Stockholm and a Swedish Royal Wedding!

There’s nothing like a Royal Wedding! Interestingly though most people don’t realize there are other European families besides those wonderful Brits. For example this Saturday June 8^th Princess Madeline of Sweden will marry her fiance Christopher O’Neill who has dual US and UK citizenship. Here is a brief rundown on the upcoming royal nuptials.

Image provided by The Swedish Royal Court http://www.kungahuset.se

Princess Madeline is the youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. She currently splits her time between the US where she works for the World Childhood Foundation and Sweden when she is required to perform royal duties.

Her banker husband-to-be was born in London and will retain his dual citizenships forgoing any royal titles and will keep his job in the US.

The Royal Wedding will take place in the Royal Chapel of the Royal Palace of Stockholm on Saturday June 8th.  The reception will be held at Drottningolm Palace. You can learn more about the royal couple and the wedding here.

Drottiningholm Palace

Sweden last saw a royal wedding in 2010 when Madeline’s older sister and heir to the throne Princess Victoria married her personal trainer Daniel Westling.

If you are a royal watcher or just want to peek in on some Swedish pomp and circumstance and gawk at other European royals attending the ceremony you can check out this page of the Swedish television station SVT. They streamed Princess Victoria’s wedding online, bust since Madeline is fourth in line to the throne the coverage may not be as intense. 

Also The Local: Sweden’s News in English has updated their website with plenty of information.

Stockholm:

Stockholm is a lovely and exciting city. Any tour of Scandinavia is not complete without a stop in the Swedish capital.

What you should see and do:

The Vasa Museum – this large ship sank on its maiden voyage.

Gamla Stan (The Old Town) -twisting cobblestone lanes, stores and cafes add to the old world charm of this part of Stockholm.

Gamla Stan

The Nobel Museum – see why Alfred Nobel started the legendary prize.

Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace

City Hall – beautiful building where the Nobel Prize banquet is held. Climb to the top for an amazing view.

Skansen Open-Air Museum – see how the Swedes lived in the olden days.

Drottningholm Palace – the royals ‘other’ palace.

What you should eat and drink:

Herring, herring, herring – it’s everywhere you go. Available pickled, smoked, fried, marinated and in just about any sauce you can think of it really is quite tasty. Reindeer, elk, salmon and Swedish meatballs are also popular. Wash it down with some vodka or akvavit – an herb flavored schnapps.

I found the food in Sweden to be delicious and the Kryp In was my favorite restaurant in Stockholm! 

Interesting Facts:

The city of Stockholm is made up of 14 islands

Often referred to as the Venice of the North

Stockholm became the capital of Sweden in 1634

Sweden was neutral during WWII

85% of Stockholm’s residents work in the service industry

Since 1980 the Swedish monarchy has observed absolute primogeniture – meaning the first born child regardless of gender will inherit the throne

Crown Princess Victoria is second in line to the throne while her daughter Princess Estelle is third