STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 19 (UPI) -- The Swedish royal family attended church Sunday in Stockholm's Royal Chapel for a traditional public announcement of Princess Madeleine's upcoming wedding.
Princess Madeleine is scheduled to marry Christopher O'Neill, an American who has declined Swedish citizenship and will remain a U.S. citizen after the wedding -- and therefore will not hold a position of responsibility in the Swedish royal family, Stockholm's TT reported Sunday.
The banns of marriage were read in the open-to-the-public ceremony, but the afternoon Royal Palace reception was for invited guests only, TT reported.
The banns, a tradition dating back to the 13th-century, afford an opportunity to investigate whether legal barriers to the marriage exist.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Speaker of the Parliament Per Westerberg attended the Sunday ceremony, along with O'Neill's Austrian-born mother, who lives in a Florida villa purchased by her son, and Prince Carl Philip and his girlfriend, Sofia Hellqvist, TT reported.
The Royal Court requested well-wishers to consider, instead of gifts, making a donation to the My Big Day Foundation or the World Childhood Foundation, a charity founded by Queen Silvia,Madeleine's mother, TT said.
The wedding is scheduled for June 8 in the Royal Chapel.
