I think that at some level everyone knows monarchy is ridiculous (disclaimer: I'm not a monarchist/royalist, just a hypocrite who likes dresses). One family/extended family gets a huge amount of privilege and is held up as role models/symbols, with no actual power, while having their civil/human rights seriously curtailed - it doesn't gel. And generally speaking people enjoy having a monarchy, even if they can't say way beyond "I think they seem lovely and do a good job (what job?) and it's a nice tradition". I mean, what's the consequence of bitching about the royals, complaining about their lifestyle and intelligence? Fine, then we won't have any? But we want them and we want them to wear beautiful dresses at the Nobel Prize dinner every year ... so better to tacitly agree that they won't be too ostentatious and obnoxious, throwing in the odd high street dress for example and doing a tv special every new year about their year, and we keep them. What would bitching about Sofia serve? Are we saying that Carl Philip isn't allowed marry her? Are we telling him who he can marry? How un-democratic! And if he does, are we so disappointed then we abolish the monarchy? No, best shut up. And now that they ARE married, putting her sexypics in the papers all the time would be seen as misogynistic and thus bad press etiquette (they have a self-disciplinary body). Poor taste!
Sweden has a strong sense of Jante law which doesn't fit with royalty and nobility. Or Zlatan Ibrahimović. They have to be a bit humble for this to work. At least pretend that they care tremendously about the common folk. ;)
Victoria is steady, sensible, strong sense of duty, took the right courses at university for her future role, married a lad from bloody Ockelbo for God's sake after them being together for years, a Swedish designer did her wedding dress. Carl Philip did his army thing, tries to be interested in design (a.k.a. real job), has no terrible scandals to his name anyway (also always more acceptable when men party etc b/c misogyny), marries a woman from bloody Älvdalen of all places, her wedding dress designed by Swedish woman designer with RTW line (accessible). Madeleine ... she was photographed often with a fast set of youngsters in her youth, partying etc. They stamped her party princess, because we always need a madonna and a whore, right? Then she fecks off to New York, makes it quite clear she enjoys being anonymous abroad, and find a little bit older, smoking, non-Swedish businessman who doesn't want to tow the line and be grateful for marrying "us" and they don't live in Sweden! And her wedding dress was Valentino! Terrible. He got bonus points for crying openly at the wedding though, and they did quite well on Skavlan. ;) But he smokes. And isn't super-traditionally handsome. And loves making money, clearly. Sure they don't know what to make of him and they hate it.
Re Sofias regional costume: It was a huge deal actually. The area is very big on these costumes and they have to have all the details right, which she did. It's not like the royals, who might wear the costume from a region they're staying at (like when they're at their summer home on Öland, but even then it's a special, royal, version of it) or possibly from the region they're duchess of whatever of, or that ugly "Swedish" one that's blue and yellow. Sofia is duchess of Värmland but she did not wear a costume from that area (they also have several) but from her home. Very interesting.
