Popularised by Hollywood and the wedding of the crown princess, the patriarchal ‘handover’ is catching on. Now Lutherans want to stop it F rom equ

‘Not our tradition’: calls in Sweden to ban fathers walking brides down the aisle

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2024-09-01 04:30:04

Popularised by Hollywood and the wedding of the crown princess, the patriarchal ‘handover’ is catching on. Now Lutherans want to stop it

F rom equal parental leave and an almost gender-balanced parliament to pole position in the EU’s gender equality index, Sweden is in many respects a world leader on feminism. But when it comes to marital traditions, trends appear to be moving in a different direction.

Traditionally in the Swedish church, which is Lutheran, the bride and groom walk down the aisle together rather than the bride being accompanied by her father, as is often the case in Britain and the US.

But in recent years – perhaps inspired by the influence of global television, films and social media – more Swedish women are requesting to be “handed over” by their fathers.

The issue of what some Swedes describes as “the Hollywood tradition” has been simmering for some time – particularly in 2010, when Sweden’s crown princess, Victoria, decided to be partly walked down the aisle by her father, King Carl Gustaf.