Swedish Royal Wedding Look-Back: Victoria and Daniel

The final entry in our ‘Swedish Royal Wedding Look-Back’ series – which has looked at the marriages of  Gustaf Adolf and Margaret, Gustaf Adolf and Sibylla, the Haga Princesses and Carl Gustaf and Silvia – takes us back three years to the June 2010 wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Mr Daniel Westling.

After an almost ten-year-long courtship, the long-anticipated engagement of the heir to the Swedish throne, Victoria, and Swede Daniel Westling was announced on February 24th, 2009. Rumours an engagement was imminent emerged earlier that day, when the bride-to-be’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, had an informative council with the Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt. The engagement was announced through a video released on YouTube featuring the couple and the King and Queen. A press conference was later held at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, where Victoria showed off her solitaire round-cut diamond ring.

The engagement period was a long one for the couple, as a short time after the announcement, Daniel underwent a kidney transplant to treat a congenital kidney disease. The operation was a success, but because of the nature of his required recovery, the wedding was scheduled for the summer of the following year.

In the third weekend of June 2010, royalty and guests from all over Europe – and around 2,000 media representatives from around the globe – began descending upon Stockholm in preparation for the wedding festivities. Like her parents’ wedding thirty-four years earlier (to the day), the bridal couple and their guests were treated to a gala performance, this time at the Stockholm Concert Hall, the night before the wedding. This was hosted by the Swedish parliament, who had also provided a dinner beforehand, and featured performances by many Swedish musicians, including Peter Jöback and Roxette.

The following day, Saturday June 19th, came the big day for both Victoria and Daniel and royal watchers who had eagerly been awaiting the couple’s wedding. Over 1,000 guests – including the monarchs of Belgium, Denmark, Jordan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Norway – gathered in Stockholm’s Storkyrkan for the ceremony officiated by the Archbishop of Uppsala. Daniel arrived with his best man, future brother-in-law Prince Carl Philip, a short time before his bride made her entrance on the arm of her father.

Victoria wore a gown designed by Pär Engsheden, made of white duchess satin featuring a simple off-the-shoulder design and a five-meter train. The Cameo tiara sat on her head, anchoring Queen Sofia’s lace veil. Accompanied by her bridal children – Prince Christian of Denmark, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Hedvig Blom, Vera Blom, Ian De Geer, Giulia Sommerlath, Léopold Sommerlath, Vivien Sommerlath and Madeleine von Dincklage – Victoria made her way up the aisle with her father by her side, before her husband-to-be met them halfway so the pair could take the final steps to the alter together.

The ceremony was an emotional one, as the couple no doubt reflected on everything they had accomplished to become husband and wife. Specially composed music pieces were performed at the beginning and conclusion of the ceremony. Following the ceremony, Victoria and Daniel exited the cathedral to the cheers of thousands of well-wishers – Daniel Westling was now His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden, bearer of the Order of the Seraphim, as was granted to him by his father-in-law the morning of the wedding.

A cortege through seven kilometres of Stockholm was the next order of business for the bridal couple, before they boarded the royal barge Vasaorden to travel back to the Royal Palace, where their guests were waiting in the balconied garden for the couple – cheers and applause erupted as the couple made their way from the dock to the Palace. There were few dry eyes amongst the guests – many of Europe’s princesses were seen dabbing away tears.

Victoria and Daniel, accompanied by the King and Queen, made a brief appearance on the Palace balcony, where the King led a cheer for the bridal couple and Victoria thanked the Swedish people for “giving me my Prince.” It was then inside for the wedding reception, where an emotional speech by the groom endeared him to everyone. Some of the young bridal party were allowed to stay awake to see the multi-tiered wedding cake be cut, and then the dancing (which reportedly went on until the wee, wee hours of the morning).

Victoria and Daniel have one daughter, Princess Estelle, who was born in February 2012.

For the full coverage of Victoria and Daniel’s wedding here at the TRF Blog, please click on the following link: Swedish Royal Wedding 2010.

Filed under Sweden
Tagged Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Daniel of Sweden, Wedding.