I have been reading with interest lately about the forthcoming wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. The Swedish monarchy is much like the monarchy here in the UK in it’s setup of their roles in today’s society.
The wedding is rumored to be costing the country around $12m which is a lot of money to spend. Some 2,500 soldiers and employees at the Defence Ministry will participate in a wedding day parade. The cost has not been announced. A total of 4 million kronor has been allocated to the Foreign Ministry to deal with the international press, along with diplomats and international royalty.
Westling is not of Royal decent. He is an equity partner in three fitness gyms, and met Victoria in 2002 while he was her personal trainer. The engagement to the Crown Princess, 33, was announced last year.
I can see many royalists having issues with this but my take is different. The days of Royal families marrying into other monarchies ended centuries ago. If you take the most famous Royal Wedding of recent times, Prince Charles and Princess Diana you could see just how this setup was doomed. Diana was the daughter of the Earl of Spencer and the rest is history. Unfaithfulness on both parties and one divorce later and it left the nation divided on the issue. Of course there was a rather tragic ending to this tale but it highlights for me just how an “arranged” royal wedding cannot work in this day or age.
Look at Prince William, the eldest son of Diana and Charles he witnessed the fallout of his parents marriage. With impending rumors of his engagement to Kate Middleton the scenario between himself and his parents could not be different. Diana’s parents were Earl of Spencer. Kate Middleton’s parents air a pilot and an air stewardess and she comes from a working class background who met the Prince at University. They are happy in love.
Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling are in love and in this day and age where all we read about is marriage break ups and relationship failures then a Royal Wedding is just what is required to lift spirits and put a smile on people’s faces in this rather gloomy time.
Sweden and the UK will both be experiencing Royal Weddings shortly. But unlike before both are marrying those outside of the Royal circle. If they are in love then who are we to say what is right and what is wrong?
Best of luck to them!
