An exhibition featuring five Royal wedding dresses will be on show to commemorate King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s 40th Wedding Anniversary.

These elegant wedding gowns are on display for the first time since they were worn.

Queen Silvia opened this exhibition on Monday, 17 October 2016, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, featuring five wedding dresses worn by five royal brides over during four decades.

Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Sofia also attended the opening. However, Princess Madeleine was unable to attend as her children were will.

Queen Silvia become Sweden’s longest-serving queen in 2011, breaking Sophia of Nassau’s record of 35 years.

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath

King Carl XVI Gustaf and German-born Miss Silvia Sommerlath were married in Stockholm Cathedral on 19 June 1976 in the presence of over 1,200 guests – the first wedding of a reigning monarch in Sweden since 1797.

King Carl Gustaf wore his admiral’s uniform whilst his bride worse a classic style Dior duchess gown, designed by Marc Bohan, with a long flowing train. Queen Silvia’s lace veil was held in place with the Cameo Tiara and trimmed with myrtle from Crown Princess Margaret’s original bush brought from England, following her marriage to Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf in 1905.

The myrtle bush was tended at Sofiero Palace before it later moved to Ulriksdal Palace. Sprigs have been traditionally used in used royal wedding bouquets or worn in the brides’ hair since 1935.

The lace veil is a Bernadotte family heirloom, passed down from Queen Sofia of Nassau who married Oscar II of Sweden and Norway on 6 June 1857, and was worn by King Carl Gustaf’s mother Princess Sibylla and his sisters Princesses Désirée, Margaretha and Christina.

The Cameo Tiara originally belonged to Empress Joséphine, the wife of Napoleon I, which was passed on to her granddaughter, Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, who married Oscar I of Sweden and Norway.

Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling

Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding was the first of a female successor to the Swedish throne. Mr Westling was granted the title, Prince, Duke of Västergötland when he married the Crown Princess.

Crown Princess Victoria married Mr Daniel Westling on 19 June 2010 at Stockholm Cathedral at 3.30 pm, with many royal guests from the reigning houses of Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain and The Netherlands.

A private supper with dancing was held afterwards at Drottningholm Palace.

The Crown Princess chose a Swedish designer Pär Engsheden to create her wedding dress, with short sleeves, a turned-out collar, following a rounded neckline, which was made from pearl-white double-sided duchess silk satin with a 4.6-metre train. The dress had a v-shaped back, with a sash at the waist, with covered buttons at the back.

The dress has short sleeves and a turned-out collar, which follows the rounded neckline, with a v-shaped back with covered buttons, including the sash at the waist.

The same fabric was also used to cover the Crown Princess’ shoes.

The Crown Princess followed family tradition by wearing Queen Sofia’s lace veil and the Cameo Tiara, like her mother and aunts.

Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill

The wedding of Princess Madeleine and British-born American Financier Mr Christopher O’Neill took place in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on Saturday, 8 June 2013, at 4.00 pm.

Italian designer Valentino Garavani created Princess Madeleine’s pleated silk organza wedding dress, with appliquéd ivory-coloured Chantilly lace, a wide skirt and a 4-metre train.

Princess Madeleine’s veil is also made of silk organza, edged with tulle scattered with point d’esprit dots and small Chantilly lace orange blossom. The Princess’ shoes are ivory white organdy with woven point d’esprit dots.

Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist

Prince Carl Philip met model and reality TV star Sofia Hellqvist in a Stockholm nightclub in early 2010 and the Royal Court announced their engagement on 27 June 2014.

Prince Carl Philip and Miss Sofia Hellqvist were married on Saturday, 13 June 2015, in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, with Crown Princess Victoria’s daughter, Estelle, as one of the bridesmaids.

Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt created the silk crêpe wedding dress in three shades of white, overlaid with Italian silk organza. Couture lace, made by José María Ruiz, was added. The train was hand-cut and then hand-stitched in Ida Sjöstedt’s studio in Stockholm.

Sofia wore a diamond and emerald tiara which was a gift from King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, with a thin tulle veil hand-embroidered with sheer cotton lace.

Royal guests included Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Queen Sonia, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit from Norway, Japan’s Princess Takamado and Belgium’s Queen Mathilde

Britain’s Earl and Countess of Wessex were also present, again representing Queen Elizabeth II. They were also present at the weddings of Prince Carl Philip and his sisters, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeline.

Prince Bertil and Lilian Craig

Prince Bertil met Welsh model Lilian Craig in London during World War II when he was employed as a naval attache at the Swedish Embassy. It was said to be love at first sight and lasted until his death on 5 January 1997.

They were desperate to marry but Bertil’s eldest brother and heir to the throne was killed in a plane crash in 1947, leaving five children, including an infant Crown Prince Carl Gustaf.

King Gustaf VI Adolf refused to give his blessing to the marriage, especially as Bertil’s older brothers had renounced their claims to the throne by marrying commoners.

Prince Bertil was second in line after his nephew and he would become Regent should his father died before Crown Prince Carl Gustaf came of age. However, King Gustaf Adolf died in

However, they had to wait 33 years before they could marry.

Prince Bertil’s nephew, King Carl Gustaf, granted permission for Bertil and Lilian to marry, seeing he had also married a commoner six months earlier that year.

They married in the Drottningholm Palace Chapel on 7 December 1976, with King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silva present.

British designer Elizabeth Wondrak created Princess Lilian’s misty-blue shantung dress, with matching headdress, a coif with long feathers, as well as at least 29 dresses to wear to Nobel Prize ceremonies.

Where To Buy Tickets

The exhibition will be on display in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace of Stockholm until Sunday, 12 March 2017.

Visit Royal Wedding Dresses 1976-2016 for more details or pre-book your exhibition tickets online.

The entry fee also includes entry to the Palace’s other staterooms and museums.

The official hashtag for the exhibition is #kungligabrudklänningar (Swedish) and in English #royalweddingdresses (English).

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