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Sweden royal wedding: Prince Carl Philip to marry ex-reality star | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A former reality TV star will become a princess when she marries Sweden's Prince Carl Philip in a lavish ceremony in Stockholm. | |
Sofia Hellqvist, 30, also worked as a topless model and a yoga instructor before helping to set up a charity. | |
Her fiance, 36-year-old Carl Philip, is third in line to the Swedish throne. | Her fiance, 36-year-old Carl Philip, is third in line to the Swedish throne. |
Thousands of well-wishers are expected to line the streets for the event, despite polls suggesting the Swedish royal family's popularity is waning. | |
The pair reportedly first met at a restaurant in 2010, with news of their relationship being revealed soon after. | The pair reportedly first met at a restaurant in 2010, with news of their relationship being revealed soon after. |
Sofia Hellqvist: A real Cinderella story | |
The Swedish media made much of Ms Hellqvist's past, which included posing topless with a boa constrictor for a men's magazine in 2004. | |
A year later she appeared on the Swedish reality TV show Paradise Hotel, in which scantily dressed singletons compete to stay in a luxury resort. | |
In response to the media interest, Ms Hellqvist told Swedish television that she had long since moved on. | |
"I don't regret anything. All these experiences have made me the person I am," Ms Hellqvist said. "I wouldn't have made those choices today," she added. | |
Amid rumours that her past had caused disquiet among the royal family, the palace has emphasised her charity work. | |
In 2010 she co-founded the Project Playground charity which helps disadvantaged children in South Africa. She has also worked as a volunteer in several African countries. | |
Ms Hellqvist, who is from the central Swedish town of Alvdalen, also studied accounting in New York in 2005 and worked there as a yoga teacher and a waitress. | |
On Friday evening, more than 200 wedding guests attended a dinner in honour of the couple on the island of Skeppsholmen. | |
The wedding will take place at the Royal Chapel, or Slottskyrkan, in Stockholm on Saturday. | |
Carl Philip is third in line to the throne behind his elder sister Crown Princess Victoria and her three-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle. |