STOCKHOLM — The only son of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on Saturday married his fiancee in a lavish ceremony in Stockholm.
Prince Carl Philip and the former reality starlet and model Sofia Hellqvist, 30, tied the knot Saturday at the Royal Palace chapel before five European queens, a Japanese princess and dozens of other blue-blooded guests. The couple got engaged in June 2014.
Some 400 guests in total attended the wedding ceremony, where the smiling groom and visibly emotional bride heard Swedish singer Salem Al Fakir perform Coldplay’s hit “Fix You,” followed by a Swedish language version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” by singer David Pagmar.
Sofia was wearing a dress by Swedish designer Ida Sjostedt, made from silk crepe, covered with Italian silk organza and lace details. Gospel tunes accompanied the couple as they walked down the aisle of the chapel to the waiting, cheering crowds outside.
The newlyweds then traveled in a ceremonial procession through the streets of Stockholm by horse and carriage.
The couple greeted the thousands of people gathered outside the Royal Palace and a 21-gun salute was fired at five-second intervals in their honor.
Later Saturday, the pair joined selected guests at a formal banquet at the Royal Palace hosted by the king and queen.
Carl Philip, 36, is third in line to the throne behind his elder sister, Crown Princess Victoria, and her 3-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle, who was one of the bridesmaids at the wedding.
Hellqvist, who has also worked as a yoga instructor, gets the title Duchess of Varmland.
On Friday evening, the couple threw a pre-wedding dinner party for 270 guests at an underground bunker formerly inhabited by the Swedish military and now used to stage exhibitions.
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