Princess Madeleine of Sweden appears to be following in the footsteps of her mother by calling upon a foreign designer to create her wedding dress.The beautiful royal, who will marry her fiancé, British-American banker Chris O'Neill, in June, is said to be wearing a gown designed by the Italian fashion house.
Her mother, Queen Silvia of Sweden, wore a dress by French label Christian Dior when she tied the knot with King Carl XVI Gustaf (pictured below, left). The gown was simple in its design, with a high neck, long sleeves and slim skirt, but the simplicity meant her showstopping tiara and intricate veil took centre stage.When Silvia's eldest daughter Princess Victoria wed Daniel Westling, her former personal trainer, in 2010 (pictured below, right), she chose to fly the flag for Swedish fashion and wore an ivory silk, off-the-shoulder gown custom-designed for her by Par Engsheden.By wearing Valentino, Madeleine will also be following in the footsteps of a handful of celebrities and fellow royalty who have tied the knot in the Italian fashion house's wares.
For her big day, Anne Hathaway wore an ivory silk tulle dress by Valentino, with a train embroidered with satin flowers and hand-painted with a soft pink hue.Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece sported a pearl-encrusted ivory silk wedding gown when she wed Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in 1995What's more, Jennifer Aniston is expected to wed Justin Theroux in a bespoke Valentino creation later this year. Valentino is known for their stunning bridal creations (see examples of past wedding designs below).Princess Madeleine's ceremony – which will take place in her homeland, more precisely in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace of Stockholm – will be an afternoon occasion, kicking off at 4pm.
There will still be plenty of grand royal fanfare. Once the ceremony concludes, a 21-gun salute will be fired at five second intervals from Skeppsholmen, one of the islands of Stockholm.A reception will follow in the Royal Palace – "something that makes me happy and that means a lot to me, because I was born and raised there," says Madeleine.The Princess and her new husband will later celebrate their wedding with a royal gala dinner at the Royal Palace, the family's favourite place for such grand events. No fewer than 350 guests will attend, including the Earl and Countess of Wessex who will enjoy the event in the Queen's place.Exquisite culinary delights are promised on the menu, with catering from Swedish Michelin-starred chef Mathias Dahlgren.Princess Madeleine's best-kept secret of the day so far is her wedding dress. But it looks likely that she will follow in her mother's footsteps to walk down the aisle in an internationally recognised brand – her mother chose world-renowned Dior and all eyes are on fashion maestro Valentino for Madeleine's fairytale creation.