Posted on 06/19/2010 10:47:20 PM PDT by Cincinna
Sweden hosted the biggest European royal wedding since that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, when Crown Princess Victoria married commoner Daniel Westling.
The marriage, a love match that has weathered the disapproval of the bride's father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, who was initially horrified that his heir was marrying her former fitness trainer, and growing indifference from the Swedish public, who have increasingly questioned the monarchy's modern relevance, took place in Stockholm's Storkyrkan Cathedral late on Saturday afternoon.
Determined to mark the day with a majestic ceremony the Swedish Royal Family had invited several crowned heads of Europe for their daughter's marriage to Mr Westling, 36, who now becomes HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland.
As the couple stood at the Cathedral altar at 3.30 yesterday - co incidently the same church in which the Crown Princess's parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, were married and on the date of their 34th wedding anniversary - Victoria looked regal and demure in an ivory silk, short-sleeved, off-the-shoulder gown, designed by Par Engsheden.
The newly created Prince appeared confident and immaculately groomed: a far cry from the long-haired, rather scruffy young man who was first pictured in the Swedish newspapers eight years ago when the news broke that the Crown Princess was dating him.
As he uttered an enthusiastic ''ja'' during his wedding vows, his eyes filled with tears as he turned to smile at his new wife.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
good post ma’am! Lovely couple...and my.. aren’t we lucky.. we have Michelle and Aldred E Newman..
"The color of this historical bridal tiara is very special; it's white: it consists of pearls, heightened with 7 cameo's who depict mythological figures. In the centre there's the crowning of love (mother and child), to where portrait-cameos of a man and a woman aim their sight. On the backside portrait-cameo's are interchanged with a godess who has a putti on her lap (caretaker) and a man with a staff (guard)."
I think it is sweet that she chose the one her mother wore. But her family has another one I think is more stunning, the Braganza tiara.
Everything you said!
Interesting tidbit about the crown. I also wore a “crown” at my wedding, one I hand-sewed myself out of buckram, sequins, and pearls. My dress was short (circa 1959) made in a simple brocade in a simple style — long pointed sleeves with tiny buttons at the wrists, empire style with a very fitted waist and a very full skirt, a “boat” neckline, open from shoulder to shoulder, and tiny buttons down the back. No lace, no satin, no chiffon. A few years later, my cousin borrowed the crown and never gave it back.
At the time, neither of us even knew that our family heritage was Swedish! (An odd last name was chosen when the English took over the New Sweden colony in Pennsylvania, and that name carried down in our family to this day. It didn’t “sound” Swedish.)
The idea of a crown at our weddings must have just been “in our blood”.
Jay Leno look? Hey, is it only me, or or do people notice the groom looks like a younger version of Al Frankin?
THeir children are going to be beautiful.
Thank you for an informative and interesting post!
Crown Princess Victoria visited the surviving sites of the colony of New Sweden around Philadelpia and Delaware for a dedication when she was 25. Crown Princess Victoria to Honor New Sweden Pioneers
Replica of the Kalmar Nyckal kept in a Delaware port. This is the ship that transported the early Swedish pioneers who founded New Sweden in what is now Philadelphia and Delaware. My 11th great grandfather was on that ship and made the voyage twice -- returning with a wife. I guess I am one of the 17 million descendants of the early Swedes who are living in America today.
It took a little digging, but Crown Princess Victoria visited here to kick off a series of events celebrating the 365th Jubilee of the New Sweden Colony in 2003, but she also studied history at Yale 1998-2000.
He looked better before they “princed him up.” He used to look normal, now he is borderline geeky.
“You mean the same Grace Kelly that slept with half of Hollywood before becoming “monarchy”?”
Precisely. With the other half waiting and hoping. I am always sickened when people hold her up to be some paragon of Holy Purity. Her future husband should have done a background check. ALWAYS be suspicious of any woman who works as an actress.
I’m still scratching my head as to why we still have monarchies in the 21st Century.
How much did the Swedish taxpayers pony up for this shindig?
Thanks for the lovely details of your wedding, and of Swedish tradition.
The Cameo Tiara is not the Swedish crown. It isn’t even Swedish, although it does have that traditional look. The Tiara was made for the Empress Eugenie, and either passed down to the Swedish royal family or purchased.
Oh, naughty! Have you no romance? ;)
What a wonderful occasion to bring out all the terrific FReepers with Swedish heritage! It is always a pleasure to learn about their customs abd traditions.
The other day, a lady on this thread EDINVA and I were on another thread discussing the now-crumbling town of Chester, PA, which was during the 1600's the seat of the New Sweden colony, and is the oldest city in Pennsylvania. I also lived a short hop from the old Swedish church in Philadelphia's Penn's Landing area along the Delaware waterfront.
Philadelphia and the republic owe so much to the Swedish colony, which you do not hear about the way you do the same era's Dutch colony of Nieuw Amsterdam, for instance.
Yes, indeed. I never even knew that there was a colony called New Sweden. It was totally skipped in school. My son in law was born and raised in Philadelphia, and I asked him if they were taught about New Sweden, since school curriculum often emphasizes the local. Nope. Never heard of it.
But the Dutch conquering the Swedes and the British conquering the Dutch played a great part in our personal family histories. My family name, for instance. When the British required the Dutch and their counterparts, the Swedes, to change their surname tradition to the British style, we lost all Swedish connection because our ancestor chose Longacre as his surname, rather than keep Peterson. I suppose there were too many Petersons and Andersons, or perhaps he named himself after his land [he owned a long strip of land on an island in the Schuykill River (sp?)], or perhaps it was a tip of the hat to his English brother in law whose name was Robert Longshore. Nobody knows the reason he chose the name Longacre to carry, but it has caused 300 years of confusion in my family who assumed they were descended from the English until fairly recently. He's carried in the records of the 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware by both names, Andreas Peterson Longacre.
I was browsing through the web looking for information on my Irish relations when I encountered my line on a page called "The Swedish Longacres". That record contained an error stating that my mother was deceased. I wrote to the lady and corrected the error and asked her why she named her page "The Swedish Longacres"? "Because we are Swedish", came the answer; and I discovered this whole world of Swedish connections that I had never heard about. The premier historian of the Swedish Colony, the late Peter Stebbins Craig, had even written an article of my 11th great grandfather. Fascinating.
Thank you for this and other great European culture threads that you post!
The description of a wedding was not my own, but a quote from an online article, which is linked above the italics part.
You are correct that the cameo crown is not one of the official Swedish crown jewels -- poor wording on my part.
One of the powerful folk traditions of the Swedes in Philadelphia that is very much alive today is the New Year's Mummers and Shooters Society, or the Philadelphia Mummers. The Swedish tradition of shooting guns and playing music in the streets on New Year's Day has been institutionalized in a fantastic New Year's day Mummer's Parade, as well as year-long fund-raising musical events by Mummers. The Mummer's headquarters on south Second Street is in the old Swedish area, near the Old Swede's Church in Pennsport, the oldest church in Pennsylvania.
Lovely! Thanks, Cincinna! :-)
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