Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden visited the University of Washington on May 7, 2010 in recognition of the Centennial of the Department of Scandinavian Studies and in celebration of Sweden Week in Seattle.
During her visit to campus, the Crown Princess took the opportunity to talk with majors and graduate students in Swedish Studies. She joined the students for lunch, and queried them with great interest about their motivation to study Swedish as an academic subject, student life on campus, their readings in Swedish literature and culture, and their future plans. During a brief walking tour of campus, she marveled at the beauty of the UW campus and Pacific Northwest nature.
The UW began offering Swedish in 1909, after a request by three students of Swedish heritage to have the language added to the curriculum quickly gained wide support.