ANY SUSPICIONS that the Swedish monarchy had lost its gloss have been dispelled in a frenzy of royal worship, much to the astonishment of observers of this normally low-key and classless society.
Royalty and dignitaries from around the world are gathered in Stockholm for the biggest royal shindig in decades as Crown Princess Victoria weds her former personal trainer Daniel Westling in the city’s cathedral later today.
The lavish wedding – the planning for which caused some controversy as the price tag multiplied and the future queen upset feminists by insisting on her father “giving her away” – has turned into a major celebration.
More than 200,000 people will line the streets, some enticed by free metro transport and a programme of street events. They will cheer the happy couple and watch the spectacle of more than 1,000 guests, including many of Europe’s crowned heads, parade through the city. More than 2,000 police are to be joined by 6,000 military personnel, including 19 army bands, while 189 Gripen fighter jets will fly over the capital.
Crown Princess Victoria (32) has endeared herself to Swedes by choosing a commoner. Thirty-six-year-old Daniel Westling’s father is a social services manager and a his mother a post office clerk. He was a talented ice hockey player in his youth which has added to his attraction.
Anna Samuelson, an artist and partner in a house-painting business in the town of Sunne in Varmland, said: “We are proud of our monarchy. It is a fine Swedish tradition and we are happy that Victoria is marrying for love, not to an important person but to a nice person and to somebody of the people.”
The couple met after Victoria joined the fitness studio managed by Westling. It was a friendship at first deemed “unsuitable” by some royal observers. Ingemar Eliasson, the most senior official at the royal court, said: “The fact that Crown Princess Victoria is marrying a commoner is the latest sign of our monarchy’s adaptability.”
He told Stockholm’s online newspaper the Local that “the present king’s uncles were forced to renounce their place in the line of succession for doing the same thing. Before you had to think about what was good for the country and the royal family, today she can marry whomever she wants – and I think most of the Swedish people support that.”
The wedding, which for months has attracted enormous media attention, also triggered debate about why an otherwise egalitarian country retains such an old-fashioned and costly institution. As in Norway and Denmark, neighbouring monarchies, royal responsibilities are purely ceremonial and, while there has been some fall in support, almost 60 per cent of Swedes say they want to retain it.
A weekend of royal adoration and celebration will attract alternative events, not to mention a dose of scepticism. The Swedish Republican Association invited groups from other parts of Europe that share its views to discuss ways of peacefully toppling monarchies. The palace has taken the republican challenge in its stride.
Spokeswoman Nina Eldh said “They [republicans] generate interest in history and a discussion on the monarchy and constitution and that is good in a democracy.”