The Swedish tabloid press has tracked down HRH Princess Madeleine and her new husband, Chris O’Neill, who are honeymooning after a grand Royal Wedding in Stockholm on Saturday.
The Royal Court, wishing to guard the newlyweds’ privacy, had remained silent on their travel plans, but Expressen has published photos taken via a long lens of the couple in the Seychelles.
They are at a private villa which retails for Kr 50,000 per night, says the newspaper. It is also reported that Mr O’Neill kept the destination a secret from his wife, and it was initially known only to him, the King and Queen, and a few select friends.
The venue had been chosen before by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and David and Victoria Beckham.
Today, the Princess’s official Facebook page requested privacy after expressing disappointment that photographs had been published.
Writing from her perspective, the message read, ‘We continue to thank everyone for their loving warmth and well wishes regarding our marriage. Sadly, the Swedish tabloid press have taken it upon themselves to destroy our privacy and place private photographs of us in their publications today. The one thing we wish is that, if only for these few days, our privacy can now be respected.’ The photograph above of the couple was published on the page, while supporters continued to wish them well.
The honeymoon destination for HRH Princess Madeleine and her new husband, Anglo-American financier Chris O’Neill, remains a mystery.
The royal couple, who were married in Stockholm on Saturday in a very public, televised ceremony, held a reception that went into the small hours of Sunday, according to sources.
HM King Carl XVI Gustaf, HRH Crown Princess Victoria, HRH Prince Carl Philip, and the groom gave speeches during the reception.
Reports indicate the reception continued till 5 a.m. and that the couple left in secrecy from Drottningholm for the airport.
It is believed that the first stop was the UK, but no one knows where they have gone since. The Royal Court has refused to comment, but one royal-watcher believes they have gone to the Caribbean for their honeymoon.
Both Princess Madeleine and Mr O’Neill are well connected, and could have been lent a home for their use.
Updated with videos on June 8, 2013, at 6.24 a.m. GMT
This weekend’s Royal Wedding in Stockholm, of HRH Princess Madeleine to Anglo-American financier Chris O’Neill, is expected to be a more casual, lower-key affair than the 2010 wedding of her sister, HRH Crown Princess Victoria.
The fashionable Princess Madeleine, fourth in line to the throne, will wear Valentino, according to sources, which had also been chosen by the present Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. It is a departure from her sister’s choice of a Swedish designer, Pär Engsheden, though Princess Madeleine has worn Engsheden on many formal occasions before.
It is expected that, in line with her tastes, Princess Madeleine has chosen a design that is more “fairy-tale” and flamboyant.
It is unclear whether Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, 81-year-old founder of the label, has had a part to play in the design, or whether it has been left to Maria Grazia Chiuri or Pier Paolo Piccioli.
The partying begins tonight in the Grand Hotel Winter Garden. It is a tradition of the Royal Family, and the same thing occurred prior to Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling’s wedding, and that of HM King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath (who had chosen Christian Dior when she married the King).
However, the do is more youthful, with many of the monarchs not attending. Representing Norway are Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and Princess Martha Louise and her husband Ari Behn. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and Princess Marie attend from Denmark, the Earl and Countess of Wessex are representing the UK, and Princess Takamado will attend from Japan.
Guests to the ceremony include Caroline Winberg, Anders Bagge, and Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt. Swedish state television (SVT) will carry the ceremony live, though when we asked some expatriate Swedes whether they will tune in, the reception was not as positive as in 2010. However, Lucire will be following the Royal Wedding, and we like to think that we’ll cast an even closer eye, since Princess Madeleine has been a style icon in Sweden for years.
SVT’s coverage commences at 3 p.m. local time, with the wedding at 4 p.m. The ceremony will end at 4.45 p.m., after which the couple will be presented to the public. The cannons at Skeppsholmen will fire a royal salute.
The route the 350 m cortège will take heads along toward Strömbron bridge, down Strömgatan, and into Gamla Stan via the Norrbro bridge. It will then head to Myntgatan, then the couple will head to Drottningholm by boat.
Almost 15 months ago, I reported in Lucire that a white taxi, numbered 8010, had delivered me a classic Parisian rip-off on a ride into town from Charles de Gaulle, Terminal 2G. In the same article, I reported that the Paris Taxi Commission telephone help line was inoperative and that their website did not function for an online complaint. So I wrote to the snail-mail address given on the web page, including a copy of the Lucire article posted. I promised to write you if there was ever any word. I waited and waited. You have surely long forgotten this item.
This morning, June 5, 2013, I received by email the following:
Monsieur,
Par lettre du 15 mars 2012, vous avez appelé mon attention sur le comportement d’un conducteur de taxi.
Je vous informe que ce conducteur a été convoqué devant la commission de discipline de sa profession. Il a fait l’objet d’une sanction administrative.
En outre, votre plainte sera conservée dans son dossier professionnel.
Je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées.
L’adjointe au chef du bureau des taxis
et transports publics
and the letter closes with the writer’s name. Translated:
Sir,
In your letter of March 15, 2012, you brought my attention to the behaviour of a taxi driver.
I inform you that this driver was summoned before his profession’s disciplinary committee. He has been the subject of an administrative penalty.
In addition, your complaint will be kept in his professional record.
Yours faithfully,
The Deputy Head of the Office of Taxis and Public Transport
I thank the Office of Taxis and Public Transport for their fine follow-up and resolution of this, a demonstration of—well, reach your own conclusions. But remember white cab number 8010 in Paris, and don’t accept any aggressive driver, especially one who feigns taking a wrong turn in the dark and insists that you pay for his mis-navigation. Always wait for the friendly cabbie who knows your destination. If you’re disappointed in any way, I now have proof you can rest assured that eventually someone will hear your complaint.—Stanley Moss, Travel Editor
Above, from top Alena Šeredová. Max Laudadio. Below Massimiliano Rosolino. Anna Valle.
Basta!, a passionate photo exhibition by Livio Moiana, is a compelling cry for all the victims of violence in Italy. One hundred famous actors, TV personalities, art critics and commentators take action by “screaming” in portraits pleading for a ‘Stop!’ to the lingering Italian legislative vacuum. The portraits were created in solidarity with those who have suffered violence: girls, women, boys and entire families. It’s still a utopian dream, since Italy and Greece are the only two remaining nations in Europe demonstrating a complete indifference towards the victims of violence. Moiana’s exhibition can be viewed through September in Vicenza at TheArtsBox, a private exhibition space, Contra’ San Paolo, 23, 36100 Vicenza, Italy. Visit www.theartsbox.org.—Stanley Moss, Travel Editor
Mini has been present at the Life Ball in Wien for many years, but this is the first time its donated car has been the larger Paceman, a new model that’s essentially a coupé crossover version of the iconic British car.
The Paceman, the three-door sporting version of the Countryman tested by Lucire last year, takes some Mini cues, but reinterprets them at a much larger (and not that mini) size.
This year’s Mini on the magenta carpet has been customized by Roberto Cavalli himself, who unveiled the car at the Rathausplatz. Cavalli follows in the footsteps of other designers who have worked with Mini on the Life Ball, inter alia Kenneth Cole, Francisco Costa, Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared², Renzo Rosso for Diesel, and Diane von Furstenberg. The car has gold elements inside and out, iridescent paintwork, and (of course) animal prints.
Cavalli, and his wife Eva in the passenger seat, drove the Mini Paceman to the event.
The car had been auctioned earlier for a record €150,000 during the Aids Solidarity gala, with the entire proceeds going to projects combatting HIV–Aids.
The event featured numerous celebrities, including Sir Elton John, Hilary Swank, Melanie Griffith, Barbara Eden, Carmen Electra, former US president Bill Clinton, Anna Netrebko, Erwin Schrott and Fergie.
As Wellington gears up to Africa Day this Saturday, with a 12-hour celebration at the Wellington Town Hall beginning at 11.30 a.m., there’s a distinctively non-African name behind the scenes doing the make-up for the fashion show on the day, as well as the smaller Taste of Africa event at Te Papa from 6 p.m. tonight (May 23).
Kareen D. Holland, whose business KD One recently opened at Morrison Kent House on The Terrace, is applying her extensive experience in film make-up to the community event.
KD One’s natural skin care and cosmetics stemmed from Holland’s years in film, working with such luminaries as Weta’s Sir Richard Taylor.
Working at Taste of Africa and Africa Day is Holland’s way of giving back to the community, something she was keen to do ever since KD One opened last month.
Africa Day showcases African culture through dance, music, arts, crafts and cuisine. It is the first major cultural event for African communities in Wellington.
KD One was mentored by Lucire publisher Jack Yan as part of his work with Business Mentors New Zealand.
Updated with videos on May 23, 2013, 1.46 p.m. GMT Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
In our opinion, the party at the Festival de Cannes that one should not miss is the one thrown by de Grisogono, the upscale jewellery brand, at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes. If you want to see who’s in the Zeitgeist at Cannes, this is the place to look.
This year, founder and president Fawaz Gruosi played host to actress Sharon Stone as the woman of the moment: the actress was resplendent in a red gown, complete with a thigh-high split. Now 55, Stone had aged remarkably little, and close-ups show that a good part of it is down to good genes and a decent beauty régime.
Stone, who is arguably more popular in France than in the US—French media raved about Basic Instinct in the 1990s—stole the limelight at the Cannes Film Festival throughout the day, with a cobalt blue gown earlier while attending the Michael Douglas starrer, Behind the Candelabra, the Liberace bio-pic.
Plenty of other celebs lit up the de Grisogono party at the Hôtel du Cap: Paris Hilton, Adriana Sklenaříková Karembeu, Ana Beatriz Barros, Alessandra Ambrosio (who was Instagramming the event), Lisa Verberght, Hofit Golan, Karmen Pedaru, Elisabetta Gregoraci, Jessica Hart, Toni Garn, designer Eva Cavalli, Fiammetta Cicogna, producer Harvey Weinstein, Dite Anata, Gary Dourdan, and Stacy Keibler.
Extra videos have been added at the end of this report from the Behind the Candelabra press conference and red carpet, as well as a compilation video of the fashion seen at the 66th Festival de Cannes to date.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Samir Hussein/Getty Images Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Samir Hussein/Getty Images Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Samir Hussein/Getty Images Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
![[Valid RSS]](http://lucire.com/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
