Swedish Archbishop Calls Western Marriage Tradition "Sexist"

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is breaking with tradition at her upcoming wedding to Daniel Westling and will have her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, walk her down the aisle.

While giving the bride away is a mainstay in American weddings, Swedish wedding tradition dictates that the bride and groom walk down the aisle together.

Her decision has prompted the head of the Swedish church, Archbishop Anders Wejryd, to issue a public statement expressing his disapproval at the royal couple choosing to add the Anglo-Saxon tradition to their wedding ceremony. He said, "Being given away is a new phenomenon which occasionally occurs in the Church of Sweden. I usually advise against it, as our marriage ceremony is so clear on the subject of the spouses' equality. The couple know where I stand on this matter."

The controversy surrounds the church's view that walking down the aisle together shows that the spouses are equal and they take the act of the father giving his daughter away as sexist.