Crown Princess Victoria

Gala Concert for Victoria & Daniel

By Sonjapearl on | From royaltyinthenews.com

Photo by Torsten Laursen/Getty Images

It was a night of celebration as Sweden and royals from all over the world marked Saturday’s wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. Just like her parents had 34 years ago, Victoria and her fiancè were a given a special concert at the Royal Concert Hall in Stockholm. Pop acts and classical artists played through the night as if it were a final hurrah before tomorrow’s big event.

First arriving at the Hall was the House of Bernadotte. When she got out of the car, Crown Princess Victoria wowed the crowd waiting for her. Beaming and radiating of joy, the Crown Princess waved as the people gave her and Daniel a four-fold cheer.

They walked up the red carpet behind her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Bringing up the rear were her two younger siblings, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.

After the Swedish royal family came the friends and relatives of the royal couple, and the Swedish government leaders. Then came the royals from all over Europe, plus Japan and Jordan. The royal guest list even included those who are from deposed monarchies, such as Romania and Serbia.

All in all, 1,600 guests.

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Once inside, everyone dined amongst each other before the big concert. Those who haven’t seen each other in a while were able to say hello, such as Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary and Spain’s Crown Princess Letizia.

King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a small speech during the dinner, thanking the Prime Minister for allowing the wedding to take place – after all, the wedding of an heir to the throne needs government approval.

“We can all see how happy and engaged the engaged couple looks,” the King went on to say. “They really… You can feel the joy and youth and optimism in their eyes. We can all feel the warmth and happiness also in this hall and during this day.”

At about a quarter to nine local time, all those in attendance were in the Hall. Everyone stood and sang when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played the Swedish national anthem. Even Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, who’s mother was a Swedish Princess, sang along.

Right after that, the orchestra began to play “Party Song” and right in the middle of the stage, lights went on, illuminating two

REUTERS/Anders Wiklund/Scanpix

figures holding hands. Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling had made their appearance. They received a standing ovation as they made their way to two seats in the front row especially made for them. With that, the concert began.

It was clearly a joyous occasion for everyone in the Hall. Ballet was performed, the opera classic “Nessun Dorma” was sung – even pop and jazz acts played. The host of the event also poked playful fun at the royals in attendance. At one point, the group Jazz Divas of Scandinavia were about the perform and the host gave a nod to the Scandinavian Crown Princesses – Victoria, Mette-Marit and Mary. The women had a good laugh about it.

But the biggest act to perform that night was probably the 80s Swedish pop duo, Roxette, said to be one of Victoria’s favorite bands. As the band played “The Look,” everyone in the hall clapped along and a few – such as Norway’s Princess Martha Louise – moved their heads to the song. Once done, there was a standing ovation for Roxette.

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The concert came to a close when all the singers returned to the stage and together sang Elvis Presley’s classic, “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” As they did with the Roxette song, many of the royals sang along.

Overall, it was an emotional event for everyone. Queen Silvia was seen wiping away some tears and it looked as if King Carl Gustaf was getting teary-eyed. Even Princess Madeleine looked red in the eyes – as did Queen Margrethe and Dutch Queen Beatrix.

With that, the pre-wedding events were over. Tomorrow comes the wedding of the year as Crown Princess Victoria marries her love – and a former gym owner from a small village in central Sweden becomes Prince Daniel.

Source: Expressen, The Royal Forums