Cyprus hit by Swedish royal wedding rumours

The largest circulation newspaper in Cyprus, Phileleftheros, reported on Wednesday that the wedding of one of the daughters of the Swedish king is to take place on the Mediterranean island this Friday, a claim rejected by Princess Madeleine's secretary Anita Söderlind.

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"That's not the case," she told The Local.

Sweden's Royal Court had not read the newspaper report when contacted by The Local and said it was unable to respond.

"This comes as a surprise to us," said palace spokeswoman Birgit Käld.

Speculation regarding a celebrity wedding is rife in Cyprus after the mayor of Paphos, Savvas Vergas, announced this week that a Swedish couple had fully booked two of the coastal city's leading hotels this weekend, Radio Pafos journalist Kim Nicolaou told The Local.

"The mayor announced that the wedding would be held this Friday at 6pm but would not reveal who the couple were out of respect for their privacy. Nobody at either of the hotels will comment either," he said.

Nicolaou added that roads around the hotels are being closed off to accommodate the mystery couple, while newspaper Phileleftheros reported that eighteen containers full of material connected to the event have already arrived in the city.

But Helena Wiklund, a royal watcher at the Svensk Damtidning magazine, was quick to throw cold water on the rumours.

"It's just not possible. It must be a serious misunderstanding. Princess Victoria is getting married next June and Princess Madeleine's wedding will come after that," she told The Local.

A spokeswoman for Thanos Hotels, the hotel chain set to host the event, was reluctant to divulge any information.

"We're not permitted to give out any details about the event. All we know is that it's a Swedish couple," she said.