In honor of the great Swedish wedding of the century, for the next four days we will feature the “Ten Best for the Tenth Anniversary (of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling)”. It was a great confluence of royalty, crazy weather, gowns and tiaras, and they let the public see a big portion of the festivities. To start us off, here are ten categories of great moments caught on camera.
Action on the Balcony
There were so many great human moments between royals on the balcony (or portico, I suppose. It seems like a LARGE balcony).
These shots of Rania and her phone are a definite fun bit. Rania stopped after the ceremony to snap some selfies. I am not complaining. It’s a human moment, and I would have done the same thing.
Let’s just enjoy her hairdo while we are here.
Victoria interacting with everyone she saw that day was a great moment, right? Here she is, greeting her parents, with her adoring public watching from the balcony. She is loved, isn’t she? (Laurentien peeping out is my favorite here. See the last slide in the slideshow.)
The bonding on the balcony of Tils and Leti was a sweet moment because we don’t see these two together often. They spent quite some time chatting each other up. Brainstorming world peace? Talking about the kids? A bit of both?
Best Friends
The floor show of Sofia and Beatrix on the way into the ceremony was a joy. This is a fabulous peek in to the rarefied world of royal besties, who hung out and joked and laughed their way through the weekend. It also helps that they both look fabulous.
Heirs Everywhere
Fred, Mary and Christian were there enfamille, since Christian is Victoria’s godson and was a pageboy at the wedding. Christian improvised a little high-stepping on their way into the ceremony. He was so, so cute, and so small. (Fun fact, although it wasn’t common knowledge, Mary was pregnant with twins here).
Yeah, pretty cute.
Haakon, Mette-Marit and Ingrid Alexandra, Victoria’s goddaughter and bridesmaid, were quite the family team all weekend, on the boat, at the ceremony, just about everywhere. Ingrid Alexandra was quite a pistol in those early years.
Willem-Alexander, Maxima and Catharina-Amalia, another goddaughter and bridesmaid, appeared togther. It’s the hand-holding between father and daughter that tugs my heartstrings.
ALL THE KIDS are spotted before the ceremony, hanging out together. Victoria’s attendants included family, friends, and a good contingent of heirs to European thrones.
Girls: Catharina-Amalia (Victoria’s goddaughter), Ingrid Alexandra (Victoria’s goddaughter),
Madeleine von Dincklage (granddaughter of Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler), Vivienne Sommerlath (Victoria’s cousin), Giulia Sommerlath (daughter of Victoria’s cousin), Hedvig Blom (Daniel’s niece), and Vera Blom (Daniel’s niece)
Boys: Christian (Victoria’s godson), Ian De Geer (a grandson of Victoria’s aunt Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld), Léopold Sommerlath (son of Victoria’s cousin)
This is a historic photo, but also one for family albums
Of course, there’s this shot which is always good for an “Awwww”, and for a game of “count all the heirs in one photo”.
Dinner Partners
If these photos are to be believed, two of the best dinner party guests ever, Mary and Willem-Alexander, traded several hilarious short stories all evening. Actually, if I am ever invited to a royal dinner seat me next to WAX, please. Bene charmed Al, and everyone gathered together the night before at the dinner hosted by the Swedish government.
Royals on Boats
Stockholm is surrounded by water, and the Scandinavian royals spent the weekend hopping on and off their yachts. Such handy transport! The Norwegians sailed in on the Royal Yacht, Ks Norge, and the Danes on The Dannebrog. Let’s take a look back.
Men in Uniform
I don’t think we really need to say much here. Enjoy. You’re welcome.
Speeches!
Prince Daniel’s speech – really, there are no words. Just listen to it, or read it, again. Here is the English translation.
Equally as poignant, take a listen to King Carl Gustaf’s speech. Remember, this was the 34th anniversary of his own wedding to the lovely Silvia. Here is the English translation.
The Swedes
The Swedish public showed up for their Queen-to-be, 500,000 strong.
Pär Engsheden Wedding Dress
The simply constructed off-the-shoulder gown has become a firmly entrenched favorite among royal watchers, deservedly so. Repeated viewings have etched into collective memory, but that first glimpse of the gown that allowed the bride to shine, and that supported the iconic tiara and family lace veil so well, must have been gasp-worthy.
The tricky double train effect worked particularly well on this dress.
Everything Vic and Dan
They just looked so darn happy.
You can talk about whatever you want in the comments, but we will have individual posts covering gowns, from both the pre-wedding and wedding festivities, and tiaras coming up later in the week. Don’t talk yourself out on the first day ; ).