Reality starlet to wed prince in Swedish fairytale

STOCKHOLM: A former reality starlet, glamor model and yoga teacher will become a real-life princess in Sweden on Saturday when she marries Prince Carl Philip in a lavish Stockholm wedding.

Sofia Hellqvist, a slender and elegant brunette, is a 30-year-old commoner known for her infectious gap-toothed smile and easygoing ways.
Her fiance, 36-year-old Carl Philip, is the second child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia and holds the title of Duke of Varmland.
He is third in line to the throne, behind his elder sister Crown Princess Victoria and her three-year-old daughter Princess Estelle.
A glamorous and openly affectionate couple equally known for their sporty lifestyle, Carl Philip and Sofia are keen to project an image of themselves as modern and open royals, and are often seen running errands in town or picking up pizza to go in Stockholm’s chic neighborhoods.
Royal weddings in the past were “a way of building power alliances. Today they’re a way of uniting the monarchy with the people and strengthening the sense of community,” historian Louise Berglund told news agency TT.
The Swedish media revealed the prince’s budding relationship with the former glamor model in 2010, titillated by her racy past.
Hellqvist took part in 2005 in the Swedish reality show “Paradise Hotel,” where young scantily-clad men and women stay at a luxury resort and compete to be the last contestant voted off the show amid intrigue, scheming and drama.