Meet the family: Swedish royals to get ‘The Crown’ treatment in new television show

With news that a series is set to chart the life of King Carl XVI Gustaf, here's who we're expecting to see captured in the storylines

Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf will see his life turned into a television show in the way Netflix's 'The Crown' did for the British royal family. 'He does all the things that aristocrats tend to do," Thomas Sjoberg, author of the King Carl XVI biography 'The Reluctant Monarch', told the UK’s 'Telegraph' in 2011: 'The Swedish people seem to be very tolerant, and partly that's because they don't see him as a grown-up person.' EPA

German-Brazilian Silvia Sommerlath, a former flight attendant and trained interpreter, met Gustaf during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where she was working as an educational host. They just 'clicked,' the king later said. AFP

Swedish primogeniture law was changed in 1980, making Princess Victoria Crown Princess Victoria. At the age of 3 she became first in line to the throne, ahead of her then 1-year-old brother, Prince Carl Philip. If she ascends to the throne she will be the first Swedish queen since 1720. AFP

Crown Princess Victoria caused a stir when she announced plans to marry her personal trainer, Daniel Westling. Westling, now Prince Daniel, was famously uncomfortable in the public eye, and the pair kept their romance under wraps. They have two children, Prince Oscar and Princess Estelle. AFP.

The second child, and only son of Carl XVI Gustaf, 41-year-old Prince Carl Philip joined the Swedish Navy, attaining the rank of Major. He is also heavily involved in dyslexia charities, suffering from the disorder himself. Instagram

Prince Carl Philip married Sofia Hellqvist in June 2015 in Stockholm's Royal Palace chapel. A former glamour model, Hellqvist also appeared in Swedish reality TV show 'Paradise Hotel', reaching the finals. Instagram

Talented horsewoman Princess Madeleine of Sweden is the patron of the organisation Min Stora Dag (the Swedish equivalent of Make-a-Wish Foundation). She is also a children's book author, having penned the book 'Stella och hemligheten', which was published in 2019. AFP

Princess Madeleine of Sweden married British-born American financier Christopher O'Neill in June 2013, after the pair met and dated in New York, where Madeleine was working at the time. O'Neill turned down Swedish citizenship, making him ineligible for a royal title. The pair have three children, Princess Adrienne, Princess Leonore and Prince Nicolas. AFP

On October 7, 2019, King Gustaf reduced the number of members of the royal house, stripping five of his grandchildren of their royal highness status - the children of Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl. The children retain their titles but will not be expected to perform royal duties. Madeleine called it: 'A greater opportunity' for the children to 'shape their own lives'. From left to right: Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Sofia and Prince Daniel. Instagram

Last year, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia revealed they are expecting their third child, a sibling for Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel, in March or April this year. Instagram

Princess Sofia with Crown Princess Victoria. The princesses are said to be close and enjoy outdoor pursuits in common. Instagram

After marrying Princess Sofia, Prince Carl Philip accused the Swedish media of 'bullying' amid claims his family hadn't accepted her because of her modelling past - claims he slammed as false. AFP

The Swedish Royal family, including, from left to right: Prince Daniel, Christopher O'Neill, Princess Estelle, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, King Carl Gustaf, Prince Carl Philip and Queen Silvia will see their lives turned into a drama series similar to Netflix's 'The Crown'. AFP

Promising to do for the Swedish royal family what Netflix's The Crown did for the British royals, there's a new TV show in the works that will lift the lid on the inner workings of the House of Bernadotte.

Putting King Carl XVI Gustaf, 74, front and centre of the show, Sweden's TV4 and streaming service C More is developing a series that will follow the patriarch's life from his childhood to becoming king in 1973 at the age of 27, and his reign since.

“Other kings and queens are said to have had an impact on world events. The history of our king is something different,” said Asa Lantz, who is co-writing the new series and has been researching the life of King Carl Gustaf for the past few years. “Not as highlighted internationally, but at least as dramatic and fascinating. And for many of us, completely unknown.”

"I've personally never been a fan of monarchy, but I remember reading the treatment of six or seven pages while I was on a flight. As I was reading those pages, I started crying because it was so strong," Josefine Tengblad, head of drama at TV4 and C More, told Variety. "It's a little bit like The King's Speech in the way that it portrays someone who is being groomed to become someone he's not, and is having people trying to change him."

The playboy prince

Gustaf is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Vasterbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He became second-in-line to the throne when his father died in a plane crash in 1947, when the young prince was just 9 months old. He became Crown Prince and first-in-line to the throne at the age of 4.

Viewed by many in Sweden as a "playboy prince", Thomas Sjoberg, author of King Carl XVI biography The Reluctant Monarch, told the UK's Telegraph in 2011: "He does all the things that aristocrats tend to do. Expensive holidays on the French Riviera, travelling all over the globe, throwing ridiculously expensive parties, socialising with lots of women when his wife is not present. The Swedish people seem to be very tolerant, and partly that's because they don't see him as a grown-up person."

Marrying German-Brazilian Silvia Sommerlath, a former flight attendant, in 1976, the couple welcomed three children: Crown Princess Victoria, 43, Prince Carl Philip, 41, and Princess Madeleine, 38, who themselves have seven children between them, with another on the way this year for Prince Carl Philip and his wife, Princess Sofia.

"As we understand it, it is planned as a drama documentary. When it comes to documentaries, it is important that they are as close to the truth as possible, and that the facts are presented correctly," the Royal Court told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. "As for the dramatised part of the series, it is of course based on artistic freedom, something we have no control over."

Scroll through the gallery above for some of the Swedish royal family storylines the TV show might portray …