One of the biggest ever public celebrations will take place today, June 19, as the country of Sweden will witness the Swedish Royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and her former personal trainer Daniel Westling. Watch the Swedish Royal Wedding live below:
The Swedish Royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria, 32, and 36-year-old Daniel Westling, will take place at Stockholm Cathedral in the Swedish capital (see picture below:)
For the first time since 1976 when Prince Bertil married Lilian and a new Princess was created, Sweden will get a new member of the Royal Family – His Royal Highness Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. It will be the first time ever that a commoner man marries the female heir apparent and is granted a royal title.
The date, 19 June, has been frequent in speculations on which date the couple would choose, especially since it is the same day that Victoria’s parents married in the same church. Also other Swedish royals have married on this same day, among them King Oskar I who married Duchess Josefina of Leuchtenberg on 19 June 1823 and King Karl XV who married Princess Lovisa of The Netherlands on 19 June 1850.
Reports say that more than 1,200 guests have been invited for the royal wedding ceremony, and the country will witness the couple riding through the city centre in a horse-drawn carriage.
Floral decorations
Stockholm will wake up to a floral extravaganza on Saturday 19 June. The floral decorations that frame the royal wedding link royal traditions with popular wedding customs.
Floral wedding
The idea has been for the wedding’s floral expression to capture and reflect the surrounding architecture. The dazzling decoration of the Royal Palace, Stockholm Cathedral, Skeppsholmen, Logården and Lejonbacken has been inspired by Swedish early summer flowers.
Midsummer light
The colour scheme of the decorations has been chosen to capture the clear Nordic Midsummer light. Pink roses, peonies, sweet peas, lilac and hydrangeas, together with lilies of the valley and gypsophila are interspersed with delphiniums in shades of blue and white. There are Swedish wild flowers from Ockelbo and majestic rhododendrons from Sofiero Palace.
Stockholm Cathedral
A pale blue carpet leads from the Royal Palace to Stockholm Cathedral. The carpet covers the pavements of Trångsund and the aisle in the cathedral.
The stone plinths on the steps up to the cathedral are decorated with wrought iron obelisks covered with birch leaves. The obelisks are flanked by flower beds of lobelia in shades of light blue.
Six-metre high floral columns
Stockholm Cathedral’s brick pillars are covered with six-metre high floral columns. Blue and white delphiniums reach for the cathedral vaults. The same height effect is followed at the end of each pew. Flowers here are entwined in varying fields of colour to create an asymmetrical colour effect.
The steps in front of the altar have been extended and the steps at the sides are decorated to look like beds of pink summer flowers. There are pink sweet peas on the altar. The sides and corners of the altar rails are adorned with high cones of blue delphiniums.
Skeppsbron – seven-metre high triumphal arch of birch leaves
At Logårdstrappan, on their arrival by the Royal Barge Vasaorden from the Vasa Museum to Skeppsbron, the Bridal Couple will be greeted by a seven-metre high triumphal arch of birch.
Stockholm Cathedral’s organ inspiration for shape of triumphal arch
The custom of raising triumphal arches like this one is a long and popular tradition at Swedish weddings. The triumphal arch also has its roots in the temporary structures that were used on special royal occasions such as coronations and weddings. The shape of the triumphal arch is based on the façade of the organ in Stockholm Cathedral.
Skeppsbron – green meadows and pink flower beds
Skeppsbron has been transformed into rolling green meadows and gourd-shaped beds in pale shades of pink, blue, white and yellow.
The blue carpet continues towards the steps at Logården. On the parapets there are twenty blue monogrammed urns filled with floral spheres, made up of pale blue bluebells and campanula.
Royal broadcloth featuring Crown Princess Couple’s monogram
A new royal broadcloth is hanging over the parapet at Yttre Logårdstrappan, embroidered with The Crown Princess Couple’s monogram. The broadcloth will be rolled down so that it is visible to the crowd at Skeppsbron when the Bride and Groom have exchanged their vows.
Lejonbacken
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel will walk via the Inner Courtyard to the Swedish Choral Society’s and the general public’s choral tribute at Lejonbacken. A royal coverlet of blue velvet embroidered with gold crowns hangs from the stone parapet. The parapet is flanked by beds of summer flowers.
The floral arrangements have been created by the Royal Court’s florist Claes Carlsson. A team of some 60 volunteers from Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark put the finishing touches to the decorations the evening before the wedding day.