A Hundred Years Since Astrid and Leopold's Wedding: the Dress Without a Tiara, Her Mother's Veil and the Kiss in Antwerp That Broke Protocol

Exactly a hundred years ago, on 4 November 1926, Swedish princess Astrid and Belgian crown prince Leopold were married in a civil ceremony at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Astrid was the daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden and Ingeborg of Denmark. Leopold met her on visits to Stockholm with his mother, Queen Elisabeth, who, in the spirit of the times, was looking for a future daughter-in-law.

The meetings continued throughout 1926, sometimes incognito, with letters and discreet trips. They announced the engagement in September, and the wedding came a few weeks later. King Albert I, Leopold's father, confirmed they were marrying for love, without pressure from the state. In royal houses that is still news today.

Two weddings in six days

On 10 November came the church wedding at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels. The double ceremony reconciled the Swedish Lutheran and Belgian Catholic traditions. King Albert I almost missed the civil ceremony: he got lost walking around Stockholm, but still arrived in time.

At the civil wedding Astrid wore a white satin dress with a rounded neckline, a skirt with lace details and discreet ruffles, in the silhouette of the twenties, and a crown of myrtle, a plant associated with love, fidelity and fertility. For the church ceremony she chose a white dress with silver highlights, a V-neckline and a long train carried by four girls dressed in white, and held a bouquet of white flowers.

The Brussels lace veil had previously belonged to her mother and her sister Märtha, and for the church ceremony it was combined with orange blossom. There was no tiara at either ceremony. Juliet-style veils and cap-shaped ones, back in fashion today, are nothing new: Astrid wore them a hundred years ago.

The kiss in Antwerp

After the civil wedding Leopold returned to Belgium, and Astrid travelled by sea on the ship "Fylgia". On 8 November, when she arrived at the port of Antwerp, the two embraced and kissed in public, something the protocol of the time did not foresee. The New York Times correspondent joked that such a kiss would never have got past American censors. More than 200,000 people turned out to greet the newlyweds, an unprecedented welcome for Belgium.

Among the gifts were two tiaras, a diamond necklace from her uncle, Swedish King Gustaf V, and a set of emeralds and diamonds from her parents. The "Nine Provinces" tiara, with eleven large diamonds, arrived only a few months after the wedding and later became one of the most recognisable jewels of Belgian queens.

The end

They had three children. Leopold became king in 1934. Only a year later, on 29 August 1935, Astrid was killed in a car crash in Switzerland while travelling with Leopold. She was 29. Belgium was in shock.

Astrid is often compared to Diana, but their marriages are opposite stories. Astrid and Leopold married for love and their marriage ended too soon, while Diana's marriage fell apart in front of the cameras.