Half-Marriage

Three sizzling reindeer steaks were set last week before three very lean and perhaps hungry royal uncles: the kings of Sweden, Denmark, Norway. Their royal niece, Princess Astrid of Sweden had baked to crown the feast, a birthday cake for her fiance, Crown Prince Leopold of the Belgians, who had come to Stockholm earlier in the week with his parents King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of the Belgians. The host and hostess of this royal birthday party intime, which preceded the wedding of Astrid and Leopold last week, were the bride's parents: Prince Carl, Duke of Vastergoetland, brother of King Gustaf V of Sweden; and his wife, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, sister of both King Christian X of Denmark and King Haakon VII of Norway. (The three last named were children of King Frederik VIII of Denmark.) Bourgeois Stockholmers nodded approval at this celebration of Leopold's birthday not at the Royal Palace but in the quietly sumptuous apartment of Prince Carl.

Pre-Nuptial Rejoicings. Crown Prince Leopold, who has several times visited Stockholm unrecognized, by traveling third class and entering the apartment of Prince Carl by the back way, strolled about the city last week with Princess Astrid on his arm, to the vast delight of cheering Swedes. On the day before their wedding the couple met at 7 a.m. to begin with a brisk horseback ride a day which closed with a state dinner at the Palace and a gala in their honor at the Royal Opera.

Wedding. On the wedding afternoon resplendent Swedish nobles strode up the staircase of the Royal Palace accompanied by their wives who wore the frumpy white "court dresses" prescribed by Swedish etiquet. Only the ladies of the royal party 'itself were attired as fashion dictates. While the wedding procession formed in an antechamber, King Gustaf of Sweden brought a decorous smile to courtiers' lips peeping out into the Throne Room through the Gobelin portieres. When His Majesty was thus satisfied that all was in readiness, there strode majestically to lead the wedding procession the 80-year-old Court Marshal Printzkiold.

Officiating Socialist. At the dais ordinarily occupied by the Throne stood that arch-Socialist Carl Lindhagan, Mayor of Stockholm, famous because he introduces before the Swedish Parliament every year a bill to abolish the Monarchy. He it was whom astute King Gustaf had chosen to perform the civil marriage of Astrid and Leopold. Hereafter when Mayor Lindhagan rises to present his bill there may well ensue jeers. Last week he testily remarked before the ceremony: "Of course I have no objection to uniting in marriage any two young people who appear to love each other." As the royal pair stood before him he pronounced almost inaudibly the two-minute civil marriage form ending "In virtue of my office, I now declare you man and wife."

Religious Complications. Since Leopold is a Roman Catholic and Astrid a Protestant the Roman Catholic Church insisted with its usual success that the religious marriage be performed by a Catholic prelate. As to perform such a ceremony in Stockholm would have vexed Protestant Sweden, the royal couple were allowed only four hours to themselves after the wedding, and were then forced to depart separately from Stockholm for the respective seaports Malmo and Gothenburg. At Gothenburg Crown Prince Leopold and his royal parents stepped aboard a Belgian cruiser. At Malmo Princess Astrid (not yet married in the eyes of Roman Catholics) wept as she embarked with her mother aboard a Swedish warship.

At last both ships put to sea, steered for the Belgian port of Antwerp whence Leopold and Astrid should proceed to Brussels and there be married by a special dispensation of the Pope. Though the Papal dispensation makes it unnecessary for Astrid to espouse Roman Catholicism she is expected eventually to do so, and the dispensation was, as usual, granted on the express condition that all children of the union shall be reared as Roman Catholics.

Astrid's ship landed at Antwerp, Leopold's at Brussels. He rushed to her with a long, warm embrace. Together they elbowed a Belgian crowd which "battled to see "sweet little Astrid." Children waved Swedish and Belgian flags, were bowled over; women fainted; strong men heaved. The half-marrieds proceeded in the rain and through cheering to Brussels.

*Gustav V of Sweden, Haakon VII of Norway, Christian X of Denmark.