Discussion about Princess Sofia's Past & Future Role in the Royal Family

[hereditarytitles]

Granted i didn't read up on the case, but surely the position of then Sofia Hellqvist in Epstein circles was vastly different from the wealthy men like P.Andrew, Donald Trump etc?

What do people think she should apologize for? Pretty sure she was in no position to do something about Epstein at the time?

The facts are being somewhat muddled. The 2015 article, and certainly other articles that say the same thing, only refers to the fact that Sofia didn't distance herself from her past as a nude model or participant in somewhat questionable shows when her relationship with Carl P. became public. It was expected that she would apologize for her past (at that point, Epstein wasn't even mentioned).

However, she did say that she didn't regret her past, but that it was all a long time ago. My interpretation of this is that she was okay with it at the time and stood by her decisions; she certainly wanted to be famous. And she didn't deny that, but she also didn't want to be constantly confronted with it anymore. After all this time, that's perfectly understandable. At some point, such a chapter from the past has to be closed.

Ultimately, she didn't commit any crimes or coerce anyone into anything, and as we know, she had almost nothing to do with Epstein.

When the Royal houses relaxed the vetting/standards for the men and women who marry in to their families in the last 25-30 years, in the name of "the only thing important is LOVE" pressure from press and public, this is where they found themselves.

Married in spouses with skeletons in the closet are one thing. Time bombs in the closet that can detonate at any time and damage or bring down the building are quite another.

There needs to be a happy medium between honoring the very human desire/need to make love matches BUTwith spouses who do not have pasts so controversial that they need to be whitewashed, explained and eventually apologized for.

I brought up the same problem in the NRF Forums regarding Mette Marit and Marius.

I hope the next generation of young Royals and their parents are paying very close attention.

When you read some historical stories about royals, you realize that there were scandals in the past too, even when the marriage was carefully arranged and all involved belonged to the royal or aristocratic class. They just didn't become as publicized back then as they do today.

It may be that marriages where no one has a questionable past work out better, but there are certainly no guarantees.
Sofia and Carl Philip have a happy marriage and, in my opinion, a very happy family life with their children.

Mette-Marit's marriage also seems to be working well, were it not for the wayward son from her first relationship. If Marius had turned out well and hadn't made negative headlines, no one would be getting worked up about Harald and Mette's marriage today.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

The only ”damage” that we know about so far is that Sofia met Epstein on a few times… But a hell of a lot of people from all over the world did that…

Wether the royal family knew about that at the time of their wedding i have no idea… I honestly don’t think anyone was aware of the full picture back then… Would it have changed anything ? Unless Sofia had had sex with Epstein or had worked as his prostitute, no nothing would have changed. And why should it ? Having met a criminal person doesn’t automatically make you a criminal.

Now we are in the unfortunate situation that whatever Sofia says , some people won’t belive her even if all she says would be 100 % true.

Personally i don’t think Sofia should do anything right now. Because if she has spoken the truth in the released press statements (wich i know as little about as anyone else on this forum) she has nothing to prove and nothing to say sorry for.

Barbro Ehnbom on the other hand should ask Princess Sofia and a hell of a lot of other now grown up women, then barely adult girls, for forgiveness. She was supposed to be their mentor and help them with business contacts and networks. Not lead them straight into the arms of a pedophile and allow him to give them advantages in exchange for being his ”wife’s” and ”girls” and whatever he calls them… Barbro Ehnbom sounds a lot like a Ghislaine Maxwell nr 2.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I don’t think it would damage the Royal House if it were (hypothetically) revealed that Sofia Hellqvist was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims. I think there would, rightly, be deep sympathy for Princess Sofia, and by extension also sympathy for her supportive in-laws, in that hypothetical case.

I think it could damage the Royal House if it were (hypothetically) revealed that Sofia Hellqvist knew of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women and girls and ignored it, or (again, hypothetically) enabled his abuses by introducing him to young women. (The March 2022 Dagens ETC article, posted on the previous page of this thread, reports that Jeffrey Epstein asked at least some BBB members to introduce him to potential victims; Sofia Hellqvist was a BBB member.)

That hypothetical scenario would also contrast with how Sofia Hellqvist, later Princess Sofia, framed herself as a helper of vulnerable girls through her charity Project Playground.

Returning to non-hypotheticals: Other former acquaintances of Jeffrey Epstein (even ones who have not been accused of any wrongdoing) have issued statements to say they knew nothing about his sexual abuses back when they interacted, are now horrified by his actions and extend their sympathies to his victims, etc. I am no PR expert, and I do not know whether it would benefit Princess Sofia to issue such a statement, but it is one option if she ever wishes to issue another statement.

 

[hereditarytitles]

A few days ago, the Swedish Royal Court issued a statement regarding Sofia and Epstein on Fox Digital News. I believe a member posted it

Princess Sofia of Sweden met Jeffrey Epstein a few times but denies any ties, palace says

Swedish Royal Court confirmed to Fox News Digital Princess Sofia met Jeffrey Epstein "on a few occasions" around 2005, denying reports of acting lessons or visa help.

www.foxnews.com

The PR department probably thinks that this settles the matter and Sofia doesn't need to issue an additional statement herself.

 

[tommy100]

Interesting that, unlike many others who have faced similar PR problems for associating with Epstein (whether they knew about him crimes and behaviours or not) Sofia and the Royal Court don't feel any need to include a comment condemning his behaviour or their thoughts for his victims.

 

[Toledo]

Interesting that, unlike many others who have faced similar PR problems for associating with Epstein (whether they knew about him crimes and behaviours or not) Sofia and the Royal Court don't feel any need to include a comment condemning his behaviour or their thoughts for his victims.

(..) I had no idea she had any type of connection with this man that seems to be hunting down people from his grave this year.

 

[Meraude]

Interesting that, unlike many others who have faced similar PR problems for associating with Epstein (whether they knew about him crimes and behaviours or not) Sofia and the Royal Court don't feel any need to include a comment condemning his behaviour or their thoughts for his victims.

Well, there is the suspicion of the possible sex purchase by Patrick Sommerlath in November 2021, and his disappearence from Sweden while the police was trying to serve him with the summons. I don't think the SRF and the Royal Court want that story in the papers again.

 

[LadyFinn]

DN has spoken to several Swedish women who met Epstein, both before and after he was convicted. All were part of Barbro Ehnbom's network and were invited to meetings, dinners or parties with rich, influential men in New York - including the now infamous sex offender.
- Barbro wanted to send girls there all the time, so that we would have contact with him, says a BBB woman who met Epstein several times.
Neither she nor any of the other women that DN spoke to say they knew of any abuse at the time. They have not themselves been subjected to Epstein's advances.
- The question is; what did Barbro know? Now that everything has come to light, we understand that it was systematic, that she received donations to her fund because we were there. You wonder how much she received. I don't think anyone knows.

Ehnboms ursäkt i slutna gruppen: ”Ångrar bittert allt samröre med Epstein”

DN har fått unik tillgång till finanskvinnan Barbro Ehnboms slutna grupp, där hon ber om ursäkt för BBB:s samröre med Epstein. ”Jag är så ledsen.”

www.dn.se

 

[LadyFinn]

But the focus is this: A Swedish businesswoman, former mentor to Princess Sofia and so close that she attended the prince couple's wedding, has systematically put young women in contact with a convicted sex offender in exchange for funding for her network.
(..)

LEDARE: Det här missar hovet om Prinsessan Sofia och Epstein

Svensk ”Cruella de Vil” kopplade ihop unga kvinnor med dömda sexbrottslingen

www.ltz.se

Barbro Ehnbom attended also the World Childhood Foundation USA's ThankYou Gala in 2015 and 2017
Pic ** Pic

 

[Tatiana Maria]

DN has spoken to several Swedish women who met Epstein, both before and after he was convicted. All were part of Barbro Ehnbom's network and were invited to meetings, dinners or parties with rich, influential men in New York - including the now infamous sex offender.
- Barbro wanted to send girls there all the time, so that we would have contact with him, says a BBB woman who met Epstein several times.
Neither she nor any of the other women that DN spoke to say they knew of any abuse at the time. They have not themselves been subjected to Epstein's advances.
- The question is; what did Barbro know? Now that everything has come to light, we understand that it was systematic, that she received donations to her fund because we were there. You wonder how much she received. I don't think anyone knows.

Ehnboms ursäkt i slutna gruppen: ”Ångrar bittert allt samröre med Epstein”

DN har fått unik tillgång till finanskvinnan Barbro Ehnboms slutna grupp, där hon ber om ursäkt för BBB:s samröre med Epstein. ”Jag är så ledsen.”

www.dn.se

Archive of the report by Adrian Sadikovic, Linn Jönsson and Hugo Ewald:

https://archive.ph/HYjx2

So, Barbro Ehnbom taught her (female) mentees that they needed to be beautiful, dress prettily, and cozy up to powerful people to get ahead in life. (One would have thought a successful businesswoman who named her mentees “Barbro’s Best and Brightest” might instead emphasize business skills and intelligence...)

This raises questions about how qualified Barbro Ehnbom was to mentor 21st-century aspiring professional women, given that these are, at best, old-fashioned views about women and appearance in the workplace (even apart from the safeguarding issue).

And, if the “woman who worked very closely with Barbro Ehnbom”’s allegation that Barbro Ehnbom refused to accept any woman who wasn’t conventionally beautiful and feminine into her mentoring network is true, then that would seem to be clear looks discrimination and sex discrimination. (To explain the latter: Given her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a male billionaire whom no one considered beauty pageant material, Ms. Ehnbom’s alleged attitude that non-beautiful women weren’t worthy of mentoring apparently didn’t extend to men.)

ETA:

The article also reports that within BBB’s closed Facebook group, BBB members’ opinions are mixed.

Some BBB members feel betrayed and ill-served by Barbro Ehnbom’s mentorship – but some other BBB members share Barbro Ehnbom’s ways of thinking, and defend her methods.

 

[Alisa]

Well, there is the suspicion of the possible sex purchase by Patrick Sommerlath in November 2021, and his disappearence from Sweden while the police was trying to serve him with the summons. I don't think the SRF and the Royal Court want that story in the papers again.

Which could also bring up the King's own indiscretions in Atlanta and Slovakia. I don't think the SRF and the court want those stories in the papers again.

 

[ladongas]

Well, perhaps the rule is now: Never explain, never complain, never apologize...

The damage by Princess Sofia is done anyway! So, one can try to sit it out. But we know from experience, that this might not work. The Prince Andrew story comes to mind...

Her husband loves her; she has 4 lovely children; her new family seems to love her; a young woman who MAY have been slightly indiscreet - as a private citizen- is in no wise comparable to Prince Andrew and his louche lifestyle as a royal family member. I’m no royal, but I certainly don’t think my lifestyle as a young woman in the ‘Summer of Love’ has anything to do with who I am as a person. Leave her alone. We no longer lock our virgins up in caves.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

One thing I think is rather certain is that if Barbro Ehnbom had been close to Chris O’Neill rather than Princess Sofia, Chris O’Neill would (fairly or unfairly) have been bombarded with critical questions and commentary about what it all means about his judgment and/or his own attitudes towards women.

Interesting that, unlike many others who have faced similar PR problems for associating with Epstein (whether they knew about him crimes and behaviours or not) Sofia and the Royal Court don't feel any need to include a comment condemning his behaviour or their thoughts for his victims.

The royal family and royal court have been open about learning from other European monarchies, see here for instance: Yearly Meetings of Heads of Royal Households

So they must have noticed that King Charles III and Buckingham Palace officials never met Epstein themselves - but he and they were still criticized for not expressing their sympathies with Epstein’s victims in their statements about Prince Andrew (until October 31).

And they must have noticed that nobody accuses Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, King Harald V or Queen Sonja of committing sexual abuse themselves – but they were still criticized for not condemning Marius Borg Høiby’s sexual abuses or explicitly mentioning his victims.

While I personally think those criticisms are unfair, it is interesting that Princess Sofia and/or the Royal Court did not seem to learn from the other royal families’ PR experiences in this regard.

And unlike the then-Duke of York or Marius Borg Høiby, Barbro Ehnbom is not facing civil or criminal judicial proceedings, so the Swedish royals had no need to worry about compromising a trial.

(..)

 

[iceflower]

A number of off-topic posts and replies to them have been removed.

 

[MARG]

I hate to think how many young women in Europe made the unpardonabe sin of meeting and speaking to Epstein. He was not in the least interested in "common" young women. He and his "recruiters" were interested in young personable women who could conduct a conversation within Society so it makes sense they targeted aspiring models and actresses on the edges of society.

Basically, 20 odd years later those women are entitled to their privacy regardless of whether they were victims or the lucky ones. Priness Sofia has done nothing to deserve the gutter trawling for scraps that could possibly stitched into something shameful by the press, but she has done more than ever imagined or expected for the Swedish Monachy and represented Sweden with both grace and kindness.

 

[Halise]

she has done more than ever imagined or expected for the Swedish Monachy and represented Sweden

While I agree with the rest, I don't see the need to put Sofia on a pedestal, especially when there have always been complaints about how little this couple is criticized compared to others for doing less than the rest (generally misogyny because her husband isn't yelled at in the press) and "for not helping Victoria."

 

[Blog Real]

While I agree with the rest, I don't see the need to put Sofia on a pedestal, especially when there have always been complaints about how little this couple is criticized compared to others for doing less than the rest (generally misogyny because her husband isn't yelled at in the press) and "for not helping Victoria."

I don't know what you mean by doing less. Carl Philip and Sofia represent the Royal Family on some occasions and support certain causes. They have a good role within the Royal Family and therefore do not deserve criticism.

 

[Halise]

Not my opinion, I think they're doing exactly what's necessary.
What I mentioned were comments from the past on this forum.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I assumed the reference to misogyny had to do with the harsher criticism of Princess Madeleine (and spouse) compared to Prince Carl Philip (and spouse), but that is a discussion for another thread.

 

[Meraude]

I assumed the reference to misogyny had to do with the harsher criticism of Princess Madeleine (and spouse) compared to Prince Carl Philip (and spouse), but that is a discussion for another thread.

I read somewhere that Epstein had seen Madeleine at some functioning, and had wanted to meet her, but her bodyguards had stopped him. Imaging the discussion here if he had been introduced to Madeleine.

 

[LadyFinn]

DN (Dagens Nyheter) podcast on December 16:
Why did Princess Sofia meet Epstein?

Podd: Varför träffade prinsessan Sofia sexförbrytaren Epstein?

www.dn.se

Barbro Ehnbom's network of women is mentioned in the new Epstein files. In an email to the notorious sex offender, the sender suggests that he organizes a dinner - and meet the scholarship holder for "Female Economist of the Year".

Barbro Ehnboms nätverk nämns i nya Epsteinfilerna

Den svenska finanskvinnan Barbro Ehnboms kvinnonätverk omnämns i de nya Epsteinfilerna.

www.dn.se