It's clear that everyone is entitled to a second chance, unless you're Sofia Hellqvist. And everyone can be sincere, unless you're Sofia Hellqvist.
The girl has made some terrible choices on her past, but she's "clean" for almost a decade now. Since then, she has dedicated herself to charity work and to build a future with the man she loves.
But who cares? Let's judge and condemn her forever, we're armchairs judges hidden by usernames and avatars, our trash is well hidden. Her charity work is not sincere, she just wants to look nice. Oh, and "she loves the press", perhaps she should be unsympathetic so you'd be able to blame her for being unsympathetic.
I suppose it's quite difficult to live such a perfect life as the ones of some of the posters here, I can't imagine how they manage to live in such a sinful world. I prefer to live my imperfect life, believing in regret and forgiveness.
I am afraid that you are making a caricature out of the objections that some people have. I think that it is legitemate to ask some questions. I have listed some points that I found striking
:
- if with 'clean' you mean that she stopped posing for pictures in the nude, you have the time span wrong. The last posing was 6-7? years ago. Not that it matters much, posing in the nude is not illegal, neither is appearing naked in magazines (in most countries that is). But those repeated choices over an extended period of 10 years or so make some people wonder if her values about this issue makes her an appropriate person to represent a country. Not an odd idea IMO.
- 'she loves the press': she does. If you have followed her CE thread over the years you must have seen this too. She often talks to the press, very often. And the press loves her. Now if that is a good or a bad thing is open for debate of course. I don't like unofficial partners of any royal talking to the press, but you might like it, and many others will.
- Why is it 'condamning' if people just say, we don't think she is suited for this particular position? Let's be honest, she is far from an ideal candidate for representing Sweden. If the RF would be a company she would never in a million years be hired for this particular 'job'. But of course it isn't only a company, but also a family. So that changed the matter. Still, it is legitemate to wonder why on earth she is qualified for this position, esp. if you are a Swede and paying tax. It is true that our skeletons are safely hidden, at least on this forum, but AFAIK none of us is seeking a position in the public eye, representing a country. The RF serves as a symbol, and if the symbol is something that the country does not want to be associated with, that may cause problems. It happened in many cases btw, not in this one in particular.
- about being perfect: very few actually mentioned perfection, nobody IIRC. She doesn't need to be perfect, nobody is.
- your remark 'perhaps she should be unpleasant to the press' seems an awnser to no particular issue. Nobody wants her to be unpleasant. But posing for minutes for the press while the RF does not, seems odd. Esp. since the previous and present partners of the princesses (and Emma Pernald) never posed for the press. Neither did most other royal partners, apart from Charlene (but Monaco is a completely different story). Not that she should be stoned for doing it, but it adds to an impression that people have. Which has a certain logic.
- about (not) being sincere: people gave a lot of reasons why they think that she wasn't (or isn't). Often they just use simple facts and exposed lies. Fact is that one of her ambitions was to seek fame. Why else would she pose for magazines, go to reality shows, brag about kisses with porn actresses etc? Since she was looking for fame, some think that it gives the impression that that may have been a motivation for her present relationship. Not an absurd logic I would say, although it is very well possible that she was looking for fame ánd started this relationship for honest reasons.
- about the charity: fact is that she joined it after she met the prince. Her interest may or may not have been sincire. The logic that after meeting the prince this was her way to make her acceptable to the public is not farfetched. But that doesn't exclude her sincerity about the matter perse.
Concluding: the argument why she is not suitable has a certain logic, there are certainly a lot of questions. The argument why she will be a suitable princess fails most logic to me. As it mainly seems to consist of the arguments "you are biased, jealous and sexist, people can change, why does it matter, they are in love, and why do you care anyway?'. Not the strongest points.
Of course she is not the devil in sheeps clothes either. Most mistakes with her charity seemed more due to amateurism -as happens with many new organisations- of do-gooders than intentional harm. And not all gestures and moves she makes are a sign of some evil part in her character: I didn't see anything wrong in her showing of her ring to the press f.e. I am also happy that she did not make a tearful apology to the press about her wild past, it was not needed as she did nothing illegal. The white washing of her cv is not that shocking either. Most people adapt their resume if they apply for a job, why not Sofia. But of course the gaps in the cv are obvious as we have followed the information of various magazines and newspapers over the years (much of the information coming form Sofia herself btw). She is also not alone in damaging the institute, many have done it in the past and many will do it in the future. Her father-in-law being one of the more recent examples. This doesn't mean that with time, things can not alter of course. CG may recover from his exposed incidents, Sofia may prove to be an asset. Who knows?
I wish them all the best on a personal level. But if she would be joining my own RF I would be sprinting to the office of the republican movement to enlist. I don't want my country to be represented by people who I think do not stand for some core values in our society (with that I do not mean the nude pictures, about which I do not care all that much since it was indeed in the past). Her entry in the RF also makes it painfully obvious that the system of a monarchy is outdated. An anachronism to which I am attached and a fact which I try to ignore, but an anachronism nontheless.
What I find the most irritating about this matter is not so much Sofia herself -she may be a lovely woman, I don't know her- but the articles in the press which just make up a fairy tale. While, by following the information posted on this forum over the years, it is obvious that they lie, over and over again, and they have done so for years. I also follow my own press in other aspects, and it is difficult not to become a cynic about the way the press deals with things. In the end it is a business.
Anyway, I am sure that with the years the opinions wil soften. Things will be forgotten, they always are.