Royal flush

Oh boy. It's fitting that I posted for the first time in months yesterday, because TODAY I can't think of any other way to write about the day's experience, but it would have seemed lame to jump straight from Paris in October to this now at the end of January without ANY ramblings about day to day life stuff in between. Phew.

So, wow! Today! This will most definitely go down as one of the highlights of this year for me. I can't think how best to tell the story, so I'll opt for chronologically.

A few months back I heard that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had announced a quick tour of Sweden and Norway in early 2018 and I've been all ears since.

A couple weeks ago I found the official dates of the visit, and a few days ago I located details on where Will and Kate, along with Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel, would officially be "greeting the people" and marked it on the calendar. Thanks to a few of you who chimed in on a fb question I posted to a friend considering whether it was reasonable to take the kids out of school for this occasion. I'm not sure what ever made me doubt that it would be!

Yesterday, I read a comment on a Stockholm FB group I'm in that led me to hunt down more specifics on the rest of their time here, and I discovered that, in addition to the crowd event in Gamla Stan today, Will and Kate were also making an appearance at Vasaparken - a park I've posted photos from several times, as it's in easy walking distance from our flat!! - to watch some kids play bandy. That was in the morning, and the kids didn't want to miss the whole school day for this, so I decided that Rachel and I would drop the kids at school, go to Vasaparken to try and catch a glimpse of the royals there, then pick the kids up at noon and head to Gamla Stan to stake out our position for the formal greeting event. 

YOU GUYS!!! If you didn't have a chance to see my instagram story already today, check it out before it disappears. If you missed it, you'll probably pick up on the general gist and giddiness here as well, so don't worry.

When Rachel and I arrived at the park, we could see they were cleaning the ice rink and clearly setting up for the event, but hardly anyone was around. We hung our for nearly an hour, watching police set up gates and taping off areas, and people drifted in and set up to watch. I had intended for us to go up the hill to play at the playground, but Rachel and I both were worried we might miss out on a good spot to watch from if we went so far away. (I'm not just saying that - I told Rachel we could go, but she was actually concerned about not seeing "the princess". It wasn't just me!) Just when Rachel began to get bored, a young woman came by offering free hot chocolate from a sweet backpack contraption called a "Huski". She told me it's a Swedish company/concept. She had the big box shaped pack filled with cocoa on her back (it said "choklad" down one side). On the front, on one side was a cup dispenser, and on the other was a cocoa spigot that she poured from. Excellent! 

Shortly after we got cocoa, crowds started arriving. Lots of middle school aged school groups, perhaps as much to see the bandy game as the royals? Unfortunately, at this point, Rachel was getting cold. I talked her into five more minutes, which, happily, was just enough! We were there just long enough to see Will and Kate arrive and walk on to the rink, but didn't stay to watch them take their turns hitting the bandy ball. They were far from us, despite our being right on the police tape line, so I used the real camera to snap a zoomed in shot to prove we saw them for real, in case that was the best we did, and we headed home to warm up before school pick up.

After pulling the kids from school, we walked home to drop off backpacks and, please let it be noted, I advised all the children to make sure they had two layers of pants, WARM SOCKS, all necessary gloves, hats, scarves, etc, and to please, please use the toilet. Praise the good Lord, no one needed to use the bathroom on this outing (possibly because I had second thoughts about the thermos of hot chocolate I had brought along, and ended up withholding it till we got home). Phew! God is good. ALL the time. But especially when no one needs a toilet in an impossible situation.

We arrived at Stortoget (literally: "big square") in Gamla Stan (literally: "old town" - the Swedish aren't always super creative in naming places) about an hour and a half before the expected walk of the royal couples from the palace (the same one we visited a few weeks back) to the Nobel Museum. I'd gone round and round about what a reasonable time to arrive would be, and this was perfection. We scored spots to stand in the front row along the rail, but within a few minutes the rail was full and people started filling in behind us. Viewers arrived slowly at first, and with the square mostly empty still, Meg asked, "Why did you get us out of school so early?!" to which I replied, "Look! If we'd been five minutes later you'd have seen nothing but people's backs." 

Unfortunately, an hour and a half was a long time to stand still in the 28 degree, clear day. The kids played games on their tablets for a while, or read books. We had snacks (but no cocoa... I kept putting them off a little longer each time someone asked). Nathaniel joined us with about 45 minutes left to wait (much to the chagrin of the people behind me who were hoping they'd have no one taller than me and a bunch of kids to try and look over). At that point, Meg was starting to complain about cold feet (literally), and was generally getting... sad. "I miss home" is the catch-all expression of sadness this year, understandably, but it was hard for me to sympathize when we were about to see ROYALTY. There's no royalty at home! I'm a great mom, I swear. But priorities, kid!! Peter was bored and tired and not really into the whole royalty-viewing-as-entertainment concept, so he was getting whiny as well. Rachel had some cold extremities, but was still super excited about being there, so manned up. Still, at one point, we had three kids whimpering and I have some doubts that any one around me would have voted me mom of the year for this whole adventure. I may have asked them to please cry more quietly so people around us wouldn't hear them. (Kidding! Probably. Maybe.)

Just when it seemed hopeless with the kiddos, we saw the photographers leading the royals around the corner. Meg was still crying, but Rachel was all sorts of smiles and READY to MEET a PRINCESS! Peter had dropped to the ground at our feet in frustration and grumpiness, and nothing we could say would coax him stand up and be seen. Victoria and William came around the corner first, with Kate and Daniel behind them, then they split into the correct couples to greet the crowd. And greet the crowd they did! I expected quick handshakes down the row, maybe? They seriously stopped and CHATTED with each person along the row, though. At least those of us, you know, IN FRONT. Ha! 90 minutes (and a day of prep to get us there) totally paid off!

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel came down the row first. Did I mention that I may have strongly encouraged Rachel and Meg to wear their earmuffs, as an obvious and easy conversation starter? So glad I did! Every one of the royals commented on them! Rachel was BEAMING. Meg wiped away her tears and pulled it together. Peter stayed crouched on the ground, hidden. Marianne and Ruth behaved with appropriately awed composure. Daniel asked how long we were here for. Victoria remarked on the cold and encouraged Rachel to dance to stay warm (as though she needed encouragement to dance!). The Swedish royals chatted but didn't shake hands. They were very sweet, though. Victoria is gorgeous. Her hair was in this beautiful twisted bun that Marianne admired. And she was wearing beautiful cranberry velvet boots and a matching clutch. Having a chance to see Victoria and Daniel in person became a personal goal of mine as soon as we determined we were moving to Sweden, so I am beyond thrilled with how it came to fruition! Actual conversation! 

And then! I mean... THE CAMBRIDGES! Nathaniel asked as we left whether we should perhaps be more excited about the Swedish royalty than the Brits, but I just can't. 

Prince. William. walked. right. up. to. us. and. crouched. down. and. talked. to. my. children.

I can't do the whole thing in periods after every word for emphasis, but that's how it sounds in my head and when I say it out loud, so just understand how I'm feeling, okay?

William for realz walked right up to us and said hello. Nathaniel remarked on our being visitors as well. William asked where from. We said Nebraska in the US. He said, Oh! Nathaniel suggested he visit some time. He said, "Yes! I'd love to! We have a great friend who lives in Pennsylvania..." and then we all laughed and I think it was clear that even he realized how absurd that sounded. I think I said something like, "Pretty close...". He talked to the girls about their earmuffs, noting that Meg's were pandas and asking Rachel if hers were bunnies. Then he shook all our hands. It was DREAMY! I shook the hand of the future KING OF ENGLAND, y'all. I've been over the moon all afternoon.

And we weren't done, because KATE!! Just as she walked up, Peter finally popped up to say hello. "Oh! Where did you come from?!" SAID KATE MIDDLETON, THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE, TO MY SON. That was accidental all-caps-ing, but I'm going to leave it there because it seems fitting.

Then she crouched down and asked Rachel her name, and talked to her about the earmuffs and the cold weather. And then she shook all our hands! 

I am beside myself. 

As soon as they passed on, Peter said, "Wow. Mom. She's soooo pretty." Truth! He's totally smitten.

With the excitement moving on down the line, Peter and Meg burst back into tears from the cold and tiredness, so we took our first opportunity to wedge our way out of the crush of onlookers. As soon as we broke free, promising the kids a quick trip to the warmth of the subway, a man walked up and introduced himself as a reporter with People magazine. When he asked where we were from and we said Nebraska, he said, "Ah. Then you're familiar with People?" Ha! He asked us a couple questions about what we'd talked about with the Duke and Duchess. We remarked on the earmuffs and he asked the earmuff wearers what they'd thought of it all, but Meg was too upset to make words and Rachel just grinned with the light of a thousand suns but gave no quotes. So. *I* ended up quoted in People's online coverage. It was a mix of things Nathaniel and I had said, and not actually quite anything either of us had said (it wasn't "bitter" cold... it was just too cold to stand around in for hours) but whatever. I'm immortalized on People magazine's website in an article about the British Royals visiting the Swedish Royals. Life accomplishment achieved! 

As the kids and I walked in the door to our flat and started to pull off all our gear, I honestly had to take a minute... I stopped and said, "Hey! Listen up, crew!" Actually, if we're being honest, I said that three or four times till I actually had their attention, then went on. "Thank you guys SO MUCH for this afternoon! I know we didn't do a perfect job of wearing warm enough socks, and it was crowded and boring most of the time. But THANK YOU! This meant a lot to me, and I really, truly believe that ten or twenty years from now... it'll mean a lot to you, too! You'll always be able to say that you've MET the Queen of Sweden and shaken hands with the King of England!!" I think at that point, once they were finally warm, it soaked in for them how cool it really was. Or maybe my giddiness finally wore off on them. Because everyone has cheered up and we've laughed about the whole experience all afternoon. 

One of my friends joked this afternoon "How fun! Now you can come home!" and obviously I'm not a plane yet or anything. But I am feeling very satisfied with this bit of the trip. Check. {happy sigh}

Links to instagram for photo reference - post one and post two.