Royal wedding: the Menu and the tables

The wedding banquet on 8 June 2013 was held at Drottningholm Palace.

The guests arrived at Drottningholm Palace by boat. The guests of honour were seated at the table of honour, and the other guests sat at round tables around them.

Menu

Swedish delicacies

Kalix vendace roe in a cone, with lemon and piquant crème fraîche,

Skagen emulsion with crisp rye bread, mustard herring in a carrot coating,

 pickled herring terrine, egg from Gotland with Drott caviar foam

and miniature Västerbotten cheese pie

Butter-baked salmon trout with boiled white asparagus, fried green asparagus,

marinated purple asparagus, and tomato and shallot compote

with browned butter, horseradish, chive oil and salmon roe

Roast fillet of veal from Holmberg Farm

with Västervik mustard coating and Astrakan cider sauce,

carrot variation and roasted mini cauliflower from Nobis Farms

Pavlova with Italian meringue, wild strawberry sorbet

and strawberry ice cream, white chocolate and fresh wild strawberries

 

Wine

Swedish schnapps and beer

or

Trimbach Riesling Vieilles Vignes 2009 Alsace

Pommery Grand Cru Millésime 2005 Champagne

Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru 2010 La Chapelle Dom. Lafouge

Sattlerhof Beerenauslese 2010 Südsteiermark

 

 

The table setting

The table of honour is decorated with étagères and candelabras, burnished bronzes dating from the 19th century, and with pink and white early summer flowers such as peonies, sweet peas, garden roses, lady's mantle and columbines.

The flowers

A large garland of birch leaves is suspended from the ceiling, with hanging arcs of pink flowers. The flowers at the table of honour are arranged in burnished bronzes from the Royal Collections. Behind the bride and groom is a backdrop of pale pink peonies, hydrangeas and cow parsley.

Glassware

The glassware was given to The King and Queen on the occasion of their wedding in 1976 by the Riksdag and the Government. In other words, this was the Swedish people's wedding gift to the couple.

Silver chargers

The chargers used at the top table were commissioned by King Karl XIV Johan, while the others date back to the late 18th century and were probably commissioned by King Adolf Fredrik and Queen Lovisa Ulrika and by King Gustav III.

The first course

The plates feature the monogram of King Gustaf V and the Swedish emblem of three crowns. They were made by Rörstrand in 1910.

The cutlery was commissioned by Queen Désirée, the first Bernadotte queen. They feature the monogram EBD (Eugenia Bernhardina Desideria), and are gold-plated. They were made in Stockholm around 1830-40.
 

The fish course

The Rosenthal Monbijou plates feature a green floral motif. Late 20th century.

The cutlery is the well-known Swedish design Olga. The forks are Swedish, and were made in the mid-1800s, while the knives in the same design were commissioned by King Gustaf VI Adolf in the 1950s.

The meat course

The plates are decorated with the wording “Drottningholms slott" (“Drottningholm Palace") and a royal crown, and were made by Rörstrand in 1910.

The cutlery was commissioned by Queen Josefina, and the design is called Prince Albert.

Dessert

The dishes feature a motif of butterflies and flowers, and are marked KPM (Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin), 19th century.

 

The table linen

The table linen consists of Klässbols tablecloths and napkins that are more than a hundred years old, woven from damask. Approximately 640 m² of linen has been used for the wedding banquet at Drottningholm. The napkins were woven in 1891, in Lille in France, by the Lemaitre Demestre & Fils textile factory, which was situated on the Place de la Gare at 19 Rue de Baisses. The pattern features the coat of arms of the Swedish-Norwegian union, woven into the middle of the napkin.
All 500 napkins are from the Union Linen. In 1891, there were 999 napkins. 919 of these are still used, thanks to the Linen Chamber's careful treatment. Damask is mangled according to old traditions. The process consists of 18 different stages, from stain removal and laundering to folding, mangling and rolling. The linen is stored in a cool storeroom for at least three months before being used again, so that the fibres can rest and return to their correct form.
The 45 Fru Embla tablecloths feature a simple pattern, providing an elegant background for the table settings. They were commissioned in 2013 from Klässbols. The tablecloths were commissioned for the new Sweden dinners, at which guests are served at round tables. The rest of the Linen Chamber's tablecloths are either too small or too large for the round tables used at these dinners. The fabric is linen.