Dean's Blog

Well the waiting is over and the Royal wedding is finally upon us. It’s been strange to be caught up in this media frenzy and to witness first hand how another country, the country I will soon call home has viewed it.

Now if this was the UK the media would be in overdrive now and it would no doubt be even more popular than the World Cup. I can barely remember when Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married but I can recall the whole country coming to a complete standstill. But that was then and this is now and of course times have changed.

Like the UK, Sweden seems often divided between the royalists and those who think that a royal family is an outdated system that is a burden on taxpayer’s money. My own opinion is that having a royal family is a good thing providing it benefits the country in some way. Here in the UK the Queen not only sits on the throne but also is head of the Commonwealth, albeit with minimal power.

This year has seen The Crown Princess Victoria and her soon to be husband Daniel Westling overcome a lot of adversity and issues surrounding his background and I have admired the way that they have stuck together. Then we have the younger sister Princess Madeleine whose fiancé had an alleged affair with a Norwegian student and there own wedding was cancelled.

It just goes to show that being part of a monarchy does not change who you are as a person. You will still have the ups and downs to deal with in life, still have the issues about being loyal and true to the person you love. So to Madeleine I say “Plenty more princes in the sea”

To Victoria and Daniel. Congratulations and may you have a long and happy marriage.