by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Photo Credit – “Carl Johan Bernadotte 2010” by Atlantic Chef – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Prince Carl Johan Arthur of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna was born on October 31, 1916, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. At the time of his birth his parents, the future King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught, were the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Carl Johan’s mother was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and therefore a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Carl Johan was the youngest of his parents’ five children.

Carl Johan had three brothers and one sister:

• Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906 – 1947), married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; had five children including King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (1907 – 2002) later Count Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg, married (1) Erica Patzek, no children, divorced (2) Sonja Robbert, had one son, divorced  (3) married Marianne Lindberg, no children
• Princess Ingrid (1910 – 2000), married King Frederik IX of Denmark, had three daughters including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
• Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912 – 1997), married Lillian Davies, no children

In 1920, when Carl Johan’s mother was eight months pregnant with her sixth child, she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection developed which killed Crown Princess Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920. Three-year-old Carl Johan and his elder siblings were left motherless. In 1923, Carl Johan’s father married Lady Louise Mountbatten, daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg (1917 Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple remained childless and became King and Queen of Sweden in 1950.

In 1935, Carl Johan graduated from the Lundsberg School and then did training in the military. He became a second lieutenant in the Mounted Life Guards Regiment, K 1.  In 1942, he was stationed with an armored regiment and was nicknamed “The Armor Prince.” Carl Johan served in the army reserves from 1945 – 1948. During the same time period, he studied and worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as an attaché in Paris.

Carl Johan in army maneuvers in 1938; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1939, Prince Carl Johan met the recently divorced Swedish journalist Kerstin Wijkmark. When the couple became engaged, Carl Johan asked his grandfather King Gustaf V for permission to marry and the king strongly refused to consent. The couple found it impossible to marry in Sweden. Because of World War II, travel was difficult and the wedding was delayed. The marriage finally took place on February 19, 1946, at the Riverside Church in New York City. Because of the marriage, Carl Johan lost his style and title His Royal Highness Prince of Sweden, and was subsequently styled His Excellency Carl Johan Bernadotte. In 1951, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg created him Count of Wisborg in the Luxembourg nobility.

The couple resided for many years in New York and London. They had no children, but adopted a boy and a girl, who bear the surname Bernadotte but have no styles or titles:

• Monica Kristina Margaretha Bernadotte (born 1948, adopted in 1951) married 1976 and divorced in 1997 Count Johan Peder Bonde af Björnö, had issue
• Christian Carl Henning Bernadotte (born 1949, adopted in 1950) married 1980 Marianne Jenny, had issue

After his marriage, Carl Johan had a career as a businessman. He had executive positions with Anglo-Nordic Tractor, Sundstrand International, Sundstrand Deutschland GmbH, Sundstrand International SA, and OSEC Petroleum AG. Eventually, the relationship between Carl Johan’s wife Kerstin and his father King Gustaf VI Adolf improved and Kerstin even wrote a book about her father-in-law in 1967. In 1973, Carl Johan bought a summer home Villa Kungsberga in Bastad, Sweden He also had an apartment in Stockholm and a winter home Villa Varghem at Lund Farm, near Tistad Castle outside Nyköping, Sweden. After a long illness, Kerstin died on September 11, 1987, at the couple’s home in Bastad. She was buried in Bastad and not in the Royal Burial Grounds in Haga.

On September 29, 1988, Carl Johan married Countess Gunnila Wachtmeister af Johannishus, the daughter of Count Nils Wachtmeister af Johannishus and wife Baroness Märta de Geer af Leufsta.

Count Carl Johan of Wisborg died on May 5, 2012, at Ängelholm Hospital in Bastad, Sweden at the age of 95. After the funeral service in Bastad, his coffin was taken to the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden where a service of thanksgiving was held. Later that afternoon Carl Johan’s remains were interred at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.  Members of the Swedish and Danish royal families attended the services. Carl Johan was the uncle of both King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Carl Johan’s wife Countess Gunilla survived her husband by four years, dying on September 12, 2016, at the age of 93.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Bertil of Sweden was born on February 28, 1912, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. His full name was Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén. Except for his first name, which was a new name for the Swedish royals, he was named after the four sons of King Oscar II of Sweden in order of their birth. At the time of his birth his parents, the future King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught, were the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden. Bertil’s mother was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and therefore a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Bertil was the fourth of her parents’ five children. He had three brothers and one sister:

• Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906 – 1947), married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; had five children including King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (1907 – 2002) later Count Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg, married three times, had one son
• Princess Ingrid (1910 –  2000) married King Frederick IX of Denmark, and had issue including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
• Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna (1916 – 2012) later Count Carl Johan, Bernadotte af Wisborg, married two times, no issue, was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria

The infant Bertil with his older siblings and parents; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1920, when Bertil’s mother was eight months pregnant with her sixth child, she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection developed which killed Crown Princess Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920. Eight-year-old Bertil and four siblings ranging in age from three to fourteen years old were left motherless. In 1923, Bertil’s father married Lady Louise Mountbatten, daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg (1917 Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple remained childless and became King and Queen of Sweden in 1950.

Bertil served as an active naval officer. He trained aboard the torpedo cruiser Eagle in 1928 and the destroyer Nordenskjold in 1929 and then enrolled at the Royal Naval College in 1931. Bertil trained as an officer aboard several ships and was commissioned as an officer in 1934. From 1935-1937, Bertil was an assistant naval attaché in Paris. During World War II, Bertil served as a torpedo officer aboard several ships. From 1942 to 1945, he served as an assistant naval attaché in London.

In 1943, when Bertil worked as a naval attaché in London, he met Welsh-born Lilian Craig (born May Lillian Davies) who was married to Scottish actor Ivan Craig. Bertil and Lilian soon became a couple, but their relationship remained a secret to the public for a long time. Craig was serving in World War II and when he returned home in 1945, the couple had an amicable divorce. In 1947, Bertil’s elder brother Prince Gustaf Adolf, who was second in the line of succession, died in a plane crash. Prince Gustaf Adolf’s son Carl Gustaf was less than a year old and now was number two in the line of succession. It seemed likely that Bertil might need to serve as Regent as all the other princes had given up their place in the succession because of unacceptable marriages. For this reason, Bertil decided not to marry Lilian. Instead, they discreetly lived together for more than 30 years. Bertil never did become Regent and his nephew Carl Gustaf succeeded his 90-year-old grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973. King Carl XVI Gustaf, who had married a commoner himself, approved the marriage of Bertil and Lilian. The couple married on December 7, 1976, at the Drottningholm Palace Chapel in the presence of the king and the queen. Bertil and Lilian had no children.

The 1980 Act of Succession stated that only the descendants of King Carl XVI Gustaf may inherit the throne. However, a special case was made for Bertil and he became third (and, after the birth of Princess Madeleine in 1982, fourth) in line to the throne.

Prince Bertil, aged 84, died on January 5, 1997, at his home, Villa Solbacken in Djurgården, Sweden, after several years of declining health. He was buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. Princess Lilian survived her husband for sixteen years, dying on May 10, 2013, at the age of 97.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden;  Credit – Wikipedia, Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANEFO),

King Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf) was born at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden on November 11, 1882. He was the eldest of the three children of King Gustaf V of Sweden and his wife Victoria of Baden. Gustaf Adolf had two younger brothers:

• Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland (1884 – 1965), married Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, had one son, divorced
• Prince Erik of Sweden, Duke of Västmanland (1889 – 1918), unmarried, died during the Spanish Flu Epidemic

Gustaf Adolf with his brother Wilhelm; Credit – Wikipedia

Gustaf Adolf and his brothers were educated by their governess Ida Borin and then starting in 1890, by their tutor Dr. Carl Svedelius. The three brothers enjoyed spending their summers at Tullgarn Palace or at Mainau, an island in Lake Constance near Konstanz, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, owned by the Baden Grand Ducal Family of their mother. Frequently, their grandmother, Queen Sofia (born Princess Sofia of Nassau) would request the company of her grandsons at Ulriksdal Palace, her favorite residence.

In 1901, Gustaf Adolf began studies in history, economics, political science, and archaeology at Uppsala University, the oldest university in Sweden. It was here that Gustaf Adolf expanded on his love for archaeology. The famous Bronze Age discoveries he found in the excavation of the Håga Mound while a student at Uppsala University, are now at the Swedish History Museum.  Gustaf Adolf was fluent in Swedish, English, French, and German. He also read Italian and understood Latin.

Throughout his life, Gustaf Adolf was a devoted archaeologist and participated in archaeological expeditions in China, Greece, Korea, and Italy. In 1925 he founded the Swedish Institute in Rome, a research institution that serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy. His other great area of interest was botany, concentrating on flowers and gardening. He was considered an expert on the rhododendron and created one of the finest rhododendron collections at Sofiero Castle, his summer residence. In 1958, Gustaf Adolf was admitted to the British Academy for his work in botany.

Gustaf Adolf also received military training at Military Academy Karlberg and became a Captain in the Swedish Army in 1909 upon completing his training. Subsequently, he became a major (1913), lieutenant colonel (1916), colonel (1918), major-general (1923), and lieutenant general (1928).

On January 26, 1905, Gustaf Adolf was in Cairo, Egypt for a birthday banquet for Khedive Abbas Hilmi Pasha of Egypt where he met Princess Margaret of Connaught, the elder daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. Margaret’s younger sister Patricia, who was rumored to be Gustaf Adolf’s future wife, was supposed to sit at his table, but instead, he took Margaret as his dinner partner. The couple were engaged on February 26, 1905, in Cairo and were married on June 15, 1905, in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. In 1907, when his father became king, Gustaf Adolf became the Crown Prince of Sweden.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught

Wedding of Gustf Adolf and Margaret; Credit – Wikipedia

Gustaf Adolf and Margaret had five children:

• Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906 – 1947), married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; had five children including King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (1907 – 2002) later Count Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg, married (1) Erica Patzek, no children, divorced (2) Sonja Robbert, had one son, divorced  (3) married Marianne Lindberg, no children
• Princess Ingrid (1910 – 2000), married King Frederik IX of Denmark, had three daughters including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
• Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912 – 1997), married Lillian Davies, no children
• Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna (1916 – 2012) later Count Carl Johan, Bernadotte af Wisborg, (1) Kerstin Wijkmark, two adopted children; (2) Countess Gunilla Wachtmeister af Johannishus, no issue; was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria

Then Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf with his first wife Crown Princess Margaret and four older children in 1912; Photo Credit – Wikipedia, United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division

Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret, aged 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920. Her family along with the Swedish and British public mourned her death greatly. Margaret was buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.

After Margaret’s death, Gustaf Adolf traveled extensively, including to England in 1923 where his friends introduced him to his second wife Lady Louise Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg), at a dinner party. Lady Louise was the daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg (Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven after 1917) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Princess Victoria was the daughter of Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria and was also an elder sister of the late Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.

The couple’s engagement was announced on July 1, 1923, and they were married on November 3, 1923, in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London, England by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Gustaf Adolf and Louise had a stillborn daughter in 1925, and after that, they had no more children.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Lady Louise Mountbatten

Gustaf Adolf and Louise on their wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 29, 1950, Gustaf Adolf became king at age 67 upon the death of his father, King Gustaf V. Gustaf Adolf’s personality, his informal and modest nature, and his expertise and interest in a wide range of areas made him popular with the Swedish people. It was said that he wrote 7,000 signatures per year and hosted 3,000 guests per year. He was the patron of about 200 scientific, sporting, and art organizations. Queen Louise died on March 7, 1965, at St. Göran Hospital in Stockholm following emergency surgery after a period of severe illness.

On August 18, 1973, Gustaf Adolf fell ill from bleeding ulcers at his summer Sofiero Castle and had surgery on August 21. After the surgery, he developed pneumonia, cardiac issues, and kidney failure. King Gustaf VI Adolf died on September 15, 1973, just short of his 91st birthday, at Helsingborg Hospital in Helsingborg, Sweden. He was buried alongside his two wives at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. It was the first time since 1689 that a Swedish monarch was not buried in Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm.

King Gustaf VI Adolf was succeeded by his 27-year-old grandson King Carl XVI Gustaf. The new king was the son of King Gustaf VI’s eldest son Prince Gustaf Adolf who had died in a plane crash when Carl Gustaf was not even a year old. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden was also the grandfather of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Grave of King Gustaf VI Adolf and his two wives; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Sweden Index
• Swedish Orders and Honours
• Swedish Royal Dates
• Swedish Royal Burial Sites
• Swedish Royal Christenings
• Swedish Royal FAQs
• Swedish Royal Residences
• Swedish Royal Weddings
• Line of Succession to the Throne of Sweden
• Profiles of the Swedish Royal Family

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland; Photo: Mattias Edwall, Swedish Royal Court

Sofia Kristina Hellqvist is the wife of Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, the second child and the only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She was born on December 6, 1984, in Täby, Sweden, and is the second of the three daughters of Eric and Marie Hellqvist. Sofia has an older sister Lina and a younger sister Sarah. She grew up in Älvdalen, Dalarna, Sweden. Sofia attended high school in nearby Vansbro where she was involved in dance, theater, and music.

When she was 18, Sofia moved to Stockholm where she worked as a waitress and a glamour model.  Two years later, she did a risqué photoshoot for the men’s magazine Slitz and was later voted Miss Slitz 2004 by the readers. In 2005, Sofia appeared on the Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel. Sofia’s modeling and her appearance on Paradise Hotel were controversial after she became associated with Prince Carl Philip. She addressed this in the documentary The Year with the Royal Family: “Much has been written [about it] over the years, not only following our engagement. For me it’s pretty boring, it happened ten years ago and I moved on with my life. But no regrets. All experiences build a person, although I wouldn’t do it now if you asked me.”

After appearing in Paradise Hotel, Sofia moved to New York where she trained to become a certified yoga teacher at Yoga To The People and then started a yoga center. She also studied at the New York Institute of English and Business, where she trained in accounting focusing on business development. Sofia has also studied global ethics and child and youth studies at Stockholm University.

In September and October 2009, Sofia did volunteer work in Ghana where she visited orphanages and helped build a women’s center. In 2010, Sofia and Frida Vesterberg founded Project Playground, an organization that helps disadvantaged children and adolescents in South Africa. The organization does much good work and Sofia’s sister Lina Hellqvist is the organization’s project coordinator.

Sofia Hellqvist on the right with Frida Vesterberg and children from Project Playground; Photo Credit – http://image.gala.de

In August 2010, the Swedish Royal Court released a statement confirming that Sofia and Prince Carl Philip had a relationship. In the documentary The Year with the Royal Family, Prince Carl Philip explains how the couple met: “I was eating with friends in Baastad. Sofia was there with a friend and our friends knew each other. We started with a shy greeting and everything followed.”

In April 2011, the couple moved in together at a private estate in Djurgården, Sweden and the Swedish Royal Court confirmed this two months later. Sofia and Prince Carl Philip became engaged on June 27, 2014, and were married on June 13, 2015, at the Royal Chapel in the Royal Palace of Stockholm.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist

On October 15, 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were expecting their first child.  In early April 2016, Carl Philip and Sofia moved from their apartment in Djurgården to Sjoflygeln (Lake Wing) on the grounds of Drottningholm Palace.

Carl Philip and Sofia with their first son Alexander – source: Swedish Royal Court

Sofia and Carl Philip have three sons and one daughter:

• Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland (born 2016)
• Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna (born 2017)
• Prince Julian, Duke of Halland (born 2021)
• Princess Ines, Duchess of Västerbotten (born 2025)

On October 7, 2019, the Swedish Royal Court announced that King Carl XVI Gustaf had decided to make changes regarding the children of his son Prince Carl Philip and his daughter Princess Madeleine. At birth, the children of Carl Philip and Madeleine were styled as Royal Highness and were members of The Royal House. As of October 7, 2019, their children would no longer be members of The Royal House but would continue to be members of The Royal Family. Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas, and Princess Adrienne would no longer enjoy the style of Royal Highness but they would retain their titles of Duke and Duchess previously granted by King Carl XVI Gustaf. They will remain in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. In the future, they will not be expected to perform any royal duties. They will be styled Prince/Princess <Name>, Duke/Duchess of <Geographical Area>.

Prince Alexander, Princess Sofia, Prince Julian, Prince Carl Philip and Prince Gabriel on the occasion of Prince Julian’s christening; Credit – Photo: Elisabeth Toll, Kungl. Hovstaterna / The Royal Court of Sweden

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson – photo: Wikipedia

Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson

Princess Christina Louise Helena of Sweden was born at Haga Palace in Solna Municipality, Stockholm, Sweden on August 3, 1943. She is the youngest of four daughters, known as The Haga Princesses, of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Christina is the fourth of the four elder sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Christina has four siblings:

• Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (born 1934) married John Ambler, has one daughter and two sons
• Princess Birgitta of Sweden (1937 – 2024) married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, had two sons and one daughter
• Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (born 1938) married Baron Nils-August Silfverschiöld, had one son and two daughters
• King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born 1946) married Silvia Sommerlath, had two daughters and one son

Christina is the only one of her siblings who pursued higher education. Following her early education privately at home, she attended the École Française, in Stockholm, graduating in 1963. She then attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Stockholm University.

Princess Christina married Tord Magnuson on June 15, 1974, in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. Like her sisters Margaretha and Désirée, she lost her royal style and title, becoming Her Excellency Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson. The style of ‘Her Excellency’ comes from having been created a Knight of the Danish Order of the Elephant in 1973.

The couple had three sons:

• Gustaf Magnuson (born 1975), married Vicky Andrén, had one daughter
• Oscar Magnuson (1977), married Emma Ledent, had one son
• Victor Magnuson (1980), married Frida Bergström, had two sons

In the early years of her brother’s reign, before his marriage to Queen Silvia, Christina often served as ‘first lady’ as she was the only one of the Swedish princesses living in Sweden. She is one of the godparents of her niece Princess Madeleine.

Princess Christina has remained the most visible of the King’s sisters, typically attending the Nobel Prize ceremonies each year, and occasionally undertaking official engagements. She served as Chairperson of the Swedish Red Cross from 1993-2002.

In late 2010, Princess Christina revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year, and had undergone several operations along with radiation and chemotherapy treatment.  In October 2016, it was announced that Princess Christina had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia which progresses slowly and mostly affects people over the age of 60.  After initial treatment failed, the Princess received a stem cell transplant in 2017 which was successful.

In August 2018, in conjunction with her 75th birthday, Princess Christina announced that she is retiring from her royal duties.  Realizing that “life is not infinite”, she plans to enjoy her retirement with her husband and family.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern; Photo: Wikipedia

Princess Birgitta Ingeborg Alice of Sweden was born January 19, 1937, at the Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden, the second daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the second of the four elder sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Like her sisters, she was educated privately at Haga Palace, where her family lived until moving to the Royal Palace in 1950.

Birgitta had three siblings:

• Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (born 1934) married John Ambler, has one daughter and two sons
• Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (born 1938) married Baron Nils-August Silfverschiöld, had one son and two daughters
• Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson (born 1943) married Tord Magnuson, had three sons
• King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born 1946) married Silvia Sommerlath, had two daughters and one son

After supposedly having turned down a marriage proposal from the Shah of Iran (citing religious differences as the reason), Princess Birgitta met her future husband, Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, a fine arts expert, at a cocktail party in Germany in 1959. Their engagement was announced in December 1960.

The couple was married in a civil ceremony in Stockholm on May 25, 1961. A religious ceremony followed on May 30, 1961, at the parish church of St John The Evangelist at Sigmaringen Castle, the seat of the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.  Princess Birgitta applied to convert to Catholicism at the time of her marriage. However, her spiritual commitment to the change was questioned and the application was rejected. Because she married a man of princely status, Birgitta retained her royal style and title as Princess of Sweden and is the only one of her sisters to remain an official member of the Swedish Royal House.

Princess Birgitta and Prince Johann Georg had three children:

• Prince Carl Christian of Hohenzollern (born 1962), married Nicole Helene Neschitsch, had one son
• Princess Désirée of Hohenzollern (born 1963), married (1) Heinrich, Count of Ortenburg, had two sons and one daughter, divorced  (2) Eckbert von Bohlen and Halbach
• Prince Hubertus of Hohenzollern (born 1966), married Uta Maria König, had one son and one daughter

Birgitta and her husband separated in 1990 but remained married. Prince Johann Georg lived in Munich, Germany while Princess Birgitta lived on the island of Majorca, in Spain. They were occasionally seen together at family functions, such as the 2010 wedding of Crown Princess Victoria. Princess Birgitta is one of the godparents of her nephew Prince Carl Philip.  Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern died in Munich, Germany on March 2, 2016, following a brief illness at the age of 83.

An avid golfer, Birgitta was an Honorary Board Member of the Royal Swedish Golf Society, and since 1991, hosted her own golf tournament, The Princess Birgitta Trophy, at the Santa Ponsa Golf Club on Majorca.

Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern, died, aged 87, on December 4, 2024, in Mallorca, Spain, where she lived. The funeral of Princess Birgitta of Sweden, sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was held on Sunday, December 15, 2024, at the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace followed by the burial at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Sweden.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.