This weekend Princess Madeleine, the daughter of HRH Prince Carl Philip and Queen Silvia of Sweden, got married to British-born American businessman Christopher O’Neill in a lavish royal ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. Celebrations began on Thursday with a National Day in Stockholm where the bride wore a traditional Swedish costume. On Friday night, the King and Queen hosted a dinner for the couple at the Grand Hôtel Stockholm, where most of the wedding’s 500 guests stayed. After dinner guests went on to the Wall Club to continue the celebration.
On Saturday the religious ceremony was held at the Stockholm Royal Chapel (the same place where Madeleine’s sister Princess Victoria was married two years prior). The ceremony featured hymns in both Swedish and English, as well as performances by Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson and Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera” star Peter Joback. After the ceremony, the bride and groom came out of the church to greet the people of Stockholm, and shared their first kiss as husband and wife with their people. The bride and groom took a horse-drawn carriage from the church to the palace, where they shared another kiss on the steps of the Palace in front of the cheering crowd.
The official ceremony was held in the Stockholm Palace, which is located in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm. The reception was held at Drottningholm Palace, the private countryside residence of the royal family, which guests were transported to by ship. There a lavish dinner celebration began and lasted all night til the sunrise.
Among the guets were Valentino (who created Princess Madeleine’s beautiful dress), Princess Charlene of Monaco (wife of Prince Albert II of Monaco), Prince Edward Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones of Britain, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Princess Tatiana and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal Claire of Greece, H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson, Roxette’s Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Princess Marie and Prince Joachim of Denmark, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, and Princess Takamado of Japan.
Congratulations Chris and Madeleine, wishing them many, many happy years together!
