From the Royal Court's website (
www.royalcourt.se):
QUEEN SILVIA
Biography
Queen Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on December 23, 1943.
She is the daughter of the late Walther Sommerlath and his Brazilian wife Alice, née de Toledo, also deceased. The Queen has three older brothers: Ralf, Walther and Jörg Sommerlath.
The Sommerlath family lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil between 1947 and 1957, where Walther Sommerlath was President of the Brazilian subsidiary of Swedish Uddeholm, amongst other things. The family returned to West Germany in 1957.
Education and Professional Life
Silvia Sommerlath matriculated in Düsseldorf in 1963. Between 1965 and 1969 she attended the Munich School of Interpreting, majoring in Spanish.
Speaks six languages
After graduation, Silvia worked at the Argentinean Consulate in Munich. In addition to Swedish, The Queen also speaks German, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Work with the Olympic Committee
The Organising Committee for the Munich Olympics employed Silvia as training hostess between 1971 and 1973. She then became Deputy Head of Protocol of the Organising Committee for the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
Family
Miss Silvia Renate Sommerlath met The Crown Prince Carl Gustaf at the 1972 Olympic Games.
The engagement of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Renata Sommerlath was announced on March 12, 1976. They married the same year on June 19 at the Stockholm Cathedral.
Initially the Royal Family lived in an apartment at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. In 1982 they moved to Drottningholm Palace.
Official Duties
Queen Silvia often accompanies King Carl Gustaf on official journeys in Sweden and state visits abroad.
She is a regular visitor to national and municipal authorities and institutions, as well as schools, universities etc., for information-gathering purposes.
She frequently takes part in anniversaries, congresses and symposium openings and other official events.
The Queen belongs to the Lutheran Church of Sweden.
Royal Engagements
World Childhood Foundation
In the spring of 1999 The Queen took the initiative of founding the World Childhood Foundation (WCF). The mission of the foundation is to work towards better living conditions for children all over the world. The foundation supports a large number of projects in 15 countries.
Today, WCF is found in Sweden, Brazil, Germany and the U.S.
Mentor
The Queen is an Honorary Member of the International Mentor Foundation. The focus of this organisation is the prevention of drug misuse.
The Silvia Home
The Silvia Home in Drottningholm has been established as a result of The Queen's own initiative and personal commitment. The Silvia Home Foundation, where The Queen is an active working Chairman, promotes scientific research and offers education, specialized training and care in the field of dementia.
Research Funds
Queen Silvia works actively on behalf of the disabled. She is Chairman of the Royal Wedding Fund, which supports research in sports and athletics for disabled youngsters.
She is also Chairman of the Queen Silvia's Jubilee Fund for research on children and children's disabilities.
Disabled youngsters
The Queen has been very involved in the publishing of a book entitled “Go for It". The book, which is The Queen's own initiative, aims to encourage sports and other past-time activities for disabled youngster. The book is available in Swedish, English, German and Spanish.
Hearing Impaired
The Queen has studied sign language so as to be able to communicate more effectively with the hearing impaired. In 1990 she was awarded the “Deutsche Kulturpreis" for her efforts on behalf of the disabled.
Queen Silvia holds honorary positions in a large number of organisations and societies, such as the Swedish Amateur Athletic Association, the Children's Cancer Foundation of Sweden and the Swedish Save the Children Federation.
Interests
The Queen shares an interest for nature and the outdoors with The King.
As a newly wed, The Queen learned to appreciate Swedish mountain life. She enjoys skiing in the environs of the Royal Family´s cottage in Storlien.
At the Solliden Palace on the island of Öland, The Queen is able to cultivate different leisure interests, such as waterskiing and riding.
The Queen takes pleasure in gardening and flowers.
Together with The King, she takes care of the beautiful Solliden Park, inherited from Queen Victoria.
The Queen enjoys going to the theatre, the opera and concerts.
