New portraits of Swedish royal Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, and his fiancée Sofia Hellqvist have been released and the shots bear a striking similarity to those engagement pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The official images – released three months after their engagement announcement was made – see the betrothed Swedish couple hand-in-hand posing tenderly as they smile toward the camera.
Sweden’s royal couple Prince Carl Philip and Sofia and Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
With style in spades Sofia, 29, looked stunning in an elegant blue wrap dress – not too dissimilar from the royal blue silk Issa London dress worn by the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, when she posed for photographers after getting engaged in 2010.
A poll by celebrity style website, MyCelebrityFashion.co.uk, ranked the Issa dress worn by the Duchess as the second most iconic outfit of 2010, outdone only by Lady Gaga’s 2010 MTV Video Music Awards meat dress.
Sofia’s raven locks were also styled in similar soft curls to her British counterpart.
Prince Carl Philip, 35, the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, looked handsome in a navy blue suit, which also echoed Prince William’s suave engagement style.
Before her life as a future member of the royal family, Sofia reportedly worked as a one-time model, yoga teacher and reality-TV star.
Much like the British royals, the Swedish couple who met in 2009 in a night club, had their engagement news confirmed in an official palace statement.
“The Marshal of the Realm is delighted to announce the engagement between Prince Carl Philip and Miss Sofia Hellqvist,” it read.
“After His Majesty The King of Sweden had given his consent to the marriage between Prince Carl Philip and Miss Sofia Hellqvist, His Majesty requested the approval by the Swedish Government, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Swedish Constitution.”
The royal wedding is expected to take place next year.
