Wedding of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill

Wedding of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill

The newlyweds following the ceremony
Date 8 June 2013 (2013-06-08)
Venue Royal Chapel, Stockholm Palace
Location Stockholm, Sweden

The wedding of Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, and the British-born American financier Christopher O'Neill took place in Stockholm on 8 June 2013. In time for the wedding, a joint monogram of their initials was created.[1]

Background

The couple at the celebrations of the National Day of Sweden, two days prior to the wedding.

Princess Madeleine is the second daughter and youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. As such, she is fourth in the line of succession to the throne.[2] In 2009, she was engaged to marry the Swedish lawyer Jonas Bergström, with whom she had been in relationship since 2002. The wedding was set to take place in 2010, shortly after the June wedding of Princess Madeleine's elder sister and heir apparent to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria. In April 2010, however, the wedding was canceled and the engagement was broken off.[3] Madeleine subsequently moved to New York City, where she met the British-born financier Christopher O’Neill. The first time they appeared in public as a couple was in January 2011.[4] Their engagement was announced on 25 October 2012.[2][5] The wedding was both publicly financed and paid by for by the king (who did not reveal how much he paid). The wedding cost an estimated 3 million kronor.[6]

Ceremony

The ceremony was held at the Royal Palace chapel in Stockholm on 8 June 2013.[7][8] Lars-Göran Lönnermark, Chief Court Chaplain of the Royal Court and Bishop Emeritus of Skara, and Michael Bjerkhagen, Vicar of the Royal Court, conducted the ceremony.[9][10] SVT, TV4 and TV4 News broadcast the wedding live throughout the entire day for Swedish viewers.[8][11] Madeleine wore a wedding dress designed by Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani.[12] Madeleine was escorted halfway down the aisle by her father King Carl XVI Gustaf. She and Chris walked together for the other half. At the left of the altar the crown of Princess Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta, the same crown that was present at the baptismal font at Princess Madeleine’s christening.[13]

Wedding cake

The cake was made of 700 macarons stacked into a pyramid shape.[14]

After the wedding

The procession after the wedding

Princess Madeleine did not adopt the surname O'Neill and instead remained without a surname, allowing her to retain the style of Royal Highness. Christopher O'Neill also did not change his last name, unlike his brother-in-law Daniel, husband of Crown Princess Victoria.[15][16]

In May 2013, the Marshal of the Realm Svante Lindqvist announced that O'Neill had asked not to be granted royal status and to remain a private citizen. O'Neill wished to retain his UK and US citizenships and his business as Head of Research at an investment firm in New York, while relinquishing both the citizenships and business are necessary to become a member of the Swedish Royal Family. O'Neill therefore did not become Prince of Sweden or Duke of Hälsingland and Gästrikland.[17][18] On the website of the Swedish Royal Court he was listed as a member of the royal family until the site was updated.

O'Neill is Roman Catholic and the couple intended to continue residing in New York immediately after their wedding, but their children will have to be raised in Sweden and as Lutherans, like their mother, in order to have succession rights.[19]

Guests

The Bride's paternal family

The Bride's maternal family

The Groom's family

Foreign Royalty

The following members of foreign royal families attended the wedding:[20]

Wedding attendants

See also

References

  1. "The Princess Couple's joint monogram". Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 "H.R.H. Princess Madeleine's biography". Kungahuset.se. 25 October 2012.
  3. "Princess Madeleine breaks up with fiancé". The Local. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  4. "Prinsessan Madeleine har förlovat sig – Nyheter". SVT.se.
  5. "Madeleine: "Chris är min själsfrände"". Expressen. 25 October 2012.
  6. "expressen". Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  7. "The Princess Couple – Sveriges Kungahus". Kungahuset.se. 25 October 2012.
  8. 1 2 "SVT direktsänder prinsessan Madeleines bröllop". SVT.se. 9 April 2013.
  9. "Wedding ceremony". Kungahuset.se. 25 October 2012.
  10. "Madde och Chris har valt präster". Expressen. 27 April 2013.
  11. "TV4 bevakar prinsessbröllopet". TV4.se. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  12. Adams, Rebecca. "Christopher O'Neill Declines Title Before Wedding To Princess Madeleine Of Sweden". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  13. "The Wedding of H.R.H. Princess Madeleine and Chris O'Neill". Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  14. "Succétårtan - Maddes idé". Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  15. "No O'Neill name change for Princess Madeleine". The Local. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  16. "No O'Neill name change for Princess Madeleine Princess Estelle skirts Swedish naming laws". The Local. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  17. Adams, Rebecca. "Christopher O'Neill Declines Title Before Wedding To Princess Madeleine Of Sweden". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  18. Törnkvist, Ann. "American 'prince' says no to Swedish citizenship". The Local. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  19. "'New York princess' risks heirs' right to the throne". The Local. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  20. "Gastlista" (PDF). Official website of the Swedish monarchy. 17 April 2013.

External links

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