Happy is how a clever head once recognized who wants what he has. And not who has what he wants. In this respect, the photos that Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria (42) and her husband Prince Daniel (46) published on the occasion of their tenth wedding anniversary this Friday show an extremely happy couple. We see two people who shine from the inside with all their pomp – she in a long robe and tiara, he in a tailcoat with a sash and religious breast, taken in Haga Castle near Stockholm. The external shine has a minor effect.
The happiness of the heir to the throne, who after her father King Carl XVI. Gustaf (74) becomes monarch of Sweden, not only enchants the Swedes. Victoria and Daniel are among the most popular aristocratic couples in Europe. There are five main reasons for this.
The different origins
It was actually like a fairy tale: poor boy fell in love with a rich princess. In this case, it was not a farmer or a fisherman, but a fitness trainer who had fallen in love with the future Queen of Sweden. And she got into him. That was in 2001 – and of course a sensation.
Crown Princess Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée, Duchess of Västergötland, was considered one of the best games in the world. One that could have anyone. It was not only thought in Sweden. "There was speculation about delicate ties with Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands as well as about advances by the Greek Prince Nikolaos or a romantic interest in Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik," wrote the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" at the time. That is what Mr. Papa would have liked to see. But for Victoria it had to be the fitness trainer.
The eldest daughter of the king and his German wife Silvia (76) had just had anorexia disease when she dragged her younger sister Princess Madeleine (38) into the exclusive Stockholm sports club "Master Training". According to the book "Daniel and Victoria – a love story" by Marcus Utterström, a young employee is said to have introduced himself like this: "Hello, my name is Daniel Westling. I am the one who should be your personal trainer."
That's how it all started. At some point, Victoria also met privately with her trainer. Obviously, the young man has fascinated her more than any high-ranking prince with a long family tree. On the outside, Daniel had the habit of a smart Harvard student. Athletic figure, well-cut face, horn-rimmed glasses, the guy who swims with him everywhere. But it was not like that.
He comes from a humble background, born in the provincial town of Örebro, father an official in the municipal social welfare office, mother a postal worker. After graduation, he fails the university entrance exam. For that he is a cannon in sports. In the adult education center, he trained as a fitness consultant and leisure educator.
When the liaison became known, the court, especially the king, was in turmoil. A fitness trainer! Daniel can therefore not chat at court, as is the habit of chatting in aristocratic circles, his education seems more than poor, his English grotto bad. Carl Gustaf, who shocked his people in 1976 when he married the bourgeois and also German Olympic hostess Silvia Sommerlath, is against the connection. Today, it seems he is glad that he lost this fight.
The character of Prince Daniel
Daniel is a humble but determined man who realized long before the wedding that he had to work hard to marry the princess. He learned sociable English and small talk at court, he hired a PR agency that successfully refined his public appearances. And he retired from the management of his sports studios, but remained a silent partner.
Today Daniel presents himself as a man from the people, close to nature, polite, socially committed. It is said that he was able to pull Queen Silvia, who has similar characteristics, on his side from the start. She liked this son-in-law, who was a likeable picture-book Swede all over the country and was knighted after the wedding to the Prince of Sweden and Duke of Västergötland.
The nature of the crown princess
Victoria doesn't have the capricious nature of her sister Madeleine. It is considered uncomplicated and modest. Even the "Spiegel" praised the princess: "Victoria appears to be scandal-free, probably also because she made many of her personal problems public. The bulimia that she suffered in the nineties. Her dyslexia, which did not stop her, an excellent school- and university degree. Victoria is by far the most popular family member among her countrymen. "
While their parents and siblings were basking in the African sun during the Christmas holidays, Victoria and Daniel braved the snowstorms in a local mountain hut. And in summer "the couple in love gathered wild strawberries around Ockelbo and lived with mom Eva and dad Olle Westling", as the "Stern" observed. With the locals, the path on which the Westling terraced house is located became "Königinstrasse" and the village pond after a paddle tour of the couple to "Victoria Lake".
The family sticks together
Since childhood, Daniel has suffered from a low-function disorder that welded the young family even closer together. Before 2009, he had to go through dialysis three to five times a week. Then he got a kidney from his father Olle Westling. "I've got a new life – and I'm eternally grateful to him," he said in an interview. After the intervention, the palace said: The disease was not hereditary.
The couple's children
With the children Princess Estelle (8) and Prince Oscar (4) the happiness of Victoria and Daniel was completed. The family presents itself every year on the Swedish national holiday on June 6th.