TV series about the young love of Silvia and Carl Gustaf causes displeasure at the Swedish royal house

The plot begins with the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where the German-Brazilian Silvia Sommerlath and the Swedish Crown Prince Carl Gustaf met for the first time. Sommerlath was working at the time as chief hostess on the organizing committee of the Games, while the prince arrived with his country's delegation. Four years passed until their wedding, as the actors involved reported in interviews and described the period as "very turbulent."

The cast and their approach

In the leading roles are Alicia von Rittberg, who portrays Silvia Sommerlath, and the Swede Edvin Endre, who plays the young Carl Gustaf. Von Rittberg explained that in the work it helps to focus on "how this young love feels and to discover adventure and joy in it." She also raved about her co-star: "The best thing is working with Edvin. He is super interesting and playful."

Endre, in turn, emphasized his personal approach: "Therefore, my approach is to find the human element in the story of Silvia and Carl Gustaf and to really look at why they chose each other." The first season focuses on the phase leading up to the couple's wedding.

Criticism from the royal house

Despite its romantic orientation, the project is causing displeasure at the Swedish royal house. In an interview with the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, King Carl Gustaf expressed himself dismissively: "Ich finde es schrecklich." According to reports, the monarch also compared the series to "The Crown," the successful production about the era of British Queen Elizabeth II. Carl Gustaf's remark that "the characters have to be portrayed by someone who exaggerates all the expressions that you yourself know you have" was also picked up by Swedish media.

Queen Silvia likewise appeared irritated. She finds it "seltsam" that television series are being made about people who are still alive, she was quoted as saying: "Das bedeutet, dass wir vielleicht mit Halbwahrheiten weiterleben müssen. Und dass wir vielleicht über einen Film beurteilt werden, an dem wir überhaupt nicht beteiligt sind," she said.

Timeline and anniversary

The producer Carsten Kelber explained the intention behind the project: "Queen Silvia, so the current working title of the series, aims to set the queen a monument as an icon." The release will initially be via Prime Video, with a later broadcast planned on free-to-air television on the channel Sat.1.

The series was originally intended to serve as a tribute to the royal marriage, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. The key date is June 19, 2026; the official celebrations are scheduled for June 13. Since the first season is not set to air until spring 2027, the anniversary celebrations will take place without the serial monument.

Alicia von Rittberg put the royal subject matter in perspective with a personal remark: She herself does not want to actually be a queen or king. The actors' engagement with the young couple thus remains an interpretation whose effect the Swedish royal house is observing with clear distance.