A royal wedding that stole everyone's heart

Weddings are occasions guaranteed to melt even the hardest of hearts. It is a moment of pure happiness for two people becoming one, as each promise the other that in the battles to be fought ahead, one will never be alone and that triumphs are sweeter because they are shared.

"Love Stockholm" lifted the spirit of a city that needed to be reminded of the abundance of feelings in every inhabitant no matter how much problem each has to face in order to survive life's daily challenges. The preparations made for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria took more than a year and the last four weeks were devoted to the minutest details, so that the ceremony from start to end would suffer no blunder. And everything did go well and perfect as befitting a couple who defied certain traditions in order for love to triumph. Princess Victoria had chosen her "Prince" from the people, in a remote town in northern Sweden. And she thanked the people with all her heart's conviction when she said: " I thank the Swedish people who gave me my prince."

I am not a royalist at heart because I believe that monarchies are a relic of the past and therefore anachronistic. Ordinary people find sustenance in their daydreaming as they follow the lives of the royals and the famous, which is understandable. To escape dreary moments in a day and float with dreams of wealth and fame allow many, especially women, to find refuge even relief from the eternal damnation of being poor and marginal.

The Swedish monarchy has maintained a strong decorum of morality and propriety. There has been no scandals that feed hungry tabloids involving the lifestyle of the royal children. They have been good ambassadors of goodwill for a small country that is constantly on its toes when it comes to competitions in the world market. It is indeed acceptable when one comments that the monarchy provides continuity, where the new relies on the old for wisdom and where the old accepts vigour from the new.

Yesterday, as I swam through a crowd of people in Kungsträgården to get to a boat moored beside the National Museum, I was convinced of the joy the people had to see their princess at a close range. I was rushing to join my captain who drove a boat carrying 80 people who were celebrating a less royal wedding. There was no distinction when it came to the genuine expression of love in both weddings, love that is so strong and powerful it sweeps away all the uncertainties in this troubled times. I saw the tail of the day's magnificent celebration and listened to Prince Daniel publicly acknowledge his love for Victoria and his gratitude to the elder from whom drew the best in himself. It cannot be denied that even without the pageantry of royalty, the quality of love between Victoria and Daniel is pure gold. #