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Prince-in-waiting keen to start family
www.thelocal.se ^ | 05/22/2010 | AFP/The Local

Posted on 05/22/2010 12:29:11 PM PDT by WesternCulture

Daniel Westling is keen to settle down and have kids with Crown Princess Victoria after the pair wed next month, the future prince said in a joint interview with his fiancée published in Saturday.

"In 10 years time, I hope we will have created a family," Westling told the Svenska Dagbladet daily in response to a question on what he hoped his life would look like in a decade.

Asked how many small princes and princesses he'd like to raise, Westling answered: "A number, although that is not the kind of thing one can really predetermine."

The 36-year-old luxury gym owner acknowledged he was nervous ahead of his June 19 wedding with Victoria, the 32-year-old eldest daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

"When the big day come around I guess I'll be standing there with both butterflies in my stomach and trembling knees," Westling said, adding that since January he had been through an intense training programme aimed at preparing him for life in the royal spotlight.

"My biggest task will be to support the Crown Princess. Adjusting to that role takes time. I hope there will be understanding for the fact that the person standing here the day after the wedding will not yet be a full-fledged prince," he said.

While there has been some speculation how a self-made, successful businessman like Westling will adapt to living in the shadow of his wife, Westling himself insisted that would not be an issue.

"I grew up in a completely gender-equal family. The idea that father knows best is not something I'm familiar with," said Westling, who comes from a small town called Ockelbo in the centre of Sweden.

His mother is a postal worker and his father a retired social worker.

"For me, it is no problem to walk one, two or 10 steps behind Victoria and still keep my self-esteem intact," he insisted.

Amid the massive preparations for the public event of the year in Sweden, both Westling and his bride-to-be stressed the wedding ceremony would also be a very private event, pointing out that media would only be permitted in the space behind them in church.

"Daniel and I need to have a space for just us, that is just ours," Victoria said.

"I will not say 'yes' to the television cameras or the congregation. My 'yes' will only be directed at Daniel," she insisted.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: cermony; royalties; royalwedding; stockholm; sweden
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To: Flycatcher

“Seemed fitting for a gay thread.”

- Did you or I turn this thread gay?


21 posted on 05/22/2010 1:37:51 PM PDT by WesternCulture
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To: WesternCulture
I attribute it to the "enlightened" ideas of Ms. Westling herself.

She's a real catch!

22 posted on 05/22/2010 1:42:29 PM PDT by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: Flycatcher

Haha,

You even know how to spell his surname correctly (I don’t - and I’m Swedish).

Gay?


23 posted on 05/22/2010 1:46:49 PM PDT by WesternCulture
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To: vladimir998

I wonder what happens if an Arab Muslim does marry into a European royal family, and then tries to make it a Sheikhdom like Saudi Arabia or UAE.


24 posted on 05/22/2010 1:48:44 PM PDT by tbw2 (Freeper sci-fi - "Humanity's Edge" - on amazon.com)
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To: WesternCulture
LOL!

Finally... FINALLY... I make you laugh -- and it's only because I spelled his name the way you spelled it on the original article...?

This thread is getting beyond gay.

It's almost becoming... MERRY!!!!!!!

25 posted on 05/22/2010 1:54:01 PM PDT by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: WesternCulture

You wrote:

“- Definitely not true.”

No, Absolutely True: “Swedish and French birth rates may be higher than in much of Europe, but despite their respective systems, both countries still lag behind the holy grail of 2.1 children per woman needed to keep a population stable.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4768644.stm

“Swedish women give birth to more children than European women at large do.”

Doesn’t matter: too little, too late: http://www.thelocal.se/15408/20081103/

“Furthermore, Immigrant women in Muslim areas of Stockholm, fastest growing city in Northern Europe, can’t keep up with middle class Swedes.”

Maybe, maybe not: http://www.thelocal.se/15408/20081103/

“Sweden was one of the first wealthy nations to see births fall below replacement level, where they’ve stayed for four decades except for a brief resurgence in the early nineties. As Sweden’s population has aged—18 percent of Swedes today are over 65 and retired, compared with 14 percent in 1970—the country’s economic performance has languished, with its once-formidable growth rate falling well below the OECD average over the last two decades. Entrepreneurialism—which is highest among workers aged 25 to 34, studies show—has especially suffered: only one of Sweden’s 50 largest companies was created after 1970; the country now has the lowest self-employment rate in the OECD; and the number of entrepreneurs has declined by almost 9 percent since 1995, notes Johan Norberg, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.”

“Levies on the average worker amount to 44 percent of earnings in Norway and 48 percent in Sweden, compared with 29 percent in America. And high taxes put downward pressure on fertility by diminishing the disposable earnings that couples might choose to spend on child rearing. One study of Europe’s plush pension systems, which require payroll taxes of up to 20 percent of earnings in some countries, found that the most expensive plans have probably diminished fertility rates by up to 1.6 children per couple.”

http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/forecasts_trends/archive/2010/02/16/falling-global-birthrates-threaten-prosperity.aspx

I remember reading a fascinating article a decade or more ago where a Swedish government official expressed his concern that Sweden was going to become the frist country in the world with an overwhelming number of children who have no siblings, no cousins, no nieces, no nephews and no aunts or uncles.

“A word of advice:Before posting , do your homework.”

Already did - years ago. Everything I sais was correct.
Maybe it would help if you did likewise. We all know you love your country, but that doesn’t change the truth.


26 posted on 05/22/2010 2:06:47 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Part of the Vast Catholic Conspiracy (hat tip to Kells))
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To: WesternCulture

stupid king of Sw disinherited his son to give idiot daughter the throne — PC gone mad.


27 posted on 05/23/2010 1:03:06 PM PDT by kabumpo (Kabumpo)
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