STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s Princess Madeleine weds New York banker Christopher O’Neill in a grand ceremony in Stockholm Saturday. Here’s a look at what to expect.
THE COUPLE
Princess Madeleine, 30, is the youngest of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s three children and fourth in line to the throne. She has studied child psychology, art history, ethnology and history at university and is known for her stylish clothes and glamorous lifestyle. She now lives in New York where she works for the nonprofit World Childhood Foundation, founded by her mother.
British-American Christopher O’Neill works as a partner and head of research at Noster Capital in New York. His late father, Paul O’Neill, set up the European head office of Oppenheimer & Co in London in the 1960s and his mother, Eva Maria O’Neill, is involved in several charities for the preservation of Salzburg, Austria. He went to boarding school in Switzerland, holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Boston University and a master’s degree from Columbia Business School in New York.
THE WEDDING
The ceremony starts at 1400 GMT in the Royal Chapel in central Stockholm. After the wedding, a 21-gun salute will be fired at five second intervals and the couple will greet the public outside the castle. They will then travel in a procession through the capital in a special horse-drawn carriage, the Parade Barouche, that was also used by the king and queen at their weddings. Finally they will sail by boat to the royal residence and UNESCO World Heritage site Drottningholm Palace, 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the city center, where a private wedding reception will be held.
THE GUESTS
Some 470 guests will attend the wedding, including the U.K.’s Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward and Sophie; Princess Takamado of Japan, and princes and princesses from Norway, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Monaco. O’Neill has many super-rich friends, such as Opel heir Georg von Opel, Cadbury chocolate heir Joel Cadbury, Colombian billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo and Aidan and Fizzy Barclay. Other well-known invites are the CEO of fashion retailer H&M, Karl-Johan Persson, golfer Jesper Parnevik, Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson and Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera” star Peter Joback.
THE DRESS
Madeleine’s wedding dress has been made by Italian designer Valentino Garavani.
SWEDEN’S ROYAL FAMILY
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, of German-Brazilian descent, met during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. They were married in 1976 and have three children. Their oldest daughter is 35-year-old Crown Princess Victoria, who married her personal trainer Daniel Westling in 2010. Their daughter, Estelle, was born in 2012. Prince Carl Philip, 34, is third in line to the throne after Estelle. He is not married but is in a relationship with former reality TV star and glamour model Sofia Hellqvist.