Jubilant Swedes

Nothing attracts more people than a royal wedding.

The official wedding photo.

H.M. the King's speech to the married couple, June 19, 2010

Your Majesties,
Your Imperial Highness,
Your Royal Highnesses,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Her Majesty the Queen and I wish to greet you all with a most heartily welcome to the Royal Palace and to this wedding gala dinner. It is wonderful to see you all here! On behalf of my family — and especially on behalf of my oldest daughter and my son-in-law — I wish to thank you for coming and for participating in our joy! You will always be a part of this unforgettable and memorable day!

Your Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel!

Dear newly-weds!

The Queen and I would like to wish you — The Crown Princess of Sweden and Prince Daniel — all the best for the life ahead together!

It is a major step in life to enter into marriage. Not only for the bride and groom, but also for their parents. The promise you have given to each other today on mutual support and loyalty ties the two of you further together. It is, however, an unavoidable consequence of your decision that the ties to your parents thus will be changed. From now on, your first loyalty will be to one another.

We as parents take joy in the affection by which you look at each other. But — as so many parents before us have experienced — the joy of seeing one's children standing on their own to build their families, is also spiced with a touch of grief. I wish that you also one day will be able to experience such happiness that we feel today.

Dear Victoria!
You are the successor to the throne of Sweden. It is a mission that comes with duties and responsibilities. And it is with pride and gratitude I have seen you grow into this role.

One day you will — because so it is stated in our constitution — succeed me as the head of state of Sweden. My mind is put at ease when I see the wisdom and determination by which you prepare yourself for this task.

I know that I share this confidence with a large number of the Swedish people. You could, perhaps, with a reference to our ancestor Karl XIV Johan, say "The love of the people is my reward."

Our relation is, however, deeper than that between a monarch and his successor. I am your father. You are my beloved daughter.

No one should believe anything else than that my highest wish has always been — and is — to see you happy. It has therefore always been self-evident to your mother the Queen and me, that you — as any person in our country — should have the freedom to choose your life´s companion as your heart desires. I have today seeked to make this point clear by accompanying you to your future husband, and thereby confirming the decision to approve of your marriage according to our constitution.

Dear Daniel!
On behalf of the Queen and myself I would like to welcome you most warmly into our family. We would also like to congratulate our daughter on her choice of husband. And we — your parents-in-law — congratulate you on your choice of wife.

We have got to know you as a very ambitious and skillful entrepreneur. I have often been impressed by the purposefulness and the go-ahead spirit which you have shown. And we have with approval noticed the energy and determination by which you have been preparing yourself for your mission as Prince Consort. That is: to give your wife, the Crown Princess, support and confidence.

We are also delighted to have made the acquaintance with your parents Eva and Olle Westling as well as your large and lovely family.

Dear Victoria and Daniel!
The Queen and I, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine would like to congratulate you and wish you all the best. On your walk through life together, you can always count on our support and affection. And we pray that God Almighty always will be merciful to you.

Finally, I would like to propose a toast to — and that we all raise a cheer for — the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel, our beloved and beautiful bridal couple.

Four cheers for them!

And to please the republicans' desire to point out to scandals, here is the one and only casualty of the royal wedding: