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World's royals gather to see Spain's Princess Cristina wed
October 4, 1997
The Wedding of Princess Cristina
1.1M/31 sec. QuickTime movie
Web posted at: 9:59 a.m. EDT (1359 GMT)BARCELONA, Spain (CNN) -- Spain's Princess Cristina wed a Basque sportsman Saturday in a lavish ceremony watched by royalty from 40 countries and perhaps as many as 1 billion television viewers.
The marriage of the 32-year-old younger daughter of King Juan Carlos I and Olympic handball star Inaki Urdangarin took place in Barcelona's majestic Gothic cathedral accompanied by the music of Mozart and Handel.
The couple was cheered by crowds who waited along the flag-draped route of the wedding procession and lined the cobblestone streets leading to the church. Many people had camped out overnight for a good spot.
It was the first major gathering of the world's royalty since the funeral of Britain's Princess Diana last month in London.
A L S O :
Spain's royal family admired for its common touch
Cristina a career woman
Despite the pomp on her wedding day, Cristina, who is third in line to the throne, works at a Barcelona bank and is the first Spanish royal in history to hold a salaried job.
Urdangarin, 29, is a professional handball player on Barcelona's championship team and the son of a prominent Basque banker and politician. The couple met at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where Urdangarin was playing on Spain's team.
The wedding was held in a gothic cathedral nearly 700 years old. The bride wore an off-the-shoulder white gown with a long train, arriving at the cathedral in a black Rolls Royce limousine with her father, the king.
Almost every major royal household was represented. Among the 1,500 wedding guests were Monaco's Prince Rainier, Jordan's Queen Noor and Britain's Prince Edward, who stood in for his brother Prince Charles, who is still in mourning for his former wife Diana.
Others who attended were International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.
The service was a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony with three choirs, two of which sang in Spain's Catalan and Basque regional languages. Their inclusion was meant to express unity among Spain's distinctive regions. Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia.
Security tightest since 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Security was extremely tight to guard against possible terrorist attacks by the Basque separatist group ETA, which some officials feared might try to disrupt the ceremonies. About 4,000 police were posted throughout the city, the biggest security operation since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
There were no disruptions to the ceremony, but in the troubled Basque region of northern Spain, a small homemade bomb exploded near a policeman's car Friday night, causing no injuries or major damage.
The Catalan separatist group known as the Independence Party staged a small protest Saturday morning with the message: "We Catalans have no king."
It was the second wedding for the Spanish royal household in less than three years. Princess Elena, Cristina's older sister, married Spanish businessman Jaime de Marichalar in Seville in 1995. Their brother, 29-year-old Prince Felipe, is Spain's last unmarried royal offspring, and is the heir to the throne.
Related sites:
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- Spanish Royal Family - (Spanish language)
- CyberSpain
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