Queen Silvia in Munich: Her memories of the 1972 Olympics - it all started in the stadium

Created: 05/22/2022, 06:20

By: Teresa Winters

The Swedish Queen Silvia speaks on a podium at an event of the Munich Press Club in the hotel "Bayerischer Hof".

© Stefan Puchner/dpa

Sweden's Queen Silvia once fell in love with her Carl Gustaf in Munich - since then she has kept coming back to the city on the Isar.

So also this time in the press club.

Munich – When Queen Silvia of Sweden (78) tells her love story, her eyes light up.

It was 50 years ago when 28-year-old Silvia Sommerlath met the man of her dreams in the packed Munich Olympic Stadium.

He sat behind her and watched the pretty young woman through binoculars.

"That's when it clicked for me," Silvia said later.

The young man was Sweden's Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, who ascended to the throne just a year later after the death of his grandfather and made Silvia queen in 1976.

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Since then, both have often come to Munich, to their city.

Queen Silvia also made her way to the Bavarian capital on Friday – alone.

In the afternoon she wanted to look back at the 1972 Olympic Games at the Munich Press Club.

Her time in Munich and her job as head hostess, where she looked after Chancellor Willy Brandt, British Prime Minister Edward Heath and the royal couple of Monaco.

But her fairytale encounter with Carl Gustaf should also be discussed.

Very few had noticed that their romance began in Munich, because even then, discretion was everything for Silvia.

She also wanted to address another topic that is very close to the heart of the Swedish monarch.

For decades, Queen Silvia has been supporting people with dementia with her "Silviahemmet" foundation.

Because her beloved mother Alice also fell seriously ill before she died in 1997 at the age of 90.

Silvia cared for her at Drottningholm Palace until her death.

Munich: Sweden's Queen Silvia supports people with dementia

Her niece Désirée Princess von Bohlen und Halbach (58) also supports and accompanies people with dementia and their relatives.

In 2017 she founded her association Desideria Care in Munich.

This Saturday, May 21st, at 3 p.m., he is organizing the concert "Musik im Kopf" for people with and without dementia in the old town hall hall.

Queen Silvia is the guest of honor and will sit in the front row.

She wants to stay in Munich until Sunday and reside in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof.

There she should also crown the gala dinner on Friday evening – again for the benefit of dementia patients.

"Queen Silvia is very committed, she has set up a facility for people with dementia and visits it very often," says von Bohlen und Halbach.