Queen Silvia of Sweden feels 'great sadness' as she mourns the loss of her brother

Queen Silvia of Sweden is currently in mourning after the loss of her brother Walther Sommerlath.

He died on Friday 23 October 2020 at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge after a period of illness. Walther was 86 years old.

In a statement released by the Swedish royal court, the queen said: "My family and I feel great sadness and longing for my brother Walther."

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WATCH: A who's who of the Swedish royal family

Silvia is the youngest child of German businessman Carl August Walther Sommerlath and Brazilian-born Alice Soares de Toledo. She has an older brother Ralf Sommerlath and her third brother Jörg Sommerlath passed away in 2006.

She met Crown Prince Carl XVI Gustaf at the 1972 Olympics and the couple were married in June 1976 at Stockholm Cathedral.

Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne in 1973 before his marriage to Silvia, after the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf. His father Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten tragically died in an airplane crash in Denmark when Carl XVI Gustaf was just nine months old.

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© Photo: Getty Images

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia

The king and queen of Sweden have three children – Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Madeleine.

In 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf made some changes to the royal house, announcing that the children of Prince Carl Phillip and his wife Princess Sofia, and the children of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill, will no longer be members of the royal house.

This meant that Carl Phillip's sons Prince Alexander and Prince Gabriel and Princess Madeleine's children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne, lost their style of Royal Highness and in future, will not be expected to perform duties incumbent on the head of state.

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