Valentine’s Day is the celebration of lovers. Some celebrate it with devotion, give each other flowers, small greeting cards and treat themselves to a romantic dinner. For other couples, February 14th is a normal day that does well without the commercialized bells and whistles. And then there are Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel: This appointment is firmly anchored in the hearts of the heir to the Swedish throne, for a very private reason.
They are a royal dream couple who had to put their love to the test for a long time. Princess Victoria, 46, and Prince Daniel, 50, had already known each other for nine years when they finally nailed it. It was a love with obstacles. A simple fitness trainer at the side of the future queen? Unimaginable – not only for the upper middle class, but also for King Carl Gustaf, 77. The monarch allegedly had concerns, which Queen Silvia, 80, who herself comes from a middle-class background, was apparently quickly able to talk him out of. But the patience of the two lovers paid off. On February 24, 2009, the daughter of King Carl Gustaf, 77, and the civil servant’s son announced their engagement. However, they had already had their very private moment ten days earlier.
Princess Victoria gave Prince Daniel a loud “yes”
On February 14th, Valentine’s Day, Daniel got down on his knees in front of his Victoria during a walk together in front of the snowy dream backdrop of Drottningholm Palace. The woman in question reacted clearly to the unexpected marriage proposal. The princess later reported that she screamed “Yes, YES, YESAAAA.” Almost fourteen months later, the couple exchanged vows in a fairytale wedding ceremony in Stockholm Cathedral. Daniel Westling became Olof Daniel Westling Bernadotte, Prince of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland.
98 images
“Victoria, the greatest thing of all is love. I love you so much.” With this sentence in his speech at the evening wedding reception, the man who was viewed with skepticism at the side of the heir to the throne won the hearts of even his last critics. There are even said to have been tears among those invited.
Love with obstacles
The effort of the long, bumpy road to that day had been worth it. When Victoria and Daniel met in 2000, what initially developed was a friendship. The princess had just returned to Stockholm after studying in the USA. She looked for a personal trainer in her gym – and found him in the graduate of the Lillsveds Gymnastics and Sports Adult Education Center.
When something sparked between the two, they initially agreed to keep the relationship quiet. Victoria and Daniel kept their love secret for around a year and a half. But then the press got wind of the romance, the magazine “Expressen” first wrote about it.
It was only a year later that they dared to make a public appearance together at a wedding among friends. In 2008, they made their serious intentions official. Daniel accompanied his loved one to the 40th birthday of the then heir to the Danish throne and current King Frederik, 55.
The provincial prince now moves confidently and eloquently on the royal stage. Daniel is not only a valued member of the royal family and, together with his Victoria, gave the royal couple their adorable grandchildren Princess Estelle, 11, and Prince Oscar, 7, but he is also extremely popular among his compatriots.
239 images
The young man from Ockelbo gave up his civil life and a large part of his privacy for the love of his life. Valentine’s Day, however, is one of those days that he will perhaps spend with his wife in rare togetherness this year – in memory of that moment when he let his heart speak and the most beautiful response gave his existence a new, exciting turn.
Sources used: expressen.se, svenskdam.se