There is really only one issue here - judgement. And it seems like the majority of people are questioning/criticizing Sofia's, when I think more of the responsibility should be on CP. If he hadn't made the choice to date a woman who posed for such pictures and had ALREADY been published in a men's magazine; if he hadn't chosen to date someone who had appeared in a reality show of the genre that is - in reality - "Who Wants to Be the Biggest Whore" (like almost all others of the same ilk), none of us would know her name and we certainly wouldn't be discussing her.
I'll deal with her motivations below but I think the responsibility for the public discussion, and its potential impact on the monarchy in Sweden completely rests with CP. As a prince in a reigning monarchy, he should have demonstrated better judgement. Likewise, a man his age (although emotionally he seems to be in his teens) should be clear that the choices he makes in dating have more impact than the average citizen of any country, because it will be publicized.
Which leads me to my theory - and AFAIK - only my theory on two things. Either she is an ambitious woman who is provided her companionship and whatever else may or may not be going on between them in order to further her career (come on, she was basically unknown before, despite her extensive "modeling" and "acting" resume) and he has agreed to the deal in exchange for said companionship and whatever else it entails for whatever his reasons are.
OR...perhaps he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and feeling inferior about that, he ends a relationship with someone who was more educated and intellectually stimulating and starts a relationship with an even dimmer bulb than him so he can feel like the smart one.
As far as Sofia's motivations, a couple of responses struck a chord with me and will respond to those:
Yes she made a conscious decision to have these pictures taken, but at the time, when the photographer was ready, do you think Sofia thought oops better not have these pictures done because one day I might date Prince CP of Sweden, and everyone will see these pictures? If that did cross her mind, do you think she would have done the pictures anyway?
I agree, Lumutqueen, with this statement. But I also think that any 18-year-old after the year 2000, and even before is aware of the internet and the eternal life of anything that is put out there. Even without that, any 18-year-old who, for whatever reason, removes all of their clothing except their shoes and bikini bottoms and poses for provocative photos
even if they never intend for them to be published is displaying judgement of questionable character. I'm no prude, I saw the pics (IMO she has a great, albeit augmented body but is not pretty at all) and I have no problem with any woman/person posing for such pictures. My problem is with hypocrites and if Sofia expresses regret now she is being a hypocrite. If she has no regret, she is a fame-whore. My personal belief is that the latter is the case and the regret she expresses is what she has to do to make the "controversy/press attention" last longer. But maybe I am wrong and they will marry and be happy.
So there's nothing wrong with her experiencing life when she was just a young and fairly unknown girl.
Hi, KitKat2006. I had to respond because this part of your post is sort of what I think defines the problem. In most people's minds IMO, "experiencing life" involves getting an education, working at a job (where you have your clothes on), paying your rent/mortgage, hanging out with friends, falling in love, etc. For some people, "experiencing life" also includes experimenting with alcohol and drugs, having sex, making poor judgements, having a child, getting divorced, etc. IMO the majority of the people in the second group would include Mette-Marit and Letizia as well as most people in the world. But posing for photographs - even in a full one-piece swimsuit - or appearing in any reality show (even in the ones that aren't about being sexual), or making out with a porn star, is not something I think most of the people in that second group, or the even larger "most of us", would consider "experiencing life".
