Oh God...
On average the Swedish taxpayer is paying $1.82 annually for the monarchy. Half of that is for palace administration, so only 91 cents per person is going towards funding the lives of the Swedish royals. I kind of think that the 91 cents isn't really enough for people to complain nearly as much as they are about Sofia.
Sofia is a woman who rose to fame because she was a model. The nature of her modelling really is irrelevant; she became famous because she was a model. She did a reality TV show because hey, that's what famous people do these days. Yes it was a sleazy one, but most reality TV shows are kind of sleazy. She does not owe anyone an apology for her actions, nor does she have to say that she did anything wrong because, regardless of how you feel about them, adults consenting to have sexually suggestive naked pictures of them taken is not against the law in Sweden. Nor is appearing in sleazy reality TV shows. Sofia may at this point in her life regret those choices she made, or she may not. Given as she is no longer modeling or appearing in reality TV shows I think it's safe to say it's kind of time to move on from her past.
However, people aren't willing to do such. They're hung up on actions that Sofia did at a minimum of three years ago simply because Sofia's actions don't mesh with their personal morals regarding sex, sexuality, and nudity. I'm not saying that the people who oppose Sofia are prudes - that's a sweeping statement - but I am saying that they're condemning her for her behaviour simply because it doesn't match up with their morals. We live in a world where slut shaming exists, and Sofia is being slut shamed. Unfortunately for every royal watcher who hates her, she - along with CP and the SRF - appears to be ignoring the shaming.
What's more is that they're blatantly disregarding any attempt she makes to move on from that. Her charity work is written off not as her actually trying to do charity work but as her trying to make herself look good because she's almost a royal - the fact that many other royal brides didn't necessarily do all that much charity work pre-relationship is considered irrelevant. When she appears at an event she's condemned for smiling at the cameras - if anyone royal smiles at a camera people applaud because they're smiling, but not Sofia. When something happens with her charities people instantly jump to the worst conclusions and condemn her for her actions.
For example, not all that long ago someone found a photo of a group of South African girls from Sofia's charity Project Playground. The girls were set to appear on a South African TV show and the costumes were revealing. Instantly Sofia was slandered as trying to expose young girls - who themselves were already at risk of rape - to sex and reality tv. This was regardless of the fact that
- If you look at Project Playground's website you'll see that they're already well aware of the likelihood that the children they work with, regardless of gender, are at risk of being raped,
- No where on the website did it say that Sofia had any part in deciding that the girls would be involved in the show, selecting which girls would appear on the show, or selecting the costume itself
- A search of the internet indicates that at minimum the costume selected is a cultural dress, and that attitudes towards female nudity are different in South Africa
- The show itself was a religious, educational, children's show aimed at improving morality in South Africa.
This shows that people don't actually care what Sofia does. They've made up their minds about her and regardless of how much she tries to move forward and change her life, people are too hung up on the fact that she's comfortable enough with her body to appear nude.
Really, if you think about it, the attitudes towards Sofia are no different than the way that teenage bullys treat girls who so often end up committing suicide. I have to say that HRHHermione is right; Sofia is an amazing role model for these types of girls because she's showing that you don't have to be ashamed of your body, you don't have to be ashamed of your sexuality, and you can rise above and ignore the relentless comments of petty people.