Swedish Princess Madeleine Marries NYC Banker Christopher O’Neill [Video]
Princess Madeleine of Sweden, 30, and New York City banker Christopher O’Neill, 38, were married Saturday in Stockholm in a huge event announced last December. Reports vary, but there were up to around 600 guests in attendance, including a large number of European royal family members, a Japanese princess, and a number of other socialities and celebrities from around the world.
The ceremony was conducted in both Swedish and English, with Princess Madeleine saying her vows in Swedish while O’Neill read his in English. Hymns were sung in both languages.
Although he is now married to a princess, O’Neill has already turned down the chance to receive any royal rank in Sweden. He holds American and British dual citizenship, but he would have had to become a Swedish citizen to become a Swedish royal.
Princess Madeleine and the rest of her royal family have no political power in Sweden. They only serve a ceremonial function. Her parents are King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia.
The couple will continue to live in Manhattan. O’Neill will continue to work as a banker and hedge fund trader.
Princess Madeleine is fourth in line for the throne. Her older sister Victoria, 32, is the crown princess who will likely one day serve as Sweden’s ceremonial head of state.
Princess Victoria too married a commoner, her former fitness trainer, 36-year-old Daniel Westling. Apparently, giving up life as a trainer was easier than surrendering a career as a banker, and Princess Victoria’s husband is now Prince Daniel.
At the time the engagement was announced, there was some speculation that Princess Madeleine’s wedding would be smaller and more intimate than Crown Princess Victoria’s nuptials. However, it eventually ballooned into the bloated ceremony Saturday that included between 470 and 600 guests.
The new couple traveled through the crowded capital by horse and carriage to a royal palace for a private wedding reception. Once known as Sweden’s night-clubbing party princess, Princess Madeleine now works for the nonprofit World Childhood Foundation.
