Always a popular figure with photographers, she was thrust into the spotlight on her own when, in October 2001, she moved to the UK, saying she wanted to improve her English and “live like a normal girl”. “I’ve always wanted to go abroad, to get to know other cultures and try new things,” she said. Her chance to blend into life in bustling Chelsea, where she shared a home with a family friend, was short-lived, however, as Madeleine found herself unable to escape the Swedish media. In 2002, Cupid struck when, aged 20, she was introduced to lawyer Jonas Bergstrom by mutual friends. A first date at an Italian restaurant in the upmarket neighbourhood of Ostermalm in Stockholm followed, and after a seven-year courtship the palace announced that the pretty princess was engaged.
