Silvia | |
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![]() Queen Silvia, 8 June 2013
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Queen consort of Sweden | |
Tenure | 19 June 1976 – present |
Born | Silvia Renate Sommerlath 23 December 1943 Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
Spouse | Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (m. 1976) |
Issue |
Crown Princess Victoria Prince Carl Philip Princess Madeleine |
Father | Walther Sommerlath |
Mother | Alice Soares de Toledo |
Religion | Church of Sweden |
Signature | ![]() |
Styles of Queen Silvia as consort |
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Reference style | Her Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Majesty |
Alternative style | Ma'am |
Queen Silvia of Sweden (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈsɪlvɪa]; born Silvia Renate Sommerlath on 23 December 1943) is the spouse of King Carl XVI Gustaf and mother of the heir apparent to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria. In 2011, Silvia became the longest-serving queen of Sweden, a record previously held by Sophia of Nassau.
Silvia Renate Sommerlath was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on 23 December 1943, the only daughter of the late Alice (née Soares de Toledo) and Walther Sommerlath. Her father was German and her mother was Brazilian.
She has two older brothers: Ralf and Walther Sommerlath. They and their families were guests at the 2010 wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling and the wedding of Princess Madeleine in 2013. Her third brother, Jörg Sommerlath, died in 2006. The Mother-Child House Jörg Sommerlath in Berlin, operated by Queen Silvia's World Childhood Foundation, is named after him.
The Sommerlath family lived in São Paulo, Brazil, between 1947 and 1957, where the Queen attended the traditional German school Colégio Visconde de Porto Seguro and Walther Sommerlath held various positions, including President of the Brazilian subsidiary of Swedish company Uddeholms AB. The family returned to West Germany in 1957.
Before her marriage to the King of Sweden, Silvia Sommerlath worked at the Argentine Consulate in Munich, was an educational host during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and served as the Deputy Head of Protocol for the Winter Games in Innsbruck in Austria. She briefly worked as a flight attendant.