Swedish prince ties the knot with former reality starlet

The only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia married his Swedish fiancee in a lavish ceremony in Stockholm today. Prince Carl Philip and the former reality starlet and model Sofia Hellqvist, 30, tied the knot at the Royal Palace chapel before five European queens, a Japanese princess and dozens of other blue-blooded guests. Carl Philip, 36, is third in line to the throne behind his elder sister, Crown Princess Victoria, and her 3-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle.

It is the first time a woman of the people marries a prince who is also marrying a princess.

Royal historian Goran Alm to public broadcaster SR

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. The Swedish media revealed the prince’s budding relationship with the former glamour model in 2010, titillated by her racy past. In 2005 Hellqvist took part in the Swedish reality show “Paradise Hotel” and, at age 20, she posed topless with a boa constrictor for the men’s magazine Slitz, winning its Miss Slitz title.

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