Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Princess Madeleine's Wedding: What's Coming Up

The wedding of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill is this Saturday! It is officially time to get excited, just in case you weren't already. More information continues to be released, but today we'll have a little what to expect when you're expecting tiaras round up. This will event will have a lower profile than the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel in 2010, as is to be expected.
Itinerary:
  • Friday, June 7: A private dinner will be held at Stockholm's Grand Hôtel, hosted by the King and Queen.
  • Saturday, June 8: The wedding is at the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, at 16:00 local time (click here for a handy time zone converter). The wedding banquet at Drottningholm Palace will follow, and the newlyweds will travel by horse drawn carriage and by boat between the two venues.
Dress Code: As with most Scandinavian royal weddings, this is a white tie wedding, meaning the female guests should be in tiaras if they have them. As for the pre-wedding dinner, this is likely a black tie affair, no tiaras.

Where to Watch: Swedish television station SVT will broadcast the wedding; in the past, they have offered streaming video online that is available to international viewers. Click here for their wedding site.

Titles: Following the wedding, Madeleine will retain her titles, but Mr. O'Neill will not receive a title of any sort. He respectfully declined any titles since the royal house policies require that he be "a Swedish citizen and not hold a position of responsibility in business"; he does not intend to pursue Swedish citizenship and does intend to continue his business.

Foreign Royal Guests: In addition to the extended Swedish royal family, a selection of foreign royals will be in attendance. The attendance won't be as heavy as it was for Crown Princess Victoria's wedding, and some monarchies won't send anyone. A guess list has been published by Aftonbladet, click here to see. Some highlights:
  • Belgium: No Belgian royals will be present.
  • Britain: The Earl and Countess of Wessex.
  • Denmark: Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie. Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, one of Madeleine's godparents, has also confirmed her attendance.
  • Germany: Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula of Bavaria, Prince Manuel and Princess Anna of Bavaria. Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the Hereditary Prince and Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
  • Greece: Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal, Prince Nikolaos and Princess Tatiana, Princess Theodora, and Prince Philippos.
  • Japan: Princess Takamado.
  • Luxembourg: The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess.
  • Monaco: Princess Charlene.
  • Netherlands: No Dutch royals will be present.
  • Norway: Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Märtha Louise and Ari Behn.
  • Spain: No Spanish royals will be present.
Wedding Dress: Also on the guest list are Valentino Garavani and his partner, which is a very strong hint that those rumors of a Valentino bridal gown are true.

As always, feel free to share additional information in the comments!


Monogram: Kungahuset