Can you believe it’s August already? This year has flown by so fast. It feels like only a few weeks ago when Princess Sofia announced her pregnancy, so whenever I see her I forget how far along she is. She’s due in September, but it still feels like April to me, so I was surprised by how pregnant she looks in these photos from August 2, even though I shouldn’t have been. Anyway, here’s a Sofia update. She attended the Sustainability and Future Seminar “A Sustainable Tomorrow” on August 2.
Sofia was in Båstad for the “A Sustainable Tomorrow” conference which was organized by Gränslösa Möten and Project Playground was one of the main partners. The purpose of the conference was to provide opportunities for people who want and can influence change to be linked to create sustainable change. Different perspectives on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals were highlighted with an additional focus on Objective 17 – Implementation and Global Partnerships.
Project Playground was represented by Sofia, who is currently the Honorary Chairperson, and Susanna Johansen, who is the General Secretary. The conference had speeches from Fredrik Reinfeldt, Anders Borg, Jakob Trollbäck, Soulaima Gourani, Frans Johansson, and Sofia.
The day ended with an evening charity dinner and auction, the proceeds of which went to Project Playground.
For the day event, Sofia chose pieces from Ida Sjöstedt: the “Emmy” jacket and “Shelley” dress in navy. For the evening event, Sofia chose a power blue gown from By Malina, opting for the “Cala” dress.
Project Playground said Sofia gave some sort of speech, but I cannot find a transcript of it. But she did speak to Svensk Damtidnings while at the conference.
Takeaways from the conference:
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“How important it is that we all work together and that we have a common vision. And that we do the best we can. It is important at all levels! We have discussed both micro and macro perspectives. From the global leaders’ power in this to civil society. We as individuals actually have an opportunity to influence, really through all the choices we make. From what we consume to what we think and think and demand.”
On how she does this in everyday life:
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“I think that’s an attitude. I try to make choices that are not only good for me as an individual but that are good for society and many more. And it’s incredibly wide, it’s all about choosing to shop with companies with good value bases and to raise my son to be a nice person. So I try to do my very best. In addition to that, I also work through Project Playground, which I founded almost seven years ago. We are working on these important issues every day!”
Photos: Project Playground / Getty
For someone in the last weeks of pregnancy Sofia looks fab, especially in the pieces from Ida Sjöstedt.
I agree. She really looks amazing.
Agreed. I wish I looked that good when pregnant. Heck, I wish I looked that good now.
+1
She really looks very nice in those light blue dresses (still dreaming of her pre-wedding dinner dress). I wish she would stop the middle parting but whatever, if she likes it that is all that matters.
Very happy she is still supporting Project Playground and I am very happy for her that she is still fit enough to do all those engagements that far along. If I had the chance to stop working earlier while being pregnant in summer I for sure would have taken it.
It would be nice to know which companies have good values in their eyes but this would certainly be seen as her promoting them.
The court said she would no longer be involved with Project Playground but I guess she still is (she funneled PP money into her own personal accounts).
Did the court really state that? I recall the announcement, not sure if it came from the Swedish Royal court, that Sofia resigned from the executive position she held with Project Playground but that she would still be involved with the organization.
Regarding Sofia funneling PP money into her own account, IIRC what happened was that there was a social media / internet exchange between someone who wanted to make a contribution to PP and Sofia told him (something to the effect of) to make a check out to her and on the memo line write that the check was for Project Playground. So while Sofia may have put the money in her personal account, that does not mean that the money was misappropriated / that the money did not go for its intended use.
There are ongoing questions about the use of those funds which will likely never be investigated, especially since one of the early PR articles about it (before engagement) appeared to show the PP offices were actually her apartment.
Who is asking these “ongoing questions”? What are the questions?
I don’t know about Sweden but in the U.S, there is nothing unusual or suspicious about running a business / organization from your home.
I like Sofia very much. She seems sympathetic and down to earth. Perhaps the blue is a hint that it is a boy?:)
Royals sometines do such things, but it could be a coincidence.
I like her too and despite her past she is making a real effort to actually work rather than just turn up at events. She speaks often even in English. I don’ t think her previous life involved her destroying others so I am prepared to move on. It may not have been a ‘profession’ we would choose but she did pay her own bills. And she didn’t destroy marriages. Most importantly they seem to have a genuinely happy marriage and adore being parents.
Hmm – Maybe to all that – but IMO she is no role model..
Would you say Camilla and/or Kate are good role models?
I know this sounds clinical and it might be my academia side coming out but maybe we should come up with a definition of role model before we can debate if they are role models or not.
Interesting thought TC-P, I wonder though if there would indeed be just one person who would fill all the criteria to be considered a “role model”? Personally, I don’t know of single person, who lives in the public eye, who I would consider a “role model” While there are many who, in one area of their lives can be inspiring, in other areas of their lives they can be a complete mess.
I think the idea of a “role model” is a bit… will never be fulfilled. I can’t think of the term I want to use here. What I mean is that the perfect person “role model” will never exist. There are many people who in certain ways can and are inspiring to others, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have flaws. But their flaws don’t make them not inspiring in the ways that they are inspiring. It doesn’t have to be black and white with the whole “role model” thing. We can take inspiration from certain parts of people, while acknowledging that they are not perfect and that other parts of them are not inspiring. We can have a nuanced opinion of a “role model”.
For example, someone once asked me how I would explain a Princess Sofia or a Kim Kardashian to my daughter, and I gave a nuanced answer. We can take lessons from people we deem not to be great in certain areas while still being inspired by other areas of them. Elon Musk, for example, seems like a shitty romantic partner, but he is brilliant in other ways. His being a shitty romantic partner doesn’t mean his drive to succeed in his chosen fields isn’t inspiring. Just because Sofia has a past we wouldn’t choose for ourselves or our daughters doesn’t mean parts of her story can’t be inspiring.
The idea of the perfect “role model” seems more like trying to find someone to fill the gaps of having a nuanced opinion of behavior and teaching that nuanced opinion of behavior to others, rather than putting forth the effort to go through the process of thinking about the nuanced opinion and teaching it to others.
Just because someone who is not the perfect “role model” takes more effort on our part to discern doesn’t make them a terrible person or not worthy of drawing inspiration from.
“For example, someone once asked me how I would explain a Princess Sofia or a Kim Kardashian to my daughter, and I gave a nuanced answer.”
Great summary KMR and a very well thought out answer.
As for looking for “role models”? I’ve always told girls (my nieces, my god daughter and friends’ girls) that you can’t expect someone you pick as a role model to be absolutely perfect in every way, and to remember that person is human – which means that sometimes they may just make a mistake or two.
It depends whether you see prerequisites of a role model as being either famous and/or successful in monetary terms. I don’t, personally; I’m more interested in someone’s character, someone who lives their life with integrity and empathy towards others. Nothing to do with money or fame.
The term is indiscriminately thrown around, especially so when fame for any number of reasons comes into the mix, and with these, the deliberately manipulative PR narrative meant to sustain that illusion. I would call Nelson Mandela a role model because of his life-long service to others, but I know many others who have neither name recognition nor wealth who have impacted on others’ lives in deeply meaningful, ongoing ways.
Had I children, I would teach them to be critical thinkers and to search for truth. I would teach them to value and to seek substance. I would teach them that fame and wealth are extraneous to being a person of quality deserving of admiration and emulation.
First I just want to comment that all of you are all such great articulate women.
I looked up the definition of role model and it is “a person who serves a model in a particular behavioural or social role for another person to emulate.” To me that does not connote that they must be perfect but have qualities that other individuals desire. Therefore, we can have multiple role models at any given time for differing things. As humans we are flawed but everyone holds, in the words of the character Bryan Mills in Taken, special sets of skills. Some are great orators, creative, compassionate, thoughtful, etc.
I agree, maybe. She has never to my knowledge renounced her past, she has to my understanding made some totally vile observations, and I suspect that her past is what got her her current position. I won’t say anymore. That dress looked great from the front, the side view was not pleasant to me. Yes, she’s pregnant so this is simply a comment. I hope she has a healthy baby boy, she is who she is and I would fear for a girl raised with her value system. A role model she is not, she simply has clothes and jewels, a title and etc. but how she came to have them? Blech! She hasn’t changed, she just has better pr and benefited from a whole lot of white wash. This is just my opinion.
You cannot know she has not changed her viewpoints unless you are in her brain and/or have spoken to her personally at length about it.
It’s this type of thing I dislike that people do to Kate: they make a judgement about her based on their own perception of her thought process without actually knowing what her thought process is and then get angry about their judgments of their own perception.
I lived in Scandinavia for a bit and their idea of nudity and say that of America is completely different. Given that I am guessing she feels she has nothing to apologise for regarding her past. I have not seen the photos so cannot and will not judge.
I know it will seem like I am giving Sofia a pass whilst not Kate but Kate has flashed on a number of occasions and then William and Kate try to stop the pictures being published knowing that her dresses flying up with more than likely happen. The hypocrisy of the two really bothers me.
Amen sister
TC-P, I totally agree. And, for what it’s worth, I don’t think Kate has anything to apologize for either.
I agree royalsareajoke, but usually stay out of the Sofia discussions. She proudly stated she had no regrets about any of her choices, which to me says a lot about her character and lack thereof. All of this pushing forward of the two of them, instead of them following Maddie’s example and moving to private life. Sweden doesn’t need them as working royals; they should wise up.
So the example that Carl Philip and Sofia should follow is to do minimal royal work while letting the Swedish people pay for a Stockholm residence, pay for weddings and christenings and grant titles, dukedoms and HRH status to children who don’t live in the country?
I dont understand why people judge her im guessing its for her glamour modeling actresses go nude and even do sex scenes yet they don’t get judged like her people seem to think she owes people an apology last time I checked she didn’t do anything illegal its morality policing
They should move to one of the four properties they own privately and get off the dole completely. On the rare occasions that they show up to a large event, receive reimbursement like Madeleine. Follow the Dutch example. Like the group of politicians has been pushing for for over a year. Funding for only monarch and heir, period.
Carl-Philip and Sofia do live in one of his private homes. Before moving to their current home Carl-Philip and Sofia lived with his parents
Carl-Philip, Sofia and Madeleine have the same arrangement, they carry out engagements on behalf of the King and he compensates them.
It’s a rare human who hasn’t done something wrong, shady, sinful, foolish in their lives. We should applaud those who rise above and behave better going forward. One of the best things about people is their ability to redeem themselves. I would hate for all the dumb things I have done to trail me around forever after, and be only judged by those indiscretions.
+1
+2
+1
Just a thought. It isn’t so much about putting past experiences in the past because a person has learned from their experiences. Past deeds can come forward to compromise a spouse who is a member of government or the HoS in a way that can cause them to choose to concede to demands in order to hide those deeds and avoid irreparable loss of confidence in their position. People from the past can expect unreasonable favors in exchange for keeping certain details hidden. And, there is no guarantee that such people will keep their promises of secrecy. It can become a tangled web.
This is one reason that Sofia’s past can be damaging to the SRF.
But that presumes that there is something unknown about Sofia’s past that could be a threat. For all we know any royal, blood-royal or married in, could have done something in the past (or the present or the future) that can compromise the monarchy.
+1
I do think she is embarrased by her past doings.She dresses nice, she doesn’t have to show off her body and you can see that her son is a happy child.She is not just her past.I think she changed her values.
Blue is a nice color on her. (I don’t like her whatsoever but I can say something nice! lol)
Alexander is such a freakin’ cutie. I want to see more of that baby!
They’re only three inch heels, but I still feel sorry for her. No pregnant woman ought to be expected to wear pumps.
Hope her assistant is standing by with a pair of comfy Adidas.
I really like Sofia’s purse game.
I have a couple of nitpicks about each outfit, but damn she looks gorgeous at both events. Both outfits are thumbs up but her happy demeanor elevates the looks even further.
ETA:
I run hot and cold on the center part, but her hairstyles at both events look good.
Thanks for a great post KMR!! At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m thrilled that you cover other royal ladies not just Kate.
I have to say that I like to see pregnant women dress like themselves instead of wearing baggy dresses with those ridiculous Peter Pan collars. I’ve never understood why some designers insist on dressing pregnant women as those they were 3 year olds.
Anyhow, I think Sofia looked lovely in both outfits today! The navy dress and jacket was appropriately professional and looked nice and stretchy over her belly. I really like the evening dress, light blue is certainly her color!! Like Caroline said above, I dream of her pre-wedding dress, it was so perfect!!
I can’t say much against her center part because I wore mine like that for years even though it wasn’t the most flattering part for me, it was the easiest.
I like the light blue dress and like others I loved Sofia’s light blue prewedding dress!
As for her past? Hmm, some poor choices but then I side eye her father for letting her be involved with those photos as she was very young then.
I love the shell dress that the other lady is wearing!
Just the thing for a summer holiday with some beach and some time beside the pool Birdy?
A good look for you I think 🙂
Every time I hear the word sustainability I keep thinking of that BBC comedy show about the 2012 Olympics (Hugh Bonneville was in it) where sustainability was code for a huge waste of time.
My husband loved that show, Twenty-Twelve, and they also made W1A later. I love how the BBC can mock themselves. I personally hated the show because it reminded me every meeting I ever had to attend working for the local government.
Are you covering the last day of the tour? I know it was a pretty dull tour but I still like to see what everyone thinks of the outfits. 🙂
I will cover the last day of the tour plus the second day in Belgium later this week.
Oh yes, I rather like that lavender/ lilac Emilia Wickstead dress. Accessorised with the kids being cute! Charlotte being a sweetie and the photos of George being so happy to be in a helicopter! Yep, I’m with you kid, I like being in a helicopter too!
I saw someone else say G loved the helicopter so much he spontaneously turned into a Hummel figurine in that one photo. Lol so accurate!
That photo was a collection of astonishment, delight and fondest wish fulfilled. It recalled the subjects of Norman Rockwell’s paintings 50 years ago. It depicts an event that everyone seems to have had at some point in their life. He seems to be an expressive child.
The thought of being on a helicopter and flying in one scares me to death. I am not a fan of flying in any type of airplane, either. Little George’s enthusiasm was so cute!
He is braver than I could ever be!
This is OT.
If anyone in the US wants to watch or record the 2-part ABC program about Diana:
The Story of Diana: Part One
WEDNESDAY 08/9/17 9|8c
The Story of Diana: Part Two
THURSDAY 08/10/17 9|8c
That is all.
I think Sofia looks lovely in both ensembles!
As far as her past, here is a nice quote from Oscar Wilde: “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
I’m tempted to thrown in a biblical quote but I won’t but you get the drift. 😉
Hate to say it…but you can’t equate everyone’s past misdeeds. I may have lied to someone but I didn’t slap someone across the face/I didn’t drive drunk/I didn’t steal something, if you catch my drift. It irks me when people think that you can truly and well overcome your past in all circumstances, prisoners constantly play this card despite being pedophiles and murderers…and I just can’t with that. I know that’s an extreme, not to say people can’t change.
Regarding Sofia, bleh, is all I think. She looks fine. Time will tell if she has changed or not.
I’ll agree with you regarding pedophiles, murderers and rapists.
There is absolutely NO suggestion Sofia is any of those terrible things. I think it is unhelpful at best to link her past to murderers. I won’t comment further but some of the comments on here have horrified me. Far far far worse than anything ever said about Kate.
I certainly wasn’t equating her to being a murderer or a pedophile. It was a statement about the possibility of overcoming ones past. I made a separate statement about Sofia at the bottom of my comment.
I’m not a sugar for her and I’m not a hater. She’s not my idea of wholesome nor is she a role model to me. She is lucky to not have taken her past to the extreme where it is insurmountable. That’s all I have to say about her and I will not comment any further.
Not at all familiar with Sofia .. KMR can you brief summarize why she would be compared to kim k?
Sofia did some nude modelling when she was in her late teens and early 20s, and she appeared on a reality show in 2005. And she supposedly said some dumb stuff on a blog when she was in her early 20s.
Ah I see why some have judge her so harshly…. and from me not knowing any of the facts, my reaction after reading your response, was my God can people not be only be their mistake? We are all imperfect and all have done and said things years ago that we hope people don’t judge us now for, because we have grown. So yes I agree with your summary of not being in her brain and heart to know one way of the other. That’s why it equally annoys me when people call Kate an exhibitionist ….
+1
Thanks for familiarizin me with Sofia’s past. I too had no idea what it was that she so wronged.
I believe people can grow up and move forward..
Time will tell if she did change but no judgement from me.
Just an observation from a visit to Stockholm last month: a hotel in close proximity to the palace and cathedral in Gamla Stan has framed images from Victoria and Madeleine’s weddings displayed prominently in ground floor windows. I could not see an image from CP and Sofia’s marriage. There could be any number of reasons for this but at the time struck me as a point of interest.
Mocking her disabled professor on her blog is considered “dumb stuff”?
Yes. I said a lot of dumb stuff when I was in high school and college, including mocking people, but then I realized what an idiot I was and I grew up. Should I be forever condemned for those comments I made a decade ago? I guess according to so many people who condemn Sofia, I should be. People say dumb shit. But if those people haven’t said that type of dumb shit for a decade, they shouldn’t forever be condemned for it.
I think we’ve all said stupid things when young not realising or intending them to be cruel. As you say we grow up and change and try to teach our children not to repeat our mistakes. I grew up before Social Media and blogs, so my mistakes can’t be constantly rehashed. I think I am lucky.
Seeing as she has stated she regrets nothing? To me it indicates that she’s learned nothing and sees nothing wrong with what she did.
I read the blog comment and did not interpret that the professor was disabled.
Hi KMR, just wondering when you are going to update Kate’s 2017 Appearances?
I know I’m so far behind in updating that – I don’t think I’ve updated it for about 2 months. I will hopefully be able to update that page and also the fashion 2017 page this weekend.
No worries, I was just wondering.
The remarks they made don’t really provide much info so thanks KMR for the background context. The playground organisation sounds really interesting, I had a quick look at their website. I like their idea of working on projects for quality outcomes, not necessarily focused on quantity. Sustainability can mean whatever you want it to but I gather this conference was linking projects and applicants with funding. She looks very well for this stage of pregnancy and I hope all goes well.