fool around with women like Sofia, but when it comes time to get married, they are pressured to find someone “respectable.” At least Sofia worked to make a living; can’t say with any certainty that Carl Phillip wouldn’t be waiting tables or squeezing into bikinis too if he wasn’t living off tax payers.
Thanks for that visual.
She worked more in her life than Lazy Kate.
I agree. Being a server is hard work. To have a problem with her work history but not Kate’s is extremely classist.
The service industry is a hard place to work – long hours, terrible pay, so hats off to her for crafting.
Kate lived of her family while Sofia earned her own living (such as it was), so the girl deserves some respect for having a work ethic from a young age.
I’m slowly warming a little to her – but there has been a massive whitewash of her background and how the got together. She was rumoured to be the other woman when he was still with Emma Pernauld.
Did she have a temp Visa? Can Swedish people work in the US easily? Am always interested in Visas.
It is not clear what kind of visa she had at the time. Some reports suggest she was here on a student visa which means that she probably worked these jobs illegally. Many restaurants are not opposed to paying people “off the books” in cash. I suspect yoga studios pay their instructors as contract workers, not employees, in which case they would not inquire about her immigration status.
She looks like a brunette Elin (tigers ex-wife)
Unlike many americans the average european doesn’t think that being a waitress is something to be embarassed about. She traveled the world, made a living for herself, I think that’s a lott better than going to university just in hope to snatch up a rich man.
And so what if she was a reality TV star and a softporn model. It doesn’t hurt anybody and there’s obviously a demand for it.
From some of the comments about her one could think she slaughtered little children to make a living.
I would say the average American not only doesn’t have a problem with someone being a waitress, they might have been one themselves at one point. Personally, this average American doesn’t have a problem with her or how she made her living. More power to her for doing things her own way, I say.
Worked as a waitress, bar attendee and sales assistant before and during University among other studies, all often “looked down at” jobs. In fact, I traveled and worked as a waitress/in hospitality and as a customer service representative (the only office based one) for 3 years after graduating from University, did a BA so not the most practical degree if you want to get a graduate job but I studied what I wanted, I had to work (parents both with university degrees and good jobs/careers will only help occasionally, mainly if studying) and enjoyed traveling.
Now doing a master and might go for a Phd, was it easy? Nope should I feel embarassed? Nope, quite proud if anything 🙂
Being a server is hard work, they are the diplomats of the restaurant, the buffer between occasionally insane chefs and unreasonable demands from customers. If you can serve and do it well, I think you can do anything.
Why are you knocking her for working and having actual jobs? Plus I’ve only ever seen bikini modeling from her. This is considered softcore porn?
Because she’s a harlot! A harlot, I tell you. *eyeroll*
Where do people get this idea that “bikini” shots are the worst things she has done? I’m not making a judgement on her nude photos, but it literally takes two seconds to find them! OBviously photos of a girl in a bikini is not softcore p0rn. When people use that term they are referring to shoots she did totally naked. Again, not making a judgment, but it seems like people are obscuring the facts here…
Most of the images that pop up when you search “Sofia Hellqvust naked” are NOT pictures of Sofia. All the “lower-area” shots are of different models. She shows her boobs. That is not soft-core porn in any way.
Why would we care about Sofia and CP, tbh? He’s 4th in line behind his sister, her adorable daughter and niece. He seems pretty harmless, but he’s not really out there doing much other than racing cars. The only reason this story has any traction is the fact that Sofia has been labeled unsuitable as a royal bride. People are rallying to the underdog and trying to make “fetch” happen. It’s not.
I’m pretty sure that he is third in line after Victoria and Estelle.
He is.
1. Victoria
2. Estelle
3. Carl Philip
4. Madeleine
5. Leonore
(Although there is a clause that in order to stay in the line of succession you have to be Lutheran AND be raised in Sweden. It’ll be interesting to see how Madeleine balances that with living in London, after Leonore was born in NYC and living only a short stint in Stockholm)
But do you really care about him? 3rd or 4th. Something catastrophic would have to happen to either of them for him to be relevant. And if Victoria has another child… All I’m saying is…he’s not going to be king and he’s not even a tenth as interesting as Harry.
Well, unless Victoria and Daniel have another child, and with that infertility rates climbing all around the world, it’s still a possibility that Carl Philip and his offspring might be a serious contender for the Swedish throne. More siblings for Estelle would help that by a lot.
Other than that, I don’t think he’s terribly interesting. And agree that Harry beats him all around.
I’m conflicted because I find the whole class system judgy, limiting, and tedious, but no one wants crassness, inpropriety, or tackiness on the throne, OR celebrated a la Kartrashians! But I think it’s more about attitude and gratitude, rather than being “spotless” sexually! Only a virgin would be acceptable for Charles’ marriage; thankfully things loosened up for William’s generation. And I think they’ve loosened up more, so many of us say give her a chance to show who she is now. 🙂
Harry will never be in charge so i dont think they care so much, he got away with way worse.
As much as I like Celebitchy and believe they have some of the smartest and funniest commenters around, I’m beginning to notice there are personalities that are dealt a heavier hand than others, Sofia is one of them. We are belittling a woman for having jobs that we feel are below us, it’s sad. She has a past, and because she has become a public figure, we feel as though we have a right to judge incessantly. Again, very sad and wrong.
I wish her and the Prince a lot of happiness, I don’t know them, I only know about what I’ve heard and who knows how accurate it all is?
I agree. If this woman is a golddigger, I wish ALL golddiggers were like her! To me, she seems to have gotten over really wanting to be famous five years ago (when she was still doing modeling and a reality show)…….and imo, if she wanted some rich dude to take care of her, she could’ve gone a lot better, and easier with just a random rich guy who liked her for her boobs.
And it’s sad that she’s STILL someone who’s worked more and harder than William and Kate on a good day…….
I’ve been feeling this way lately.
Thank you for saying this because I have felt this way. She seems like a sweet woman and I wish them the best. No one is perfect!
Jeez, she was a waitress. Headlining. Maybe she’s a lovely, down-to-earth woman.
You can all be happy that you don´t understand Swedish because if you had had to listen to the interview that the Swedish TV4 did with these two you would still be in shock over how utterly stupid they both are. She somewhat less but still. He talked about what is important when driving car races, that you have to focus and so on, and he is known for crashing his cars most of the time. But, this will bring the monarchy down quicker which is good.
Lol.
Ignorance is bliss isn’t it?
Luckily Victoria is solid, as is Daniel.
I’m sorry but she just doesn’t bother me that much.
Um..nude (naked) is not ‘modeling’ its posing.
Please keep covering them!! I think it will be interesting to watch them. Sofia is actually growing on me…I did a LOT of dumb things in my 20s and I would hate to be judged on them now.
These are two pictures of Sofia from a series that is defintely naked in a sexualy way (NSFW obviously)
http://connery.dk/image/box/217460/1290/10000.jpg?oversize=1
http://connery.dk/image/box/217461/1290/10000.jpg?oversize=1
http://connery.dk/image/box/217462/1290/10000.jpg?oversize=1
And this one with a snake
http://royalista.com/wp-content/images/21215/listing/1404916123/sofia-hellqvist_relationships_family-life–w=1500.jpg
She has done quite a few photo shoots that are more sexual than just the regular bikini photo. The first ones – from when she was not even 16 – even include her being bound in abondage-style. Lots of these photos are now missing – you have to wonder why if she and the SRF feel she has nothing to hide..
For those who think it’s just a tiny thing and not something to clutch your pearls about: Sweden is quite big on equality and feminism. It’s a BIG thing that the king thinks it’s ok to elevate a woman, who chose to make a living on posing nude from an early age, to represent the country to the world. It’s difficult to not think that she will become a role model for young girls who will think it’s a smart and good choise to turn to nude modelling to make it in the world. Which is something that many Swedes don’t agree with and fight against on a global agenda.
The Swedish Royal Family has zero power — her elevation comes from the Swedish government that the King will “endorse”. However it’s strictly a ceremonial gesture.
I think the long engagement that Carl Philip and Sofia did was so it was more palatable for her to become a princess rather than a duchess. Lots more photo ops for people to get used to her rather than a typical royal engagement of a few months…
It’s Carl Gustav who has the power to decide whether she’ll be a princess or not.
Also it’s hardly just a ceremonial gesture. She’ll be part of Sweden’s official face to the world. In the future Nobel winners will be greeted by her. She and Carl Phillip will represent Sweden on trips to other countries. IOW she will officially represent Sweden to the world.
Gwen,
Not true. The Swedish Royal Family have no power to confer anything on anyone, including the King. They were stripped of their power decades ago and are simply ceremonial. That isn’t to say that the King isn’t listened to, but the government can, and does, control the power, including any and all titles.
A great example is stripping Carl Philip of his title of “Crown Prince”. The King thought it was unfair to back date it and take the title away from someone who already had it. Carl Gustaf had a point until you realise that an infant (Carl Philip was less than a year old) wouldn’t know one way or another. If Carl Philip had had it for years it would have been a very valid point but the Swedish government thought otherwise and the rest is history.
From the Swedish Royal Family’s website:
“As head of state, the King is Sweden’s foremost unifying symbol. According to the 1974 constitution, the monarch has no political affinity and no formal powers. The King’s duties are mainly of a ceremonial and representative nature.”
Gwen, her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law run a charity that fights against those things. How they reconcile Sofia and her past with that work is anyone’s guess.
I don’t think the cabinet would have made a decision about titles without consulting with the king and getting his input/approval. The titles for Leonore O’Neil were a surprise to many, and she’s perceived as the spare of Estelle’s generation for now. If they stay in London and do not move to Sweden by the time she is 6, she’s out of the line of succession.
I see Leonore’s titles to be Sweden’s way of completely tossing patriarchy to the dustbin’s of the past.
But I agree, I’m puzzled how they plan to raise either of their children out of Sweden, yet, in the line of succession. Unless, Chris has said, let me work for as long as I can, as a private person, and move back to Sweden days before Leonore turns 6. I guess we’ll see.
If they were tossing patriarchy, they wouldn’t be handing titles to wives of minor royals. They’d keep their birth names and status (ie. not royalty) instead of taking the husband’s name and rank.
I think they’re waiting to see if Estelle gains a sibling and what happens with CP. Once there are more children further up the chain, the O’Neils will fade into the background like anyone outside the main line should.
She seems to be another Fergie. Yawn, been there seen that, don’t really care and abhor monarchy.
Koo Stark, not Sarah Ferguson.
Koo Stark is also an unfair comparison. Koo had one movie that was questionable vs years and years of very questionable behaviour from Sofia.
It is a more accurate comparison than Sarah Ferguson.
Quote: “Yoga instructor, waitress, reality show star and softcore p0rn model”
…and somewhere in NYC, Sarah Larson (George Clooney ex, with the same ‘credentials’ as Sofia) is wondering “Where the heck did I go wrong?”
I’m excited to see this wedding. For the most part America is only interested in British Royals. I’d even go as far as to say that America’s fascination with The British Monarchy is what keeps them so popular. It’s not surprising to me that this wedding isn’t being covered. It’s just as I expected. We rarely get into the other royal happenings. The only one we showed a major intrest in outside of Britain was way back when Grace Kelly married into Morocco’s royal family.
I was surprised to find American coverage of King Willem-Alexander’s inaguration.
Swedish TV is broadcasting the wedding and arrivals live worldwide…. live streaming link
http://www.svtplay.se/video/2980007/prinsbrollopet/prinsbrollopet-prinsbrollopet
The broadcast begins at 15:00 Swedish time 13th June. (that would be around 6am California time – 1pm NY time)
Harry marrying a former waitress is better than William marrying a woman who never worked full-time a day in her life.