"Queen Silvia is spontaneous and quick-witted"

Royal expert Julia Melchior - "Queen Silvia is spontaneous and quick-witted"

Born in Heidelberg in 1943, Silvia Sommerlath (79) met the then Crown Prince Carl Gustaf (77) at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. He became King of Sweden in 1973. They announced their engagement in March 1976 and their wedding was celebrated on June 19, 1976. In the TV portrait "Silvia. Sweden's German Queen" (17.12., 23:45 or already in the media library), the Swedish queen herself tells the funny story of how she met in an interview with royal expert Julia Melchior. In this film, which ZDF is showing to mark the upcoming 80th birthday (23.12.) of this very special Queen, some myths are also dispelled. For example, today's Queen was not just a simple hostess... In an interview with spot on news, documentary filmmaker and royal house expert Julia Melchior tells us what the conversation was like at the palace in Stockholm.

In your new film, you show a lot of fascinating archive footage. Did you spend a long time rummaging around or are such gems easy to find?

Julia Melchior: There really are a few archive treasures that also give me a lot of pleasure as a filmmaker. Family films from private collections and chance finds from Sweden and other European archives. But we also specifically searched for some sequences after I had spoken to the Queen. The conversation led me to new aspects, which we then researched in the archives. As I have been making films about the Swedish royal family since 2006, we also have a huge pool of archive footage from Sweden, so we were able to illustrate almost every anecdote.

What was the biggest surprise for you?

Melchior: When everything fell into place. While researching the archives, I came across footage of Queen Silvia and Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing - France's Première Dame from 1974 to 1981. Eventually I visited Madame Giscard d'Estaing [90] and she told me about a speech Queen Silvia had given on the subject of child abuse at UNESCO in Paris in 1995. We found the material in an archive. And during my visit to Stockholm, the Queen then reported on this speech in Paris, which gave her the go-ahead to become active in child protection. And that has linked Queen Silvia and Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing, both pioneers in the fight against child abuse, for decades. The two ladies met regularly from 1976 until the 2000s.

Charity is something you would expect from a queen. What is special about Queen Silvia?

Melchior: Her work is very professional and effective. I would almost describe Queen Silvia as an activist. She has drawn attention to issues such as child abuse and dementia, which nobody wanted to hear about in the 1990s, and in some cases she also entered political territory. She wanted to change things and was very persistent in her pursuit. In addition to her speeches, she set up her own foundations, which she is still very involved in today. The Queen has a wealth of knowledge and is considered an international expert on the topics of child abuse and dementia. Queen Silvia breaks taboos, but in a very diplomatic way.

In addition to researching the archive, you also conducted an interview with Queen Silvia at the palace in Stockholm for the film. What was the atmosphere like?

Melchior: That was a special experience, of course. But there was still a very homely and cozy atmosphere. We sat in front of the flickering open fire in the official reception rooms. Incidentally, this was also the room in which Crown Princess Victoria announced her engagement.

And what was the Queen like?

Melchior: What surprised me most was how funny, spontaneous and quick-witted the Queen is. I hadn't expected that. I have mostly accompanied her to official appointments in recent years. In direct conversation, the Queen radiates a lot of warmth and gives you the feeling that you can talk about anything. And yet you don't forget that the Queen is sitting in front of you. The way she moves, looks and gesticulates. She is always surrounded by a majestic aura. You can hear that she has been living in Sweden for a very long time. Conversely, you can also hear in her Swedish that she comes from Germany. She has a slight accent in both languages. She has a very soft voice, but speaks very impressively. It is immediately clear that she has something to say.

Silvia Sommerlath and Prince Carl Gustaf met at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. She wasn't just a hostess back then, as is sometimes said, but one of the chief hostesses...

Melchior: I also think that it always comes across as a bit misleading in the portrayal. It wasn't a nice vacation job where the pretty Silvia Sommerlath guided celebrities from A to B at the Olympic Games. Silvia started working for the National Olympic Committee in 1970. She was the personal assistant to the president of the NOC, Willi Daume [1913-1996]. And from this position, she was appointed one of the chief hostesses, who was primarily responsible for planning and preparing personnel in the run-up to the Games and then for operational planning during the Games.

Did Silvia's work play a role in the wedding planning with Carl Gustaf?

Melchior: Apparently yes. It was important to the Queen to finish her job. She had undertaken to help plan and organize the Innsbruck Winter Games in 1976. She wanted it and Carl Gustaf accepted it. The engagement was only announced after the Winter Games. Of course, this also gave her time to see exactly what awaited her in Sweden. But that also says something about her: She takes her job very seriously and she follows through with what she has set out to do.

Before Silvia came, the court was very male-dominated. She has reinterpreted the role of the Queen alongside the King. What were her first major steps?

Melchior: Silvia's first steps were to have her own office, a typewriter and to hire young women in particular. One of them was hired as a member of staff in the press office shortly after the wedding in 1976 and went on to have a stellar career at court. First as press spokeswoman for the royal house, then as court marshal. There had never been women in these positions before. But the Queen always had to act very carefully in all of this because she didn't want to offend the veteran members of the royal family. Everything developed very slowly.

Did Silvia face headwinds in those early days or was she rather ridiculed?

Melchior: She was indeed ridiculed because of the typewriter she requested for herself. The older gentlemen wondered why the Queen needed a typewriter. But she was just used to doing things herself. Even today, the Queen still writes many emails herself, which King Charles, for example, does not do. Charles still prefers pen and paper - which is also very nice, but digital communication is also faster and more professional at court. Queen Silvia has also brought her many years of professional experience to the royal house. She is always involved in the planning and organization of major events at court, such as the weddings of her children or banquets and state visits. As a former event manager, if you want to call it that, she knows a thing or two about it and enjoys doing it.

One particularly touching scene in the film is the premiere of the ABBA song "Dancing Queen" at the opera. Silvia and Carl Gustaf could hardly hide their enthusiasm. Was the song really written for them?

Melchior: I had already spoken to Anni-Frid [78] from ABBA about it for an earlier film and she told me that her fiancé at the time, Benny, came home and played the song for her. It made her cry because she thought it was so beautiful. When ABBA were invited to perform at the opera on the eve of the royal wedding, they decided to premiere this song. It was not written for Silvia, as is often claimed, but they premiered it the night before the wedding in Silvia's honor and dedicated it to her. "Dancing Queen" is one of the most successful hits of all time.

Read also:

• Caught up in the present: the end of "The Crown"
• 40 years of the music show "Formel Eins"
• These TV annual reviews will be shown in 2023
• Sky documentary: "23 - The mysterious death of a hacker"

1. In the film "Silvia. Sweden's German Queen", Queen Silvia shares her story of meeting Carl Gustaf at the 1972 Olympic Games, which is available to watch in the ZDF Media library.
2. Royal expert Julia Melchior spent time rummaging through archives and private collections to find fascinating footage for her new film about Queen Silvia, revealing new aspects of the Queen's past.
3. During her research, Melchior discovered footage of Queen Silvia and Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing, who spoke about a speech Silvia gave on child abuse at UNESCO in Paris in 1995.
4. In an interview with spot on news, Melchior discussed how Queen Silvia's work on child abuse and dementia has made her an international expert in the field.
5. Princess Silvia Sommerlath was not just a hostess at the 1972 Olympic Games, as often portrayed, but one of the chief hostesses responsible for planning and organizing the event.
6. Silvia's work at the Olympic Games did play a role in her wedding planning with Carl Gustaf, as she wanted to finish her job before making their engagement official.
7. Queen Silvia's first major steps after becoming queen included having her own office and hiring young women to work in her press office, changing the dynamic of the male-dominated court.
8. Silvia faced ridicule and headwinds in her early days as queen, particularly for her request for a typewriter, but she remained determined and persistent in her work.
9. One of the most touching scenes in the film is the premiere of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" at the opera, where Silvia and Carl Gustaf could not hide their enthusiasm, even though the song was not written specifically for them.

Source: www.stern.de