"Of course I want to" was the answer Princess Madeleine gave to her longtime boyfriend Jonas Begström when he went on one knee and asked her to marry him. "Klart jag vill", Madeleine said on the Italian island of Capri almost two months ago. The couple waited till Tuesday to announce their engagement.
"It was not a hard decision to make", Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt told reporters after the announcement was made. The Swedish cabinet granted its permission, as required by the Constitution as Princess Madeleine is third in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, right behind her siblings Victoria and Carl Philip.
King Carl XVI Gustaf, and one can assume Queen Silvia too, gladly gave permission. According to Swedish media he is very fond of his second son-in-law-to-be. Jonas and the King are said to enjoy a warm and friendly relationship. The royal family has had ample time to get the 30-year old lawyer. Jonas met Madeleine seven years ago. She was still in high school at the time.
The relationship grew over time. Jonas and Madeleine briefly moved to New York in 2006, where he had an internship at law firm Holland & Knight and she worked at UNICEF headquarters. Both benefited from a life away from media scrutiny. An earlier escape of Madeleine to London went wrong for that very reason: too much attention for Europe’s most beautiful princess.
"Getting engaged feels like a natural step", Madeleine said Tuesday on the grounds of the royal summer residence Solliden slott, on the island of Öland. Usually it is her sister Crown Princess Victoria who takes centre stage here, as her birthdays are Öland’s "national holiday". This time the crowds gathered near the royal mansion were there to see and congratulate Madeleine and Jonas.
If it wasn’t love at first sight all those years ago - Victoria and her fiance Daniel Westling had an equally long wait, and Carl Philip broke with his girlfriend Emma after ten tears - the couple immediately saw something special in one another. ,,Her blue eyes", Jonas said was attracted Madeleine to him. ,,His eyes", were what caught Madeleine’s attention.
Jonas Bergström, whom colleagues described as ‘ambitious’, will continue his work at a prestigeous Stockholm law firm after the wedding. He is set to become ‘Duke of Hälsingland en Gästrikland. Madeleine will continue her work for the World Childhood Foundation.
No date or venue has been set for the wdding. The couple are thinking about the end of next year or early 2011. The 19 June 2010 nuptials of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling take precedence, for obvious reasons. The couple have also not decided where they will live.
Prime Minister Reinfeldt said the King had not asked for government support in financing the wedding. Both government and monarch have come under criticism for proposed financial arrangement for Victoria’s wedding. ,,But that is a state occassion", the palace treasurer reiterated Tuesday. © HJ; Photos by GPD © AP
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