Silvia (born Silvia Renate Sommerlath; 23 December 1943) is

Queen of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Ins ...

as the wife of King

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

. She has held this title since her marriage to Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. The king and queen have three children:

Crown Princess Victoria Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expect ...

, Prince Carl Philip, and

Princess Madeleine Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

Childhood and parentage

Silvia Renate Sommerlath was born in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Germany, on 23 December 1943, the only daughter of

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

(née Soares de Toledo) and Walther Sommerlath. Her father was German and her mother Brazilian. She has one older brother, Ralf Sommerlath (born 1929). Her other brothers were Walther Sommerlath, who died in 2020, and Jörg Sommerlath, who died in 2006. The Mother-Child House Jörg Sommerlath in Berlin, operated by Queen Silvia's World Childhood Foundation, is named after her brother. She attended grammar school in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, finishing her Abitur in 1963; and attended the Munich School of Interpreting from 1965 to 1969, majoring in Spanish. She has some fluency in Swedish Sign Language, a national sign language used by the deaf community in Sweden. She is a trained interpreter and Swedish is her sixth language. She speaks her native German, her mother's language of Portuguese, as well as French, Spanish, and English.

Marriage and family

During the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, Sommerlath met Crown Prince Carl Gustaf. At the time, she was leading a marketing campaign for the city of Munich. Sommerlath and the other Olympic hostesses wore sky-blue

dirndl A dirndl () is a feminine dress which originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps. It is traditionally worn by women and girls in some Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.Anette Dralle & Christiane Ma ...

s to promote Bavarian cultural identity. After the death of King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

on 15 September 1973, Carl XVI Gustaf succeeded to the throne. He and Sommerlath announced their engagement on 12 March 1976 and were married three months later on 19 June 1976 in Stockholm Cathedral. It was the first marriage of a reigning Swedish monarch since 1797. The wedding was preceded the evening before by a Royal Variety Performance, where the Swedish musical group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

performed "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

" for the first time as a tribute to Sweden's future queen. The King and Queen have three children and nine grandchildren: *

Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expect ...

(born 14 July 1977), who is married to Daniel Westling and has two children *

Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland (Carl Philip Edmund Bertil; born 13 May 1979) is the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. , Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of successi ...

(born 13 May 1979), who is married to Sofia Hellqvist and has four children *

Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine; born 10 June 1982) is the second daughter and youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Upon her birth, she was third ...

, (born 10 June 1982), who is married to Christopher O'Neill and has three children In February 2021, Silvia was taken to hospital after she fractured her right wrist in a fall.

Father's Nazi links

In July 2002, the Queen became the subject of international curiosity when an article published in the

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

newspaper '' Arbetaren'' reported that German state archives recorded that the Queen's father, Walther Sommerlath, joined the Nazi party's foreign wing, the NSDAP/AO, in 1934, when he was living in Brazil and working for a German steel company. In December 2010, Queen Silvia wrote a letter of complaint to Jan Scherman, the CEO of TV4, the network that had aired a documentary about her father's alleged Nazi past. Queen Silvia commissioned a report from World War II expert Erik Norberg, a choice that was criticised due to Norberg having ties to the royal family. In his report, Norberg said that the Queen's father had in fact helped the owner of the steel-fabrication plant, a Jewish businessperson, escape from Germany by taking over the factory. In a December 2011 interview for Sweden's

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

broadcaster

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

, Silvia called the media's handling of the information about her father "character assassination".

Charity involvement

Queen Silvia established Mentor International in 1994 in collaboration with the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. Her vision was to offer mentoring as inspiration, empowerment, and motivation for young people to make healthy life choices and view their futures more positively. Mentor's work has been recognized by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

, and the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. She is now an honorary board member of Mentor Foundation. She was also a co-founder of the World Childhood Foundation in 1999, having been inspired by her work as Patron of the first World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm. She has also been involved in the Global Child Forum, which she helped initiate, as a keynote speaker in several forums. Her commitment to the work with

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

and the care of the elderly at the end of life is also well known and respected. On her initiative, Silviahemmet was established in Stockholm. It works to educate hospital personnel in how to work with people suffering from dementia, and also initiates research in the area. She chairs the Royal Wedding Fund, which supports research in sports and athletics for disabled young people and the Queen Silvia Jubilee Fund for research on children and disability. Queen Silvia holds honorary positions in the Swedish Amateur Athletic Association, the Children's Cancer Foundation of Sweden and

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

Sweden.

In popular culture

In May 2025, Queen Silvia made a surprise appearance on national television in Sweden to honor entertainer-designer

Christer Lindarw Christer Lindarw (born 3 March 1953) is a Sweden, Swedish clothes designer, actor, drag queen entertainer, and the leader of drag group ''After Dark (drag act), After Dark''. Career Lindarw was born in Eskilstuna, Södermanland County. He was ...

in a program about Lindarw's life and career.

Honours and arms

National

* : **

Member and Commander of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

, in diamonds (LoKavKMOmbr) ** Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

Member of the Royal Family Decoration of King Carl XVI Gustaf ** Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

Recipient of the 50th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf ** Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

Recipient of the Wedding Medal of Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling ** Recipient of the Ruby Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf ** SWE King Carl XVI Gustaf Jubilee Medal III

SWE King Carl XVI Gustaf Jubilee Medal III

Recipient of the 70th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf ** Recipient of the Golden Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf

Foreign

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Liberator General San Martín The Order of the Liberator General San Martín () is the highest decoration in Argentina. It is awarded to foreign politicians or military, deemed worthy of the highest recognition from Argentina. It is granted by the sitting President of Argenti ...

* : Grand Star of the Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria * : Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Southern Cross The National Order of the Southern Cross () is a Brazilian Orders, decorations, and medals of Brazil, order of chivalry founded by List of monarchs of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, Pedro I on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate ...

* : Honorary recipient of the Family Order of Laila Utama * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Balkan Mountains * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins () is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean state, the independentist gener ...

* : Grand Cross of the Grand Order of Queen Jelena * : ** Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

(3 September 1985) ** Recipient of the Silver Anniversary Medal of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik * : ** Grand Cross of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

** Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

* : ** Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

* : ** Grand Cross special class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

** Member of the Decoration of Merit ( Baden-Würtemberg) ** Member of the Decoration of Merit (

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

) * : ** Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour ** Grand Cross of the Order of National Merit * : Grand Cross of the Order of Honour * : ** Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Pope Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX (), also referred as the Pian Order (, ), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. It is the highest honor currently conferred by the Holy See (two higher honors, the Supreme Order of C ...

**Recipient of the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XII ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

* : Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

* : Grand Cordon of the

Supreme Order of the Renaissance The Supreme Order of the Renaissance (,) is the second-most senior order of merit in the Kingdom of Jordan. History The order was instituted in 1917 by Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. According to correspondence between the British For ...

* : ** Commander of the Great Cross of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

** Commander of the Great Cross of the Order of Cross of Recognition * : ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...

** Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

* : Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau * : Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle () forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands * : ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

** Recipient of the Silver Jubilee Medal of King Harald V * : Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (2011) * : ** Grand Cross of the Order of Christ ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

* : Member of the Decoration for Exceptional Merits (2004) * : Grand Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit * : ** Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (15 October 1979) ** Dame Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III (16 November 2021) * : ** Dame Grand Cross (1st Class) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao (2003) ** Recipient of the Boy Scout Citation Medal (2009) ** Recipient of the Commemorative Medal on the Occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (2006) * : Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit * : **Member 1st Class of the

**Member 1st Class of the

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise () is a Ukrainian award. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, strengthening the international prestige of Ukraine, develop ...

* :

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

Awards

* : Grand Cross of the Social Order of the Amaranth * : The National German Sustainability Award * : Recipient of the Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Motherhood and Childhood Award (November 2016)

Honorary doctorates

Queen Silvia has been awarded a number of honorary doctorates, most recently for her work on dementia. * 1990 –

University of Turku The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

* 1993 –

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

* 1994 –

Linköping University Linköping University (LiU; ) is a public university, public research university based in Linköping, Sweden. Originally established in 1969, it was granted full university status in 1975 and is one of Sweden's largest academic institutions. T ...

* 1999 –

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

* 2023 –

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

, UK

References

External links

Biography of Queen Silvia
– Official website of the Swedish Royal Court

World Childhood Foundation
– Official site
The Mentor Foundation International
– Official site
The Swedish Royal Family
– Information site with pictures, news etc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvia Of Sweden 1943 births Living people Nobility from Heidelberg Swedish queens German emigrants to Sweden German people of Brazilian descent Swedish Lutherans Naturalized citizens of Sweden Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Crosses of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of Supreme Order of the Renaissance (Jordan) Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Benemerenti medal Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)