The Royal Wedding

I've been remiss in not posting about one of the biggest events on the Swedish social calendar. Next Saturday is the date of the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling.

Swedes are pulling out all the stops on this one. The English press (no stranger to royalty) are saying this is the biggest royal event since Charles and Diana were married (and that was a big one). When Sooz and I were in Arlanda late in April, the shops were filled with all sorts of wedding memorabilia. We decided against a commemorative tea towel at the time, but we might catch royal fever next week and buy some lovely kitsch!

It's a typically Swedish egalitarian story: Victoria fell in love with her gym instructor, a young man from a small town, and despite pressure from all sides, persevered and now her young man is soon to be, literally, a prince.

I'm sure we will watch at least the ceremony's highlights on TV, although both Holland and Denmark are playing that day, so there'll be competition for the remote.

As an aside, I've had a brush with Swedish royalty. I met Victoria's younger sister, Madeleine, on a few occasions, and even had the chance once to chat with her parents. They were very nice.