Norway’s youngest heir to the throne, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, made her most public royal debut to date over the weekend, at the gala wedding of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and now-Prince Daniel. The wedding was watched by millions all over the world.
It was a royal show of the highest order, with all the ceremony and pageantry that goes with such a gala occasion. Europe’s monarchies were generously represented at the wedding along with several others from Jordan to Japan, and heads of state from neighbouring Nordic republics like Finland and Iceland. Norway’s royal family was there in full force, with an official role for six-year-old Princess Ingrid Alexandra (shown in PicApp photo at right, with her parents Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit).
The little princess was among the bridal couple’s entourage of 10 young attendants and played the role of flower girl along with several other young royals and some non-royal relatives of both the bride and her groom, commoner Daniel Westling who emerged from the wedding ceremony as Prince Daniel.
There were some signs of restlessness among the youngest royals during the ceremony in the historic and warm cathedral Storkyrkan in the heart of Stockholm but they did their job, leading the crown princess and her father, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, up the aisle and then following the newlyweds down the aisle when it was all over. (Princess Ingrid Alexandra in the center, at left, in PicApp photo below.)
Also attending from Norway (PicApp photo at bottom) were King Harald and Queen Sonja, who’d had an eventful flight over to Stockholm on Friday, and Princess Martha Louise and her husband, Ari Behn. The Swedish and Norwegian royal families are closely related and the younger generations are said to be good friends. Crown Princess Victoria has said she’s had a lot support over the years from her fellow tronarvinger (heirs to the thrones) in Norway and Denmark.
They could feel at home in Stockholm on board the royal yacht Norge, which had sailed from Oslo earlier in the week. It berthed near the the Swedish Royal Palace and made up part of a festive nautical backdrop for the newlyweds as they were rowed in an ornate royal vessel during a royal procession through the city that also included a horse-drawn carriage ride.
During the ceremony, King Harald and Queen Sonja had front-row seats, with Swedish Princess Madeleine seated next to Queen Sonja. Madeleine recently broke off her own engagement after her groom-to-be had an affair with a Norwegian athlete, and was making her first public appearances during her sister’s wedding.
King Harald also was seated at the head table during the gala wedding dinner inside the palace on Saturday evening, next to the mother of the groom.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
Join our Forum if you’d like to comment on this story.
