'Queen Silvia' Readies for World Premiere at Mipcom: A Royal Romance Without the Fairy Tale

Beta Film's "Queen Silvia" will world-premiere at Mipcom in Cannes, and its makers are adamant about one thing: it is not a Cinderella story.

The series dramatizes the real-life romance between Sweden's Crown Prince Carl Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath, a German-Brazilian interpreter who became Queen of Sweden. Miguel Alexandre directs. Alicia von Rittberg and Edvin Endre star.

"Even though it's a very European story, people will see that it's universal and can be sold – and watched – from Tokyo to Buenos Aires," executive producer Justus Riesenkampff told Variety.

Who is producing and where will it air?

Pyjama Pictures (Germany) and Unlimited Stories (Sweden) produce the series jointly. It will stream on Prime Video in Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland and the Nordic countries, and air on SAT.1 in Germany.

The subject had a built-in appeal for German audiences. "In Germany, we're also fascinated by royalty. We discovered that we actually have a queen: Silvia Sommerlath, who's partly German and partly Brazilian," Alexandre said.

What drives the story?

The couple met in 1972. They got engaged four years later.

"For royals, that's a long time. We asked: 'What happened within those four years?' That's where we found the heart of our tale. It's not about a woman who wants to become a queen; it's about a woman who has to come to terms with it. It's not a Cinderella story," showrunner Carsten Kelber said.

A remark Silvia made in an interview shaped the writers' approach. "In one interview, Sylvia said: 'I'm glad I was given so much time to decide.' She said this while sitting right next to him, which means he probably asked earlier," Kelber noted. "This breaks the usual narrative because it's not about 'When is he going to ask'?!."

Alexandre frames the relationship as two people completing each other. "Sommerlath was brought up between two different cultures and was looking for home. Carl Gustaf had that, but you could also call it a prison," he said. "In Silvia, he found someone who loved him for who he really was, and that gave him the strength to fulfill his role."

How do the actors see her?

Von Rittberg stresses that Silvia was independent before entering the court. "She wasn't looking for someone to make her 'whole'. She was already very independent. But how do you fit into a world where you have to give up the things you've built for yourself?" she said.

Endre points to the prince's isolation. "Carl Gustaf has said publicly that he needed to find a queen for Sweden. It was difficult for him to date because he needed someone who could 'do the job.' Silvia was far better at it than he ever was," he said. "When we talk about royal families, we tend to focus on privilege. But Sylvia was one of the few people in his life who could see him as a real person."

Endre adds that the couple changed the monarchy from within: "He became king at 27, and spent his entire life resenting many of the things he had to do. Their kids were allowed to marry for love and I think that says a lot about how they chose to change things within the monarchy."

Romance or drama?

Alexandre argues that obstacles make love stories compelling. "How do you find a good one? Only when there are limitations, conflicts or reasons why two people can't be together. In modern societies, there aren't really that many obstacles anymore. That's why it's so fascinating."

Kelber resists the love-story label. "I prefer that term because we go really deep. It's O.K. to call it a 'love story,' but that sounds a bit too light to me. Which we aren't, thank God," he said of his preferred category, "romantic drama."

Future seasons, according to von Rittberg, will dig into duty and responsibility. The first season is about love.