Wilhelmina Skogh, the greatest pioneer of the Swedish hotel and tourism industry, was born in 1850 on the island of Gotland. Wilhelmina Wahlgren, later Skogh, grew up on Fårö, but her journey in life would take her all the way into the country's finest salons at the Grand Hôtel, via SJ's railway restaurants.

At the age of 13, Wilhelmina moved to Stockholm to seek employment. She focused early on the restaurant industry and worked her way up diligently. Eventually, she headed north to Gävle, where she took a job as a waitress.

At the age of 26, Wilhelmina was employed by the Swedish State Railways with the responsibility of establishing and running a restaurant in the station building in Storvik outside Sandviken. The position was well-paid, and the income could be used to establish a modern railway hotel next to the restaurant.

During the 1880s, Wilhelmina expanded her operations to the railway hotel in Bollnäs and the tourist hotel in Rättvik. There, she created a new type of experience tourism. Together with the British travel agency Thomas Cook & Son, Wilhelmina aimed to attract Englishmen and Europeans to Dalarna, and the success was inevitable. The reputation of the entrepreneur Wilhelmina Skogh spread to the capital city, where the prestigious Grand Hôtel took notice of her work.

In 1902, Wilhelmina reached the top of her career when she was recruited to the Grand Hôtel. During Wilhelmina's time as the hotel's managing director, the Grand Hôtel Royal was built, including the magnificent Winter Garden, which became known far beyond Sweden's borders. Her spirit lives on at the Grand Hôtel, where she is forever remembered as "The Grand Lady."