瑞典最美公主下嫁纽约银行家
Swedish Princess Madeleine fell in love in the Big Apple. Now she has said "yes" to New York banker Christopher O'Neill in a lavish and emotionAl wedding ceremony in Stockholm.
Madeleine, 30, was wearing a stunning silk organza dress with a lace top and four-meter (13-foot) trail, designed by Valentino Garavani, when she tied the knot with British-American O'Neill on Saturday. Around 470 European royals, top New York socialites and celebrities were in attendance.
The 38-year-old O'Neill fought back tears as the princess walked down the aisle with her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, to a traditional Swedish wedding march performed by a children's choir. The bride and groom were visibly moved as the ceremony proceeded with hymns in both Swedish and English, and performances by Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson and Broadway's "Phantom of the Opera" star Peter Joback.
With a smile on her face, Madeleine read out the wedding vows in Swedish while O'Neill read his in English in the Royal Chapel, decorated with typical Swedish summer flowers. After the wedding, the couple kissed on the steps of the palace in front of a cheering crowd of several thousand who had gathered in the sunshine waving Swedish flags.
"We hope she will be very happy in the future, the princess Madeleine," Julia Huelsman, who had traveled from Munich, Germany, for the occasion, said.
Later, the newlyweds travelled in a procession through the crowded streets of the capital in a special horse and carriage. They then sailed to the royal residence and UNESCO World Heritage site Drottningholm Palace, 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the city center, where a private wedding reception will be held.
Madeleine is the youngest of Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia's three children and fourth in line to the throne. She became known as Sweden's party princess in her early 20s, when she was frequently spotted at Stockholm's high-end nightclubs, and has attracted widespread attention for her stylish clothes.
But her life hasn't always been a fairytale. Madeleine's extravagant lifestyle has often been criticized by Swedes, who prefer the down-to-earth attitude of her sister, Crown Princess Victoria, who married acommoner. And in 2010, she fled to New York after breaking off her first engagement to Swedish attorney Jonas Bergstrom amid media reports that he had cheated on her.
Since then, Madeleine has held a lower profile, working for the nonprofit World Childhood Foundation in New York, where she met O'Neill through mutual friends. The couple was first spotted together having lunch at the Central Park Boathouse in January 2011 and they announced their engagement in October 2012.
O'Neill was born into a wealthy family. His late father, Paul O'Neill, set up the European head office of Oppenheimer & Co. in London in the 1960s and his mother, Eva Maria O'Neill, is involved in several charities. He studied at a boarding school in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from Boston University and a master's degree from Columbia Business School in New York.
O'Neill, who holds dual American and British citizenship, has declined a royal rank in Sweden, which would have required him to become a Swedish citizen. He has chosen to continue working and the newlyweds are expected to move back to their apartment in Manhattan.
Guests at the wedding included the U.K.'s Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward and Sophie; Princess Takamado of Japan and princes and princesses from Norway, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Monaco.
O'Neill had also invited many of his super-rich friends, such as Opel heir Georg von Opel, Cadbury chocolate heir Joel Cadbury, Colombian billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo, and Aidan and Fizzy Barclay. Other well-known invitees were Duran Duran band member John Taylor, the CEO of fashion retailer H&M, Karl-Johan Persson, and golfer Jesper Parnevik.
The marriage is the latest in a series of glamorous royal weddings that have mesmerized Europe in the past few years. In June 2010, Madeleine's older sister Crown Princess Victoria wed her personal trainer Daniel Westling in a grand ceremony in Stockholm and the year after, Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in extravagant fashion in front of an estimated 2 billion television viewers. Also in 2011, Prince Albert II of Monaco wed Charlene Lynette Wittstock and in 2012, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg united with Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy.
The Swedish royal family has only ceremonial duties, such as attending award ceremonies, promoting Swedish businesses abroad and supporting charities. As the head of state, the king also receives foreign dignitaries on formal visits to Sweden.
瑞典公主玛德琳在有“大苹果”之称的纽约坠入爱河。在斯德哥尔摩奢华感人的婚礼上，玛德琳公主对纽约银行家克里斯托弗·欧尼尔说：“我愿意”。
婚礼上，现年30岁的玛德琳身穿加拉瓦尼（Walentino Garavani）亲自设计的华美丝质婚纱与英裔美国人欧尼尔喜结连理，公主的婚纱上部缀有蕾丝，拖尾长达4米（约合13英尺）。约470位欧洲皇室成员、纽约各界名流出席了结婚庆典。
在儿童唱诗班咏唱的传统瑞典结婚进行曲的旋律中，瑞典国王卡尔十六世·古斯塔夫（King Carl XVI Gustaf）挽着玛德琳公主步下走廊时，现年38岁的欧尼尔强忍激动的泪水。当婚礼进行到赞美诗部分，罗克赛特女主唱玛丽·弗莱德里克森（Marie Fredriksson）和百老汇《歌剧魅影》男星皮特·乔巴克（Peter Joback）分别用瑞典语和英语演唱，令新郎新娘十分动容。
在用最具瑞典特色的夏季花朵装点的皇家小礼堂中，玛德琳面带微笑，用瑞典语宣读结婚誓词，欧尼尔则用英语宣读誓词。婚礼结束后，这对新人在台阶上拥吻，灿烂的阳光下成千上万的瑞典人聚集在周围舞动瑞典国旗。
专程从德国慕尼黑赶来的茱莉亚·赫尔斯曼（Julia Huelsman）说：“我们衷心祝愿玛德琳公主将来生活幸福。”
随后，这对新婚夫妇坐在特制的马车上，在首都热闹的街道开始婚礼游行。游行结束后，他们乘游艇前往位于市中心西面10公里（约合6英里）处的皇室官邸，并将在这所被列为联合国教科文组织世界遗产的官邸内举办私人婚礼宴会。
玛德琳公主是瑞典国王卡尔十六世和王后西尔维娅三个孩子中年纪最小的，拥有第四顺位王位继承权。她在二十岁出头的时候经常出入斯德哥尔摩高端夜店，而她的潮流穿着也受到广泛关注，因此被称作瑞典派对公主。
然而，公主也并非一直过着童话般的生活，玛德琳奢靡的生活方式经常遭到瑞典民众的批评，他们更为欣赏玛德琳的姐姐维多利亚公主的务实作风，维多利亚公主此前也嫁给了一个平民。2010年，媒体曝出与玛德琳订婚的瑞典律师乔纳斯·伯格斯特洛姆（Jonas Bergstrom）出轨，订婚取消后，玛德琳逃避似的去了纽约。
自那以后，玛德琳一直保持低调，在纽约为公益性世界儿童组织工作，经两人共同的朋友介绍才与欧尼尔相识。2011年1月两人第一次曝光，当时他们正在纽约中央公园船屋（Boathouse）餐厅共进午餐，同年10月，两人宣布订婚。
欧尼尔生于富裕家庭，他的父亲、已故的保尔·欧尼尔（Paul O'Neill）先生上世纪六十年代在伦敦设立了奥朋墨姆公司的欧洲总部，他的母亲爱娃·玛利亚·欧尼尔（Eva Maria O'Neill）参与多项慈善事业。欧尼尔曾就读于瑞士圣加伦（St. Gallen）的一所国际学校，拥有波士顿大学国际关系学学士学位，并在位于纽约的哥伦比亚大学商学院获得硕士学位。
欧尼尔拥有英国和美国双重国籍，谢绝了需要加入瑞典国籍才能接受的封爵。他准备继续现在的工作，这对新婚夫妇可能会搬回他们在曼哈顿的公寓。
本次婚礼的来宾包括英国威塞克斯 （Wessex）伯爵夫妇、爱德华（ Edward and Sophie）王子夫妇、日本宪仁亲王妃久子（Takamado）以及来自挪威、丹麦、希腊、卢森堡、摩纳哥的王子和公主们。
欧尼尔还邀请了很多富豪朋友，如欧宝汽车公司继承人乔治·范·欧宝（Georg von Ope）、吉百利巧克力继承人乔尔·吉百利（Joel Cadbury）、哥伦比亚富豪亚历杭德罗·桑托·多明戈（Alejandro Santo Domingo）以及艾丹·巴克莱和菲兹·巴克莱（Aidan and Fizzy Barclay）。其他受到邀请的名人包括杜兰杜兰乐队（Duran Duran band）成员约翰·泰勒（John Taylor）、H&M 公司首席执行官卡尔・约翰・佩尔松（ Karl-Johan Persson）以及高尔夫球员杰斯佩-帕尼维克（Jesper Parnevik）。
此次婚礼是近年来一系列令欧洲着迷的奢华皇室婚礼中最新的一个，2010年6月，玛德琳的姐姐瑞典女王储维多利亚公主（Crown Princess Victoria ）和她的私人健身教练丹尼尔·韦斯特林 (Daniel Westling)在斯德哥尔摩举行结婚盛典，翌年，英国威廉王子和凯特·米德尔顿（ Kate Middleton ）在约20亿电视观众共同见证的奢华婚礼上喜结连理。同样是在2011年，摩纳哥阿尔贝二世亲王和夏琳·丽奈特·维斯托克（ Charlene Lynette Wittstock ）结婚，2012年，卢森堡大公储纪尧姆（ Guillaume ）和比利时女伯爵斯蒂芬妮·德·兰诺伊（ Stephanie de Lannoy）结婚。
瑞典皇室家族仅担负礼仪性职责，比如出席颁奖典礼、帮助瑞典拓展对外经贸、资助慈善组织等。作为国家的精神领袖，国王也会接待来瑞典进行正式访问的外国政要。
