Swedish Royal Wedding: Cortège and Reception

Following their wedding ceremony, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia went out to the side of the Royal Palace of Stockholm next to the Palace Chapel to greet the well-wishers who had gathered there, before boarding a horse-drawn carriage to drive through the streets of the Swedish capital.

The newlyweds travelled the route, lined with soldiers from the Swedish Armed Forces, in the Parade Barouche, which was also used at the weddings of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, and Princess Madeleine and Chris O’Neill. It dates back to the early 1900s. Carl Philip and Sofia happily waved to the cheering crowds before returning to the Royal Palace.

As with Crown Princess Victoria’s 2010 nuptials, the bride and groom were welcomed by their guests when they arrived at the Logarden, one of the formal entrances to the Palace.  Prince Carl Philip said a few quick words to the crowd before kissing his wife, and King Carl Gustaf led a cheer of “hurrahs” ahead of a 21-gun salute.

A reception was hosted by the King and Queen a short time later in the Vita Havet, where the 270 guests feasted on a menu prepared by Swedish chefs Fredrik Eriksson, Mathias Dahlgren, Markus Aujalay, Henrik Norström and Mattias Ljungberg. The first course was a dish called the ‘Princess Sofia’, which comprised of white asparagus boiled in an elderflower juice paired with chives and roe. Coriander lobster with grilled scallops, and pike with smoked butter followed before a dessert of peach and raspberry tartlets. (No meat was on the menu as the bride is vegetarian).

Princess Sofia’s father, Erik Hellqvist, delivered a speech as did King Carl Gustaf, in which he stated the “particularly nice feeling to celebrate your love here at the castle where you were born, dear Carl Philip.” He praised both his son and his new daughter-in-law, welcoming Sofia to the family by saying how they have come to know her as a “warm, secure and open person.”

The King also jokingly said how difficult it was for him and Queen Silvia to see their son ‘go’: “‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they two shall become one’. So it is written. From today your first loyalty must be with each other. It is not always easy for a father to get used to the idea – and not for your mother, for that matter. But that is as it should be.” (The King’s full speech can be found here, in Swedish.)

It was then time for Prince Carl Philip to address his bride and guests. “Sofia, we never chose the difficult path, it chose us. Every time we tried to opt out, love brought us together again. Every time we tried to be apart, my heart was so empty. But finally, finally Sofia, we chose right – a decision that makes me the luckiest man.”

The groom thanked both families – the Bernadottes and the Hellqvists – for welcoming their respective new in-law with open arms. He also recalled the day in June 2014 he went to ask Erik Hellqvist for his daughter’s hand in marriage – “Never has a trip been so important for me.”

“I have a lot to learn in life, and much remains to be done. It is a long journey, and the journey I look infinitely forward to do with you,” Prince Carl Philip said to his new wife, before the guests cheered and toasted the newlyweds. (Prince Carl Philip’s full speech can be found here, in Swedish).

After the dinner, guests went into Karl XI’s Gallery for the cake cutting and bridal waltz just before midnight, and then partied away into the early hours of the morning.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia have their first dance as husband and wife, June 13

Filed under Sweden
Tagged Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, In-Laws, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Princess Sofia of Sweden, Swedish Royal Wedding 2015.

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