A hot summer day in 2010 was finally there Crown Princess Victoria’s turn (45) to get the prince of her dreams – Prince Daniel (49). Swedes have been waiting for the big day for a long time, and hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of Stockholm from far and near.
Nearly half a million had taken to the streets of the Swedish capital to attend the folk festival, plus the royal wedding was broadcast live on SVT.
Reveals an unknown wedding drama
These days, however, they have a hitherto secret wedding day incident received a lot of attention in the Swedish mediawhile the book “Insats sårður” is about to be distributed on the shelves.
Now the police chief – who was head of security that day – tells Dagbladet about the dramatic incident.
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– It should be safe
He is police chief Michael Fetz, with good help from writer Niclas Andersson, who is now in the news with “Insats sårður”. There, Fetz offers a unique insight into police work, from violence to terrorist threats.
NEW BOOK: In “Insats sårður” police chief Michael Fetz recounts several dramatic incidents at work. Photo: Norstedts
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Fetz, who was himself responsible for a series of serious incidents in Sweden, was in charge of security during the royal wedding as early as the year before, when the engagement became known.
– We planned how we would do it for a full year, so it was a beautiful day for Victoria and Daniel, but also to make sure it was safe for everyone who would attend – both royals, guests and spectators, he explains to Dagbladet.
Respond to divorce rumors
The preparations consisted, among other things, of a visit to Oslo, where they received useful information on how to manage security, after the Norwegian police had managed the visit of President Obama in 2009. The team also went to the countries Bassi, where he had been there the year before had been an assassination attempt during a royal parade against beatrice Beatrixto better prepare.
However, things were about to go terribly wrong.
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“What is this?”
That day well over two thousand policemen were at work, dressed in the most impressive uniforms. Beforehand, Fetz had had private encounters with both Victoria and Daniel.
– But then we had an accident, which made it a little “exciting”.
FESTA FOLK: Half a million people gathered in the streets of Stockholm to follow the wedding. Photo: Jeppe Gustafsson / Shutterstock / NTB
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From a back room, Fetz and others from the police force watched the procession closely.
– Then suddenly I saw on a screen that there was a black and white image of a small plane. I just thought, “What is this? It doesn’t match my image of how it should be.” So at first I thought some of the cops had made an old airplane movie from the 1950s, as everything was going so well. This was my first thought, he laughs.
However, he soon realized that this was real. A plane was headed for the procession, despite the ban on entering the entire airspace.
The detail draws attention: – Strange
“Hit him!”
With 9/11 almost in the back of his mind, the team leader knew the plane wasn’t upside down some circumstances could fly to Stockholm.
– At the same time, we tried to get in touch with the pilot, but it was not possible, as he did not have the flight radio on. The whole thing seemed like a threat, so I decided we had to stop it.
“The time has come. Now I have to say the words: ‘Shoot him to the ground!'” Says the book.
Chief: Fetz was afraid of terror on the wedding day of the Crown Princess. Photo: by Nordstedt
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Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Two fighter jets finally let the pilot know that something was wrong – flying very close – and he turned on the radio in the small plane. So he also got in touch with the police, who ordered him to turn around and eventually land at a nearby airport.
– It turned out that he was a completely normal person, who missed the fact that there was a marriage and prohibited airspace. But it was about to end in tragedy, and it would have been a tragedy regardless of what we did, says Fetz, and continues:
Here things are bad for the king
– If he had been allowed to continue and the plane had crashed into the crowd, it would have been a huge tragedy, but even if I had decided that we would have to shoot down the plane and subsequently it turned out to be an ordinary citizen without any harm intentions. So it was very, very good that it ended up like this. It was all very dramatic.
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Private meetings
The police chief further explains that there were many other people who had to be checked that day, including one who walked with a knife in her backpack. She also had an “unnatural interest” in the royal family, which resulted in nothing more than an arrest.
– The funny thing is that we managed to create an event that the whole royal family was happy with, and it turned out to be a very nice day. It was a lot of fun meeting Victoria and Daniel.
CORTESGE: The small plane was headed to the center of Stockholm, where the bride and groom Victoria and Daniel were taken in a procession. Photo: Willi Schneider / REX / NTB
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– How are they private?
– Great people, I think. Very, very good people. Responsive, easy to talk and very nice people. I have only good things to say, I am very proud of our royal family here in Sweden.
Punished for this
Sorry to the king
Despite the fact that everything went well that day, Fetz chooses to personally apologize to King Carl Gustaf (76) in the book. However, he does so due to another accident.
“In connection with the arrival of the wedding guests, the king organized a private party on an archipelago boat for some selected guests,” he explains in the book and also writes that he managed to mention the party to the media.
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– I had decided that I would be as transparent as possible and would tell everything to show that we had no secrets. Increase the credibility of the police. But if the king has a private party, then it’s not something that I, as a police officer, should be standing and talking to the media about, but it is over in everything else I said that day. I realized after that he wasn’t that good, he had to be allowed to have private parties, he laughs.
– So that was the only mistake I made, and then I thought that now when I write a book – in case the king reads it – he will feel sorry for it and apologize, keep smiling.
Their hard struggle for love
– Totally random
The police chief claims he has been to Norway several times, including for grueling drills with the emergency response team. In his private life, he also has a good relationship with the neighboring village – and he has walked with his wife in both Romsdalseggen and Trollstigen.
– I love Norway, it is such a beautiful and beautiful country.
Fetz currently works as police chief and is coordinator for counter-terrorism in Stockholm. Previously, he was head of the task force in the Stockholm police region, chief of police in Västerort and Södertälje and founder of the national effort.
