Denmark's Prince Joachim marries for second time
MOEGELTOENDER, Denmark (Reuters) - Denmark's Prince Joachim married French-born Marie Cavallier on Saturday in a tradition-steeped ceremony in an ancient church.
The second marriage for the second son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark took place in the tiny village of Moegeltoender in southern Jutland, an enclave of just 895 people with one of Denmark's prettiest high streets.
Joachim's 32-year-old bride wore an off-white gown with a three-meter-long train designed by David Arasa and Claudio Morelli from fashion house Arasa Morelli.
Cavallier, now Her Royal Highness Princess Marie, held her veil in place with a tiara belonging to her new mother-in-law.
The new princess, whose background is Roman Catholic, has become a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark and has taken Danish citizenship.
"I think she is beautiful," said Hanne Schoenneman, a resident of Moegeltoender. "She seems happy and positive and straightforward."
Hundreds of Danes lined the village's narrow streets for hours before the ceremony, cheering as Prince Joachim arrived at the eight-century-old church with his two sons, Prince Nicolai, aged eight, and Prince Felix, five.
The young princes are 38-year-old Prince Joachim's sons from his first marriage. The ceremony proved too much for the youngest, who fell asleep halfway through.
Joachim's first marriage ended in 2005 after ten years.
During the ceremony, the bride and bridegroom adhered to a wedding tradition from the south of Jutland and sat on antique stools under roses tightly bound in the shape of a heart.
The bridal bouquet bowed to tradition by including winter barley from the fields of Schackenborg Castle -- Prince Joachim's residence since 1993 -- along with white lilies, the flowers carried by the groom's grandmother Queen Ingrid when she married King Frederik in 1935.
Following the ceremony, the couple left the church in a vintage car to attend a wedding banquet at their new joint residence, the ancient and storied Schackenborg Castle.
Several Scandinavian royals, along with Sir Roger Moore and Lady Moore, close friends of the Danish royal family, were among the 300 guests.
(Reporting by Karin Jensen; editing by Andrew Roche)
