Wedding of King Craitman IV and Princess Anika of Amokolia
The wedding of King Craitman IV and Princess Anika of Amokolia and Victoria occurred in 1577 in Castrum Nazarene.
Narrative
King Craitman yesterday married his long-term fiancée, Princess Anika of Victoria. The ceremony, marked by a day of holiday and celebration in both Craitland and Victoria, took place in the glorious Cathedral of Our Lady of the Fifth Isle in the splendid enclave nation of Castrum Nazarene, the seat of the head of the Anglican Church of St George on Micras.
The couple, permitted to stay within Castum Nazarene's esteemed St Augustine's Palace the night prior to the ceremony, met last year during King Craitman's first visit to Victoria. The two were first introduced at the famed Dundas University, in Newhaven - where Anika graduated her Mathematics degree in 2003 and has since become a spokesperson for education in Victoria, being Dundas' most famous graduate - when King Craitman was given the privilege of announcing the establishment's first ever Craitland-specific degree course. Princess Anika acted as King Craitman's personal guide throughout the university's numerous faculties during his day-long visit.
The two remained in contact after that day, with Princess Anika even inviting herself into the party of dignitaries sent to see King Craitman off after his week-long visit to Victoria, and over the following months, with the two kingdoms' relations strengthening, the couple began to arrange more meetings with each other. Most famously, the pair were seen together during King Craitman's summer break to Trévoux, capital of the Victorian territory of Valencia, after which, both released official statements confirming that their relationship had taken a romantic turn. Only a few months later, it was announced by King Craitman himself, live on CrTV from Riego, that he had proposed to Princess Anika during a dinner party thrown by Queen Victoria, the princess' mother, who had given her blessing to King Craitman the evening before. The couple were engaged on November 23rd 2010.
Since their engagement, the pair have been in attendance of a number of high-profile events, such as the opening ceremony of this year's World Expo, the King's Cup Final, and numerous openings of establishments in both's home countries. The couple were also notably involved in the troublesome case of Amokolia; Princess Anika was previously Princess of Amokolia, and so was heavily involved in the region's political goings-on, with King Craitman acting as a peacemaker during discussions in order for the final result to be amicable to all parties. During the agreement talks, the two were very rarely seen away from each other's side as the territory's future was being thrashed-out. In the months following the Amokolia debacle, Princess Anika has been involved with the regeneration of Victoria, bringing the nation back to success from near-despair. Her relationship with King Craitman also proved fruitful for an unexpected reason, with his involvement as head of the FMF gave Victoria a kick-start with the establishment of the nation's first professional sports league; the football Premiership.
During Victoria's national revitalisation, the date of the couple's wedding was officially announced after much speculation. With Princess Anika's birthday being May 26th, the pair decided to celebrate the future-queen's 29th birthday quietly whilst settling on an extravagant occasion eleven days later for their wedding ceremony. As the pair both look to have rather busy schedules over the next few months, the move was lauded by the international press, with some even mentioning it as being the "perfect start to a perfect summer".
With such an interesting build-up and history to the wedding, the ceremony itself was expected to be outstanding, and there was absolutely no letting-down. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Fifth Isle was draped in the most fantastic decoration; Craitland's royal purple fimbriated by the Victorian red and blue hung all around, flowers in matching colours sprung-out from every possible space, and countless other nations' royal family members and dignitaries filled the pews of the magnificent church. All manner of other guests had been invited also; from television personalities to footballers, and from singers to artists, everyone who's anyone seemed to be there.
King Craitman arrived within minutes of the guests taking their seats and getting settled within the grand cathedral. He arrived with his best man, Victorian Foreign Secretary Lord Buthnock - with whom he has created a brother-like bond with over the past year and a half he says - and head usher Gareth Shanks, Victoria's Defence Secretary. As Craitland has no standing armed forces, King Craitman's attire was not comparable to that of other notable royal weddings in that he didn't wear any type of military uniform, instead opting for a full length white and purple cloak, as well as bearing his crown. After taking his place at the alter, his robe and crown were removed and placed on the throne near the choir - next to an identical throne on which sat another crown - revealing a traditional yet glamorous Craitish "harvest suit" (common in Stormarkian, Norse and Victorian formalities as a hátíðarbúningur).
Princess Anika's arrival was not too long a wait after, appearing in King Craitman's own horse-drawn carriage; the four elegant white steeds trotting along with the open-top golden coach gliding after them in the sunshine. Princess Anika stepped-out to cheers from the multinational crowd - both Craitland and Victoria's flags being waved frantically - and her dress, made by Natopian designer Alexander McBagelhurst, with its 11-foot train, was remarked on by female and male journalists alike. Looking notably nervous behind her veil, Princess Anika closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning to wave at the crowd and beginning her entrance into the cathedral. Her entrance into the cathedral, caught splendidly live by both CrTV and VBC cameras, was met by swathes of smiles throughout the congregation. King Craitman bore the largest grin of all, of course, with his entire face lighting-up at Princess Anika's appearance at the church's entrance. As she walked down the aisle, those closest to her on the ends of the pews were looking into her eyes but hers were fixed absolutely on her future husband's as he waited beaming at the altar. As Princess Anika came to a halt at the altar, Archbishop Alfred Dunholm, head of the Anglican Church of St George, gave her a reassuring nod and smile, and King Craitman subtly squeezed her palm as the bridal march music ended.
The ceremony itself went swimmingly. The only "slip" was best man Lord Buthnock's pretending to have lost the pair's rings, which many believe to be the work of King Craitman himself to lighten the ceremony's mood, which was met by the odd chuckle and grin in the crowd. The ceremony included an array of hymns, some known to be personal favourites of at least one of the couple. After the vows and exchanging of rings, the pair were handed the two crowns previously sat on the thrones; King Craitman placed now-Queen Anika's crown upon her head, to affirm her new position. Queen Anika then herself placed her new husband's crown upon his head, in a show of parity within their marriage echoing the placing of the rings on each other's fingers. Both rose and were greeted by a standing ovation from the congregation lasting over two minutes. Queen Anika has been given the secondary title of Princess of New Vaduz after King Craitman's brother, Prince Edward, wished to relinquish his royal standing. After taking their place, eventually, side-by-side on the two thrones, and being treated to beautifully-sung hymns from the choir alone and a rendition of the Craitish national anthem, Vycasio yhn Honór, the full wedding party, including Queen Victoria II and Princess Phillipa, Queen Anika's maid of honour, were taken into the chapel in order to sign the register.
Following the signing of the reigster, the royal couple, arm-in-arm, best man and maid of honour were led out of the cathedral by Archbishop Dunholm and into the sunshine. The crowds filling the square and streets, some watching on big screens and even listening on hand-held radios, exploded into raptures upon the couple's appearance. The pair greeted their audience with smiles and waves before entering the royal carriage. The couple kissed swiftly as the horses began trotting away from the cathedral towards St Augustine's Palace, with a cheer of near-relief being audible from the throngs lining the roads.
Albeit only a short trip, the King and Queen made sure to address as many of the crowd as possible, waving and smiling in every direction before arriving in the palace's central quadrangle. The luxury vintage CräiteAuto cars housing the wedding party arrived a matter of minutes after the royal couple's carriage. The entire party then entered into one of the many glorious library rooms within the palace for the official wedding photography. So far, the only released picture is the couple's most personal; requested by both King Craitman and Queen Anika, it shows the couple looking longingly into each other's eyes, with foreheads touching and no signs of royal attire, and was taken on the balcony overlooking the quadrangle from the library room. The full set of photographs is expected to be released by the end of the week.
The wedding party then followed the photography session with an official greeting of the crowds on the palace's main front balcony. With even more royal waving and a constant flicker of cameras taking pictures in the crowd, the couple treated everyone to another kiss; this one lasting notably longer than the one in the carriage straight after the ceremony, but still met with another loud cheer and whistles. After nearly quarter of an hour's worth of addressing the crowd, in which time the remaining wedding guests had arrived at the palace, it was decided that the wedding meal - prepared by esteemed Victorian chef Christian Manson-Horner - should begin and the party entered the palace with the royal couple being the last out-of-sight.
It is unknown what the couple will now do for a honeymoon, with both of their summers looking to be very busy, but it is thought that they will revisit Trévoux, in Valencia, where they began officially courting. Other suggested destinations have been named in various media as Alexandria's Santa Gertrudis territory, the capital of Normark, Konugsheim, and its fjords, and even little scenic Castlebridge in Buthnock, Victoria. Wherever they do end-up, however, it's certain that everyone hopes they'll have an amazing experience and we're all sure they will!
