Category Archives: Swedish Royals

Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden

by Emily McMahon and Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden; Credit: Wikipedia

Born on January 15, 1882, at Bagshot Park in Surrey, England, Margaret was the eldest of the three children of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. She grew up at her parents’ homes at Bagshot Park and Clarence House in London, England, and was known in the family as Daisy.  Margaret had a younger brother and sister:

NPG x36196; The Duke and Duchess of Connaught with their children by Hughes & Mullins

The Duke and Duchess of Connaught with their children by Hughes & Mullins, albumen cabinet card, 1893 NPG x36196 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Margaret was christened on March 11, 1882, in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle and given the names Margaret Victoria Augusta Charlotte Norah.  She had an impressive set of godparents:

Along with her sister Patricia, Margaret was known as a great beauty and their uncle King Edward VII expected them to marry a European king or crown prince. In January 1905, both sisters and their parents visited Portugal where Margaret and Patricia were entertained by the two sons of King Carlos I.  The Portuguese expected that one of the sisters would become their future queen.  The trip continued to Cairo, where Margaret met and fell in love with Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Skåne, the eldest son of Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden, the future King Gustaf V of Sweden. Gustaf Adolf proposed to Margaret at a dinner held at the British Consulate in Egypt, and she accepted. The couple married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on June 15, 1905. Margaret was given a tiara from the Khedive of Egypt as a wedding gift as a symbol of the courtship that started there. It is known as the Khedive Tiara, was worn by several of Margaret’s descendants at their weddings, and is now in the possession of her granddaughter Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

Wedding of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret and Gustaf Adolf had four sons and one daughter:

Margaret and Gustaf Adolf with their four eldest children; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret was eager to learn the Swedish language and history, endearing her to the Swedish public. During World War I in neutral Sweden, Margaret organized supply drives and acted as a go-between for her relatives whose Allied and Axis countries were divided by the war. She was also interested in gardening, taking great care of the gardens at the family home of Sofiero Castle.  In 1907, when Gustaf Adolf’s grandfather King Oscar II died and his father became King Gustaf V, Gustaf Adolf and Margaret became the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden.

Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret, at the age of 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920, her father’s 70th birthday. Her family along with the Swedish and British public mourned her death greatly.

Margaret left written, specific instructions for her burial. She requested to be buried wearing her wedding dress and veil, holding a crucifix in a simple coffin made from English oak and covered with British and Swedish flags.  Initially, Margaret was buried at the Storkyrkan (The Great Church) next to the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden.  In 1922, Margaret’s remains were transferred to the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden in a burial site she and her husband had chosen for themselves.  She was the first person to be buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park.

Margaret’s husband married again, in 1923 to Lady Louise Mountbatten, formerly Princess Louise of Battenberg.  The couple had no children.  In 1950, upon the death of his father, 67-year-old Gustaf Adolf became King.  He reigned until his death at age 90 in 1973, having survived both his wives.  King Gustaf VI Adolf was succeeded by his and Margaret’s grandson, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Grave of Margaret, her husband, and his second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

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Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden was the father of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and would have himself become King of Sweden had he not died tragically in an airplane crash at the age of 40. He was born on April 22, 1906, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the eldest son of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught. He had four younger siblings:

Gustaf Adolf as an infant, held by his great-grandfather, King Oscar II. His grandfather, King Gustaf V, and father, King Gustaf VI Adolf, stand behind them. source: Wikipedia

Gustaf Adolf’s mother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s third son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. She married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1905. The marriage was a happy one, but was tragically cut short when Margaret died from an infection after a mastoid operation in 1920. She was eight months pregnant with her sixth child, who also died.

Gustaf Adolf, c1913. source: Wikipedia

Gustaf Adolf grew up at the Royal Palace in Stockholm and spent summers at Sofiero Castle and his maternal grandparents’ home, Bagshot Park, in England. With his siblings, he began his education privately at home, before attending the Lundbergs School, a private boarding school in Värmland. Along with his studies, the prince excelled at fencing and horse riding. He was the Swedish champion in saber fencing, and in 1936, competed in show jumping at the Olympic Games held in Berlin. He would later serve as President of the Swedish Olympic Committee from 1933 until he died in 1947. He was also very involved in the Scouting movement, both as a child and an adult.

Graduating from Lundbergs School in 1925, Gustaf Adolf began his military career, entering the cavalry. He later attended the Military Academy Karlberg, becoming a lieutenant in the Life Guards. In 1927, he attended the War College and attained the rank of Captain in the Mounted Life regiment. He later attended Uppsala University and the Stockholm School of Economics, in preparation for his future role in the monarchy.

In November 1931, while attending the wedding of Lady May Cambridge in London, Gustaf Adolf’s sister Ingrid introduced him to one of the other bridesmaids, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Sibylla was the daughter of Prince Carl Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. Gustaf Adolf and Sibylla were second cousins, through their mutual descent from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. A romance quickly began, and they were engaged on June 16, 1932.

Gustaf Adolf & Sibylla at their wedding; Credit – Wikipedia

Gustaf Adolf and Sibylla married in a civil ceremony on October 19, 1932, at Veste Castle in Coburg. The following day, a religious ceremony was held at St. Moritz Church.

After extensive renovations, they took up residence at Haga Palace and had five children:

Gustaf Adolf with his family, 1946. source: Wikipedia

Along with his participation in the Olympic committee, Prince Gustaf Adolf also served as Chairman of the Swedish Guide and Scout Council, President of the International Scout Committee, Chairman of the Swedish Sports Confederation, and Chairman of the Swedish Hunters Association, among others.

Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed in a commercial airplane crash on January 26, 1947, at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen. He was returning from a hunting trip and a visit to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. The plane had landed at Kastrup for a routine stop before continuing to Stockholm. After taking off, the plane climbed to an altitude of only 150 feet, stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded upon impact. All 22 people aboard the plane were killed. Also killed in the accident were the prince’s aide, Count Albert Stenbock, Danish actress Gerda Neumann, and American opera singer Grace Moore.

Grave of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla. source: Wikipedia

Following a funeral held at the Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral) in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 4, 1947, Prince Gustaf Adolf was buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. His only son, nine-month-old Carl Gustaf, became second in the line of succession and would succeed his grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf, in 1973.

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

Märtha of Sweden, Crown Princess of Norway

Märtha of Sweden, Crown Princess of Norway. Photo credit tiara-mania.blogspot.com

April 5, 1954 – Death of Märtha of Sweden, Crown Princess of Norway

Martha’s Wikipedia page

Märtha was the second of three daughters of Carl of Sweden and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Carl was a son of Oscar II of Sweden. Märtha grew up with her sisters Margaretha and Astrid (later Queen of Belgium) and brother Carl grew up in a palace outside Stockholm and had a laid back early life for a royal woman. She and her sisters were often seen shopping in Stockholm unaccompanied.

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Märtha spent much of WWII in exile due to Nazi occupation of Norway. She spent a significant amount of time in the United States, where she became fascinated with college sorority life and was consequently sworn in as a member of Delta Zeta sorority in 1939. Märtha also spent much time with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; rumors still swirl that Märtha was romantically involved with the president. Upon her return to Norway in 1945, Märtha was well received by her people.

Märtha developed cancer soon after the end of the war and died in 1954. A coast in Antarctica, a memorial fund, and one of her granddaughters (Märtha Louise) is named in honor of her. Olav became king a little over three years after her death.

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