Althouse: A masculine tear makes a nation gasp.

June 20, 2010

A masculine tear makes a nation gasp.

The man is Danial Westling, who married Sweden's Princess Victoria of Sweden today.

50 comments:

Anonymous said...: Think that made them gasp?

Just wait till Sweden sees what happens when he hits a phone booth, ditches the glasses, and dons the blue-and-red underwear...; 6/20/10, 5:23 PM
Joe said...: Girlee-Man....; 6/20/10, 5:24 PM
Anonymous said...: Seriously, though, it was a beautiful even. Generally I hate weddings but the Scandinavians know how to do it right. Lots of deep authenticity there. Good luck to the two of them!; 6/20/10, 5:25 PM
dbp said...: Neither of them may end-up being a queen someday, but they both show an aptitude for the role.

Oh, come on! Every guy must have been thinking something similar.; 6/20/10, 5:31 PM
Synova said...: Wow, forget Latin, anything important should be pronounced in Swedish from now on.

We can all live with subtitles.; 6/20/10, 5:34 PM
Cousin Bob said...: I thought "The Seventh Seal" was pretty good in Swedish.; 6/20/10, 5:35 PM
dbp said...: I kid of course.

The ceremony was very touching.

Skoal!; 6/20/10, 5:36 PM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: Er, Victoria is the Crown Princess, and upon her father's death will ascend to the throne. Sweden passed a law of equal primogeniture about 30 years ago -- the first in Europe AFAIK -- so she is first in line for the throne.

The amazing thing about Westling is that he was born the same day (15 Sep 1973) that Victoria's father, Carl XVI Gustaf, ascended to the throne following the death of his grandfather.

Mat it go well for them, and may the Swedish Crown endure for generations of generations.; 6/20/10, 5:40 PM
Skyler said...: There is no excuse for hereditary monarchy. It's even more true in our modern era.; 6/20/10, 6:00 PM
David said...: Men get a pass to tear up on father's day.; 6/20/10, 6:19 PM
Unknown said...: Being an American, I will venture the opinion that the reason he shed a tear is a) she's a babe, b) she's got baskets of money, and c) all he really has to do is have lots of sex and make lots of little Westlings.

A gig like that would make any guy cry.

PS That's why there were some long pauses between posts the last few days. Ann and Meade were front row center.

PPS That's why the ice cream cost $11 a pint.; 6/20/10, 6:26 PM
Lyle said...: Victoria is hot. Nice wedding. Gaydar went to half-mast when the guy teared. Many Swedish men are emo these days though, so who knows?

... oh, and I'm with Skyler. There's reason for monarchies, other than the Swedish peoples' desire to keep them going. As an American, and in our great Jim Thorpe (Stockholm 1912) tradition, I don't wish the monarchy luck, but I do wish those two people the best of luck in marriage. Hopefully they make it work.; 6/20/10, 6:28 PM
rhhardin said...: Ring ceremony.; 6/20/10, 7:04 PM
knox said...: Sweden has a princess?; 6/20/10, 7:13 PM
meep said...: Check out the princesses:

http://bit.ly/cjhftB; 6/20/10, 7:18 PM
Patm said...: They seem an unusually happy couple, and very authentic. I wish them well.

She looks strong enough for both of them.; 6/20/10, 8:02 PM
Ralph L said...: From wiki on sword arches:
The bride and groom proceed into the arch, and as the couple passes through, the last two saber bearers usually lower the sabers in front of the couple, detaining them momentarily. Before releasing the couple, the saber bearer to the couple's left gives the bride a gentle swat on her backside with his saber, announcing "Welcome to the (insert branch) Ma'am!"

I suspect they left that part out, and since they've been dating several years, insert branch has already occurred.

I can't believe he got married wearing glasses.; 6/20/10, 8:13 PM
Rialby said...: I once did a guy who looked like that behind my dad's hunting cabin. He was uncut. And fab.; 6/20/10, 8:18 PM
Rialby said...: Sorry - my titus filter was on.; 6/20/10, 8:19 PM
Be said...: Tack foer dena. I'm 1/2 Danish and 99 98/100% against marriage in general, but found this really dear. Again, thanks. (sniff.); 6/20/10, 8:27 PM
Del Camino said...: Of course he's emotional. She has a wonderful volvo.; 6/20/10, 9:03 PM
A.W. said...: nice to see a royal wedding where they really love each other. more power to them.; 6/20/10, 9:14 PM
William said...: I wonder who made the first move. Was a first move even made? Royalty still have a thing about virginity. Princess Diane was a virgin on her wedding night, although she certainly made up for lost time later on. (And who can blame her?)...I read somewhere that the last person in Europe to be drawn and quartered was some guy who had adulterous relations with the Queen of Sweden. They've mellowed out, but it must be intimidating to go out with someone from a family with that kind of history.; 6/20/10, 9:22 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: My cousin just married a really sweet girl who couldn't wait to tie the knot. She complied with what I assume to be her father's wishes and waited a number of years to prove they were serious. During the ceremony she was smiling and excitedly jumping up and down in what seemed like an effort to get them to "hurry up and get on with it". It was pretty cute.; 6/20/10, 10:14 PM
Synova said...: Prince William is going to get married to his pregnant girl-friend, I think.

At least that's what the tabloids are saying today.

I notice in the photo gallery of princesses (most of them older than I am!) that the Prince of Monaco has a girlfriend rather than wife. I thought he was married. In fact, I thought he had to get married and start producing little princes and princesses of Monaco or else the principality reverts to France.; 6/20/10, 10:15 PM
Synova said...: I also noticed in the tabloids that Prince William managed to end up with a strong but perfectly handsome nose, despite the beaklike nose genes from both Charles and Diana. ;-); 6/20/10, 10:18 PM
prairie wind said...: I don't have my glasses on but...why the heck is Jim Carrey with the girl in the blue prom dress?; 6/20/10, 10:21 PM
RLB_IV said...: If you are going to choose a business partner for life it would be best to choose one that you love. First order of business, increasing the size of the Firm.; 6/20/10, 10:40 PM
Methadras said...: I was at my sisters wedding a few weeks back and I prayed for my brother-in-law. She's his problem now. :D

A man is allowed tears of joy on the monumental days of his life. Marriage being one of them, welcoming your children into the world, welcoming a new member via marriage into your family, grandchildren. Tears of sadness at the losses through death.; 6/21/10, 3:27 AM
Methadras said...: Oh and bort, bort, bort, do-dippy-do.; 6/21/10, 3:28 AM
Deborah M. said...: "Check out the princesses"

What a parade of god-awful dresses. Is it my monitor or are some of them really porking out? Like Edward of Monaco.; 6/21/10, 4:14 AM
lemondog said...: ...but perfectly handsome nose, despite the beaklike nose genes...

Hey, hey, HEY! Is THAT a nose joke?!!!

re: princesses, most appear garish in dress with a couple of exceptions of Princess of Asturias and Monaco's girlfriend.; 6/21/10, 5:53 AM
Opus One Media said...: I had the good fortune to live in Sweden for a few years. Thier definition of royalty makes me, on occasion, throw the bumbs out of Wasthington and import their monarchy.

Kind, gentle people who live life simply and beautifully. I agree with Dead Julius....live long, live well.; 6/21/10, 6:28 AM
Quaestor said...: The royal household of Sweden isn't Swedish, they're the descendants of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and his wife Désirée Clary -- both French, both from humble backgrounds, and both Latin in their looks.

Take a look a Princess Victoria, without the crown one might guess she's Italian rather than a Swede. The Bernadotte genes are evidently quite strong.; 6/21/10, 7:20 AM
lemondog said...: Ancestry (scroll down) also shows a lot of Prussian/German/Austrian in the mix,; 6/21/10, 7:45 AM
KV said...: So, is the implication here that there is something wrong with crying at a wedding?
I cried at my daughters wedding, big deal!!
While you people squander your time on this type of voyeurism, there are real issues facing real people every second of every day!
Get real...; 6/21/10, 7:46 AM
raf said...: The royal household of Sweden isn't Swedish

And by the same token, the royal household of England isn't English.

wv: repusnes. Sounds like wv thinks this whole thing is some kind of repulsive business.; 6/21/10, 8:33 AM
Opus One Media said...: @KV...

We are "getting real". simply gestures of kindness and love are where you find them...chill a bit pardner...enjoy.; 6/21/10, 9:13 AM
Skyler said...: The royal household of Sweden isn't Swedish

And by the same token, the royal household of England isn't English.

Which makes one wonder why they allow these people such lofty privileges.

Beneath each pretty royal wedding is decadence and depravity and a perverse value system that says that one's birth grants a right to rule and a life of legal privilege.; 6/21/10, 10:19 AM
Karin said...: As a Swede, I can honestly say that Victoria and Daniel totally won (almost) all our hearts with this wedding, even those sceptical to royalism (like myself).
I have never seen such deep, honest love and joy in a couple at their wedding, I've never seen a happier bride, she positively sparkled with joy and love all day long, and the speach Daniel gave at the wedding dinner has been mentioned in the press as "perhaps the best speech ever given in Sweden". I think I speak the truth if I say that not a single eye was dry among those who listened to it. His father also gave a speech that made me and my friends listen in silence, with our mouths open and tears in our eyes.
The middle-class family Westling may very well have saved Monarchy in Sweden.
I wish them all the best, and I am glad that Victoria is our queen to be, and I'm not even a royalist.; 6/21/10, 10:23 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/21/10, 10:24 AM
Anonymous said...: What do you get when you cross a woman and an onion?

Usually nothing. But every once in a while, you get a piece of ass so nice it makes you wanna' cry.; 6/21/10, 10:26 AM
Blue@9 said...: I love the guys who are just Too Macho to cry. Apparently tears must be reserved for sports team losses, not insignificant moments like marrying the woman you love.; 6/21/10, 11:12 AM
Bob From Ohio said...: "The royal household of Sweden isn't Swedish, they're the descendants of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and his wife Désirée Clary -- both French, both from humble backgrounds, and both Latin in their looks."

Bernadotte was a Marshall of France under Napoleon I. Sweden picked him to get on Napoleon's good side. Then Bernadotte kept his crown by switching sides.

I believe Bernadotte was a sergent in the pre-Revolution French Army. The Republic certainly changed things for him.

Désirée Clary was supposedly Napoleon's true love. There is a famous semi-true book and movie called Désirée.; 6/21/10, 11:20 AM
Anonymous said...: Hey ! Let's get one thing straight. Some men are "leakier" than others and it's got nothing to do with our masculinity. In days gone by it was called "sentimentality" and was considered a virtue. I am a burly, decidedly heterosexual man, and I can barely sit through a stranger's funeral without a tear or two, never mind my own family's milestone ceremonies. My grandfather was the cussedest old cowboy you ever saw, and was the same way. Our best recent President, George W. Bush, also has an active waterworks on emotional occasions. We don't cry if we're hurt or things aren't going our way or as an emotional weapon against others, only at moments of great importance to ourselves and others. So let's stow the masculinity talk.; 6/21/10, 11:32 AM
Bob From Ohio said...: "both Latin in their looks"

Forgot to add that Bernadotte and Désirée's son, King Oscar I. married a grandaughter of Napoleon's Empress Josephine.

Victoria looks a lot like Josephine is described as looking.; 6/21/10, 11:34 AM
CatherineM said...: Victoria's mother, Queen Silvia is half German, Half Brazilian - hence the "latin" looks. The youngest sibling Madeleine looks very Swedish.

English throne has become very Britsh between the late Queen Mother's gene's (Scottish) and Diana (English).

Albert of Monaco has no legitimate heirs so the crown will go to Caroline's eldest Andrea.; 6/21/10, 11:52 AM
raf said...: English throne has become very Britsh between the late Queen Mother's gene's (Scottish) and Diana (English).

But dynasties are tracked by primogeniture. The local women are just the spoils of, well, in this case, politics. A Saxe-Coburg by any other name (such as Windsor) is still teutonic.

Of course, you are correct, but what's the fun in that?; 6/21/10, 1:30 PM
Anonymous said...: This wedding cost $2.3 million, while Rush Limbaugh's fourth wedding cost an estimated $4 million (including the Elton John concert). It seems strange.; 6/21/10, 4:49 PM
Blue@9 said...: This wedding cost $2.3 million, while Rush Limbaugh's fourth wedding cost an estimated $4 million (including the Elton John concert). It seems strange.

Yeah, but Rush makes more money than the Swedish royalty.; 6/21/10, 5:03 PM