Sweden bids farewell to its Welsh-born Cinderella, Princess Lilian

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Sweden's Welsh-born Princess Lilian, who waited three decades to marry her prince, was buried on Saturday after thousands of Swedes paid their respects to one of the most popular members of the royal family.

A casket draped in Sweden's blue and yellow flag was placed on a catafalque and topped by a crown once belonging to Sweden's Princess Eugenie at the Stockholm Royal Chapel funeral, which was officiated in Swedish and in English. Skies were clear and temperatures hovered around zero as the funeral cortege then advanced through the Swedish capital, before the princess was laid to rest at the royal burial grounds in Haga Park on the outskirts of the city.

The former factory worker met the Swedish Prince Bertil during World War II, when he was stationed at the Swedish embassy in London. The couple's romance flourished, and she moved in to his London flat after hers was damaged in an air raid.

However, the prince's father, King Gustaf VI Adolf, refused to give his blessing to a marriage so as not to jeopardise the future of the monarchy.