Royal Wedding

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Did anyone else get to watch the royal wedding today. Daniel Westling an ordinary bloke, his mother worked in a post office and his dad was a civil servant, got to marry his princess. Literally. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. It was so sweet. She was so nervous she kept grabbing his hand and then, during the vows, he's started crying. I confess, I was blubbing too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10357860.stm

So now hes heir to a fancy greeting gig? That is nice but i don't see whats so exciting.

It's exciting because it is changing the idea of what the monarchy is supposed to be like...

And also it's romantic.

Didn't know that about Daniel though, always just seen pictures of him and thought him as somewhat off... but I can sorta see how they're a good match recently.

A little secret about Crown Princess Victoria: She was the first born to King Carl Gustav, and the queen, her mother, was having trouble conceiving another baby. In fact, Victoria herself took quite a bit of effort on the part of the royal couple to arrive. At the time, Sweden's constitution prescribed that the monarchy be dissolved if there wasn't a male heir. The Swedes weren't about to let THAT happen, so the parliament quickly introduced a constitutional amendment to remove the gender requirement. While they were debating it, the queen got pregnant. They passed it just before she gave birth...to a boy. (This was in the 1970s, before ultrasound technology.)

Because of a quirk in the hastily passed law, Victoria has a status not granted ANY OTHER female royal heir in the entire world: she is the APPARENT, not presumptive, heiress. This means that if she and this guy have a girl first, then a boy, the girl will be the heir to the throne. No other monarchy on earth has this feature.

When the Japanese monarchy was imperiled because of a law similar to the former law in Sweden, the Japanese parliament refused to intervene. And the Japanese monarchy is far older than the Swedish. The Chrysanthemum Throne dates back to the time of Christ. Needless to say, the Japanese breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when the empress had a boy.

Given her mom's history of difficult pregnancies, and Victoria's relatively advanced age for bearing kids (I believe she's in her mid 30s, which is pushing it-it's rare for women over 40 to get knocked up, and if they do the baby is a mess), the Swedish law may come in handy yet again.

I've been following the coverage all day. Victoria and Daniel look so happy together! There is no doubt in my mind that they are a love match, and that they will have many, many happy years together.

I can't help but note that I love Prince Daniel's geeky charm!

I also noticed that two of her young bridemaids (Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway) are also future queens in their own right (though currently behind their fathers in the line for their respective thrones)!

Which brings me to - Pezar, there are a few other monarchies in Europe that now have equal primogeniture (including the aforementioned Netherlands and Norway, and I believe Denmark has it, too). Sweden was only the first (or one of the first) to do away with male-preference.

All in all, it was nice to hear something heartwarming in the news for once.

I remember the Royal Wedding, between Charles and Diana. That article brought back pleasant memories.

It is not the Swedish monarchy that would have been disestablished through the default of a male heir, but rather the tenure of the House of Bernadotte as Kings of Sweden.

A minor point, but pedantry will not be denied!

That's just wonderful.

I wonder how long such a blissful moment will last....

A little late but.. Yeah, I watched it. Most of it.

I'm not normally a fan of the Bernadottes - But I am a monarchist, as undemocratic as it may be. Love traditions.

With technology regarding fertility and all now, women even into their 40s are able to conceive and carry a child, she's only 32, with luck and money if needed, having a child will not be as much of an issue as it would have been for her mother.