Culled from Yahoo News
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish Princess Madeleine fell in love in the Big Apple. Now she has said "yes" to New York banker Christopher O'Neill in a lavish and emotional wedding ceremony in Stockholm. Madeleine, 30, was wearing a stunning silk organza dress with a lace
top and four-meter (13-foot) trail, designed by Valentino Garavani, when
she tied the knot with British-American O'Neill on Saturday. Around 470
European royals, top New York socialites and celebrities were in
attendance.
The 38-year-old O'Neill fought back tears as the princess walked down the aisle with her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, to a traditional Swedish wedding march performed by a children's choir. The bride and groom were visibly moved as the ceremony proceeded with hymns in both Swedish and English, and performances by Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson and Broadway's "Phantom of the Opera" star Peter Joback.
The 38-year-old O'Neill fought back tears as the princess walked down the aisle with her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, to a traditional Swedish wedding march performed by a children's choir. The bride and groom were visibly moved as the ceremony proceeded with hymns in both Swedish and English, and performances by Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson and Broadway's "Phantom of the Opera" star Peter Joback.
With a smile on her face, Madeleine read out the wedding vows in Swedish
while O'Neill read his in English in the Royal Chapel, decorated with
typical Swedish summer flowers. After the wedding, the couple kissed on
the steps of the palace in front of a cheering crowd of several thousand
who had gathered in the sunshine waving Swedish flags. "We hope she will be very happy in the future, the princess
Madeleine," Julia Huelsman, who had traveled from Munich, Germany, for
the occasion, said. Later, the newlyweds travelled in
a procession through the crowded streets of the capital in a special
horse and carriage. They then sailed to the royal residence and UNESCO
World Heritage site Drottningholm Palace, 10 kilometers (6 miles) west
of the city center, where a private wedding reception will be held.
Madeleine is the youngest of Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia's
three children and fourth in line to the throne. She became known as
Sweden's party princess in her early 20s, when she was frequently
spotted at Stockholm's high-end nightclubs, and has attracted widespread
attention for her stylish clothes. But her life hasn't always been a fairytale. Madeleine's extravagant
lifestyle has often been criticized by Swedes, who prefer the
down-to-earth attitude of her sister, Crown Princess Victoria, who
married a commoner. And in 2010, she fled to New York after breaking off
her first engagement to Swedish attorney Jonas Bergstrom amid media
reports that he had cheated on her.
Since then, Madeleine has held a
lower profile, working for the nonprofit World Childhood Foundation in
New York, where she met O'Neill through mutual friends. The couple was
first spotted together having lunch at the Central Park Boathouse in
January 2011 and they announced their engagement in October 2012. O'Neill was born into a wealthy family. His late father, Paul
O'Neill, set up the European head office of Oppenheimer & Co. in
London in the 1960s and his mother, Eva Maria O'Neill, is involved in
several charities. He studied at a boarding school in St. Gallen,
Switzerland, and holds a bachelor's degree in international relations
from Boston University and a master's degree from Columbia Business
School in New York.
Guests at the wedding included the U.K.'s Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward and Sophie; Princess Takamado of Japan and princes and princesses from Norway, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Monaco. O'Neill had also invited many of his super-rich friends, such as Opel heir Georg von Opel, Cadbury chocolate heir Joel Cadbury, Colombian billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo, and Aidan and Fizzy Barclay. Other well-known invitees were Duran Duran band member John Taylor, the CEO of fashion retailer H&M, Karl-Johan Persson, and golfer Jesper Parnevik.
The marriage is the latest in a
series of glamorous royal weddings that have mesmerized Europe in the
past few years. In June 2010, Madeleine's older sister Crown Princess Victoria wed her personal trainer Daniel Westling in a grand ceremony in Stockholm and the year after, Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in extravagant fashion in front of an estimated 2 billion television viewers. Also in 2011, Prince Albert II of Monaco wed Charlene Lynette Wittstock and in 2012, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg united with Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy.
The Swedish royal family
has only ceremonial duties, such as attending award ceremonies,
promoting Swedish businesses abroad and supporting charities. As the
head of state, the king also receives foreign dignitaries on formal
visits to Sweden.
AP Television Producer Yesica Fisch contributed to this report.
Happy married life, God bless you
ReplyDelete