The Princess & the Trucker

The marrying season of Scandinavian princesses rolled on last week with a rainy ceremony on Oland island, 145 miles south of Stockholm. As King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden led his eldest granddaughter, Princess Margaretha, 29, down the aisle of the 13th century church of Gardslosa, the pink-faced groom, British Trucking Executive John Ambler, 40, waited beside an altar trimmed with wild flowers and flanked with birch trees. Television lights gleamed on the bride's golden crown and her simple wedding dress and veil of Brussels lace. Standing before Lutheran Archbishop Gunnar Hultgren, Margaretha answered the traditional question with a soft "Ja." Ambler said, "I will."

Although his valet, Miles, was among the wedding guests, none of Ambler's family was present. He had explained that his 68-year-old mother was too aged and frail to make the journey. The groom's uncle, Norman Ambler, who breeds dogs at Cap d'Antibes on the French Riviera and was also uninvited, scoffed at the story. He described his sister-in-law as spry and active, but added, "However, she is something of a religious fanatic--she is liable to start quoting the Scriptures at everyone. That may be one of the reasons John didn't invite her."

There were enough relatives of the bride to make up for any lack, ranging from her sister, Princess Desiree, who last month married a Swedish noble man, to Denmark's Queen Ingrid, whose daughter Princess Anne-Marie weds King Constantine of Greece in September. Also on hand: a U.S. housewife from California who had won her invitation to the wedding on ABC-TV's Queen for a Day program.

The bride was serene until she reached the church vestibule, when she broke down and had a good cry. Margaretha then joined 150 guests at a reception under a domed, plastic tent. "Typical English weather," muttered Ambler, eyeing the falling rain. Then the newlyweds dashed for their car, which had been decorated with a sheaf of wheat, symbol of fertility. As they drove away, Ambler caught a handful of rice in the face, remarked, "It makes me feel like a wounded pheasant." After honeymooning in Sardinia, Mr. and Mrs. John Ambler will be at home at Wilton Crescent in London's Belgravia. As compensation for having stayed put in Britain and watched the wedding on TV, the groom's family will meet the bride at a party next fall.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.