Category Archives: Swedish Royals

Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

The first king of the House of Oldenburg, Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden was born in February 1426 in Oldenburg, County of Oldenburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. He was the eldest of the three sons and the second of the four children of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg (circa 1398 – 1440) and his second wife Helvig of Holstein (1398 – 1436).

Christian had three siblings:

  • Adelheid of Oldenburg (1425 – 1475), married (1) Ernst III, Count of Hohenstein, had one son (2) Gerhard VI, Count of Mansfeld, had one son and two daughters
  • Moritz III, Count of Oldenburg (1428 – 1464), married Katharina of Hoya, had one son and two daughters, when his elder brother Christian became King of Denmark, he was given the County of Oldenburg
  • Gerhard VI, Count of Delmenhorst and Count of Oldenburg (1430 – 1500), married Adelheid of Tecklenburg, had four sons and three daughters, when his elder brother Christian became King of Denmark, he was given the County of Delmenhorst and he later inherited the County of Oldenburg

At the death of their father in 1440, Christian and his brothers jointly succeeded as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. Christian was raised by his maternal uncle Adolphus VIII, Duke of Schleswig, Count of Holstein. Under his uncle’s tutelage, Christian gained experience in political matters, which would benefit him as King of Denmark.

In January 1448, 31-year-old Christopher III, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden suddenly died. His two-year marriage to 19-year-old Dorothea of Brandenburg was childless. This resulted in a succession crisis that broke up the Kalmar Union which had united the Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Dorothea was named the interim regent of Denmark until a new monarch could be elected. The Danish throne was first offered to Christian’s uncle Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, the most prominent feudal lord of the lands subject to Danish sovereignty. Adolphus declined and recommended his nephew Christian, Count of Oldenburg.

Dorothea of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

In June 1448, Karl Knutsson, Lord High Constable of Sweden, was elected King of Sweden and reigned as King Karl VIII. In September 1448, Christian of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark and reigned as King Christian I. The Danish Council of State made it a condition that Christian should marry Dorothea of Brandenburg, his predecessor’s widow. Christian and Dorothea were married on October 26, 1449, and two days later, their coronation was held.

Christian I and Dorothea had five children. Their two surviving sons were both Kings of Denmark and their daughter was the Queen Consort of Scotland.

Christian’s rival King Karl VIII; Credit – Wikipedia

Norway was now faced with a union with Denmark or Sweden or electing a separate king, an option quickly discarded. The Norwegian Council of the Realm was divided between Christian and Karl but eventually ruled in favor of Karl. After an armed conflict between Denmark and Norway, a joint Danish-Swedish meeting decided that Karl should renounce Norway in favor of Christian, and that the survivor of the two kings would be recognized as king in all three kingdoms. Karl reluctantly agreed with the decision. Christian was crowned King of Norway on August 2, 1450. Less than four weeks later, Christian’s wife Dorothea gave birth to their first child, named Oluf after Norway’s patron saint. However, little Oluf died less than a year later.

Being the king in both Denmark and Norway gave Christian a distinct advantage, however, the wars fought between Christian and Karl from 1452 were not decisive. In 1457, a rebellion against King Karl VIII took place, led by Archbishop Jöns Bengtsson and Erik Axelsson Tott, a Swedish nobleman. Karl went into exile and the two leaders of the rebellion organized the election of King Christian I of Denmark as King of Sweden. Karl was able to regain the Swedish throne two more times, from 1464–65 and 1467–1470). Sweden would not be reunited with Denmark and Norway until Christian’s son and successor King Hans conquered Sweden in 1497. After the death of his maternal uncle Adolphus VIII, Duke of Schleswig, Count of Holstein in 1459, the representatives of Schleswig confirmed Christian’s succession to the titles Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein.

Roskilde Cathedral; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

King Christian I of Denmark died, aged fifty-five, at Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 21, 1481. He was buried in the Chapel of the Magi, which he had built as a family burial chapel for the House of Oldenburg, at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site for the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark. His wife Dorothea survived him by fourteen years, dying on November 25, 1495, and was buried with her husband. While the tombs of King Christian III, King Frederik II, and their queen consorts are in the Chapel of the Magi, the graves of King Christian I and Queen Dorothea are marked with simple stones because the chapel itself was to be considered their memorial monument.

Grave of King Christian I and Queen Dorothea – Photo Credit  – Susan Flantzer

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 Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian 1.. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_1.> [Accessed 19 December 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian I. (Dänemark, Norwegen Und Schweden). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_I._(D%C3%A4nemark,_Norwegen_und_Schweden)> [Accessed 19 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Adolphus VIII, Count Of Holstein. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphus_VIII,_Count_of_Holstein> [Accessed 19 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christian I Of Denmark. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_I_of_Denmark> [Accessed 19 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Dietrich, Count Of Oldenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_of_Oldenburg> [Accessed 19 December 2020].
  • Genealogics.org. 2020. Leo’s Genealogics. [online] Available at: <https://www.genealogics.org/index.php> [Accessed 19 December 2020].

Assassination of Gustav III, King of Sweden (1792)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

On March 16, 1792, 46-year-old King Gustav III of Sweden was shot at a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden. He died thirteen days later. Giuseppe Verdi’s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) is based on King Gustav III’s assassination and death.

King Gustav III by Lorens Pasch the Younger, 1791; Credit – Wikipedia

King Gustav III of Sweden

Born in 1746, King Gustav III was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederik of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, daughter of King George I of Great Britain. He was the first cousin of Empress Catherine II (the Great) of Russia and the nephew of King Friedrich II of Prussia (the Great). In 1766, Gustav married Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Frederik V of Denmark and his first wife Louisa of Great Britain, daughter of King George II of Great Britain. Gustav and Sophia Magdalena had two sons but only the future King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden survived infancy.

In 1771, King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died and Gustav succeeded his father as King Gustav III of Sweden. In 1772, Gustav arranged for a coup d’état known as the Revolution of 1772 or Coup of Gustav III. The coup d’état reinstated an absolute monarchy and ended parliamentary rule. Gustav imprisoned opposition leaders and established a new regime with extensive power for the king.

For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: King Gustav III of Sweden.

The Assassination

Royal Opera House in Stockholm in 1880, demolished in 1892 and a new opera house was built. Credit – Wikipedia

The Russo-Sweden War and the implementation of the Union and Security Act in 1789, which gave the king more power and abolished many of the privileges of the nobility, contributed to the increasing hatred of King Gustav III, which had existed among the nobility since the 1772 coup. In the winter of 1791-1792, a conspiracy was formed within the nobility to kill the king and reform the government. The conspirators were:

  • Jacob Johan Anckarström, a Swedish military officer, from a noble family
  • Johan Ture Bielke, member of the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament)
  • Jacob von Engeström, former cabinet secretary and governor of Uppsala County
  • Johan von Engeström, member of the Riksdag
  • Count Claes Fredrik Horn, major in the Swedish Army, former court chamberlain
  • Carl Pontus Lilliehorn, colonel of the Svea Life Guards
  • Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin, a former major general in the Swedish army and a member of the Riksdag
  • Count Adolph Ribbing, member of the Riksdag

The assassination was scheduled to take place on March 16, 1792, during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. On that day, members of the conspiracy gathered at the home of Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin to plan what would happen with the government once the king was dead. Jacob Johan Anckarström, Count Claes Fredrik Horn, and Count Adolph Ribbing met that afternoon and agreed that all three would go to the masked ball dressed in black robes and white masks. Anckarström then went to his home, where he loaded two pistols with bullets, furniture tacks, and bits of lead clippings and sharpened a butcher’s knife. Anckarström and Horn went to the opera house together and Ribbing met them there.

The mask Anckarström wore, his knife, pistols, and the bullets, furniture tacks and lead clippings he loaded in the pistols; Credit – Av LSH – http://emuseumplus.lsh.se/, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27229892

King Gustav III and his friends ate a light supper at the opera house before the masked ball. Towards the end of the supper, a letter arrived for Gustav. At the last moment, one of the conspirators, Carl Pontus Lilliehorn, regretted his part in the conspiracy and sent an anonymous letter to Gustav warning him of the murder plans. Gustav’s friend Count Hans Henric von Essen begged him not to go to the masked ball. However, Gustav had received many threatening letters and ignored the warning.

King Gustav III’s masquerade dress; Credit – Wikipedia

King Gustav III, wearing a mask, a triangular hat, a Venetian cape, and the star of the Royal Order of the Seraphim, walked arm in arm with Count Hans Henric von Essen around the theatre once and then into the foyer where they met Captain Carl Fredrik Pollet. King Gustav, von Essen, and Pollet continued through the foyer towards the masked ball. Due to the crowd, Pollet receded behind the king, who then turned backward to talk to Pollet. Gustav was easily recognized because of the Royal Order of the Seraphim and was soon surrounded by conspirators Jacob Johan Anckarström, Count Claes Fredrik Horn, and Count Adolph Ribbing. One of the conspirators said to him in French: “Bonjour, beau masque” (“Good day, fine masked man.”). Anckarström edged himself behind Gustav, took out a pistol from his left inner pocket, and pulled the trigger. Because the king turned back to talk to Pollet, the shot went in at an angle left of the third lumbar vertebrae towards the left hip region.

King Gustav twitched but did not fall. Anckarström then lost courage because he thought that the king would immediately fall. He dropped the pistol and knife on the floor, took a few steps, and shouted fire. Then he quickly moved towards the door but von Essen had ordered the doors to be closed. Anckarström’s intention had been to shoot himself with the second pistol but instead, he hid the second pistol and mixed with the crowd. The police had everyone unmasked and recorded their names.

What happened to King Gustav III?

The chair where King Gustav rested after being shot. Blood can still be seen on the chair; Credit – Av Mats Landin, Nordiska museet – www.digitaltmuseum.se, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24839722

Immediately after being shot, King Gustav III looked pale as his friend Count Hans Henric von Essen and several army officers escorted him away. As they passed a chair, Gustav said, “I’m hurt – stop here.” von Essen extinguished the king’s clothes which had begun to burn because of the gunshot. After a while, Gustav, who did not lose consciousness, said, “I feel weak, bring me to my room.” He was then taken up to the room where he had supper to rest. Eventually, Gustav was brought back to the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

King Gustav III had not been shot dead as the conspirators had hoped and continued functioning as the head of state while he recovered. However, suddenly he weakened and, as often happened in the days before antibiotics, his wound became infected, and sepsis, a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs, developed. On March 29, 1792, King Gustav III of Sweden died at the age of 46. He was succeeded by his 13-year-old son King Gustav IV Adolf.

The castrum doloris and King Gustav III’s casket in the Riddarholmen Church by Olof Fridsberg; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 14, 1792, King Gustav III was given a magnificent funeral at Riddarholmen Church, a former 13th-century abbey in Stockholm, Sweden, the burial site for Swedish monarchs until 1950. A castrum doloris, a structure with decorations that enclosed the catafalque (raised box or a similar platform to support the casket) was built. The castrum doloris was built in the shape of an Old Norse burial mound that was used from the Neolithic Age to the Viking Age. On the top was a bust of King Gustav III by Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel. Over the king’s bust hung a shining North Star (Polaris). Beneath the king’s bust was a grieving Mother Svea, a female national personification for Sweden, usually portrayed as a shield-maiden (in Scandinavian folklore and mythology, a female warrior) with one or two lions. The arched opening of the castrum doloris led to the stairs to the royal crypt where Gustav was buried.

King Gustav’s coffin, draped in purple velvet with ermine edges, was placed beneath the castrum doloris. Adjacent to the coffin were the royal regalia on the right and the orders which had been bestowed upon the king on the left. On the right of the coffin was the Riksbaneret, the Swedish national banner used at various royal ceremonies, such as christenings, weddings, and funerals. Two runestones, which described what the king had accomplished during his reign, were on either side of the castrum doloris. All of what is described can be seen in the painting above.

Joseph Martin Kraus, the royal chapel music master, considered the “Swedish Mozart,” composed and conducted a dramatic funeral cantata that was performed by a large orchestra, choir, and four vocal soloists. After the funeral, Gustav was buried in the crypt of Riddarholmen Church.

Tomb of King Gustav III; Credit – www.findagrave.com

What happened to the conspirators?

Jacob Johan Anckarström; Credit – Wikipedia

Jacob Johan Anckarström had left his two guns and his knife at the opera house and the next morning the guns were brought to several gunsmiths. A gunsmith who had repaired the guns for Anckarström recognized them and identified him as their owner. Anckarström was arrested the same morning and immediately confessed to the murder but initially denied that there was a conspiracy. Eventually, he implicated Count Claes Fredrik Horn and Count Adolph Ribbing.

A baker’s boy who had delivered Carl Pontus Lilliehorn’s letter to Gustav III at the opera house led the investigators to Lilliehorn. The deeply repentant Lilliehorn spilled the beans about the conspiracy and his fellow conspirators. It was decided that a limited number of the conspirators would be charged and that Anckarström would be the scapegoat. Anckarström’s principal accomplices Horn and Ribbing were sentenced to death and deprived of their nobility but were then pardoned and exiled from Sweden. Horn settled in Denmark, changed his name to Fredrik Claesson, and wrote for a newspaper. Ribbing changed his name to Adolphe de Leuven and lived in France. He was a writer, married, and had a son. Carl Pontus Lilliehorn was also sent into exile. He settled in Germany where he changed his name to Berg von Bergheim, became a teacher, and later married a wealthy woman.

The fate of the other conspirators:

  • Johan Ture Bielke – died by suicide with poison six days after the assassination
  • Jacob von Engeström – sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of his nobility but the sentence was reduced to three years in prison
  • Johan von Engeström – a year’s suspension from his service
  • Baron Carl Fredrik Pechlin – died after four years in prison

A contemporary drawing of Anckarström being flogged; Credit – Wikipedia

Anckarström was sentenced on April 16, 1972. He was deprived of his estates and nobility privileges, sentenced to be chained in irons for three days, and publicly flogged and then executed. On his execution day, April 27, 1792, Anckarström’s right hand was cut off, he was beheaded, and then his corpse was quartered.

Anckarström had been married and his wife, born Gustaviana von Löwen, and four of their children were living at the time of his execution. After Anckarström’s execution, his family adopted the name Löwenström with royal permission. The new surname was a combination of Löwen, the birth surname of Anckarström’s wife, and – ström, the end of Anckarström’s name.

Un Ballo in Maschera – The Masked Ball, opera by Guiseppe Verdi

Frontispiece to the 1860 vocal score of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera published by Ricordi, showing the final scene; Credit – Wikipedia

The plot of Italian composer Guiseppe Verdi‘s 1859 opera Un Ballo in Maschera is based on the assassination and death of King Gustav III of Sweden. Although the subject of the assassination had been used by other composers, Verdi ran into frustrating censorship issues. Originally, the opera was entitled Gustavo III but Verdi’s librettist Antonio Somma was told that the censors in Naples refused to allow the depiction of an actual monarch on the stage, and certainly not the monarch’s murder. Changes were then made to the setting (Stockholm to Stettin, then in the Kingdom of Prussia) and the main character (King Gustav III to the fictional Duke of Pomerania). However, an assassination attempt in 1858 of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, led to further censorship issues. Censors demanded the setting not be in Europe. With the basic plot still remaining the assassination of King Gustav III, the setting was moved to Boston during the British colonial period, and the leading character became Riccardo, Earl of Warwick and governor of Boston.

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.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gustav III of Sweden. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III_of_Sweden [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Jacob Johan Anckarström. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Johan_Anckarstr%C3%B6m [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Un ballo in maschera. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_ballo_in_maschera [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gustav III. [online] Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gustav III:s begravning. [online] Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III:s_begravning [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. (2019). Mordet på Gustav III. [online] Available at: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordet_p%C3%A5_Gustav_III [Accessed 16 Nov. 2019].

First Cousins: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born 1946)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

King Carl XVI Gustaf was born on April 30, 1946, at the Haga Palace in Solna, Sweden. He was the only son and the youngest of the five children of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. At the time of his birth, Carl Gustaf’s great-grandfather King Gustaf V was the reigning King of Sweden, his grandfather, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf, was the Crown Prince, and his father Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten was second in the line of succession. When Carl Gustaf was only nine months old, his father died in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport near Copenhagen, Denmark. At that time, Carl Gustaf became second in the line of succession behind his grandfather.

King Carl Gustaf is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents. His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. His maternal grandparents were  Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, who married Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Carl Gustaf married Silvia Sommerlath, a German, and had two daughters and one son.

King Carl Gustaf has nineteen first cousins. He shares his first cousins with his siblings Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler; Princess Birgitta, Princess of Hohenzollern; Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld; and Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson.

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King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of King Gustaf VI Adolf and Princess Margaret of Connaught

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King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and 

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg, born Prince Sigvard of Sweden, and Sonja Christensen Robbert

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Ingrid of Sweden and King Frederik IX of Denmark

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (born 1940)

Queen Margrethe married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, born in France, and the couple had two sons. She became Queen of Denmark in 1972 upon the death of her father. An avid painter and designer, Margrethe has had her work displayed in exhibitions around the world, and some are part of permanent collections in several museums in Denmark. In addition to her painting, Queen Margrethe has designed many sets and costumes for theater productions and provided illustrations for several books. She has also published translations of several foreign works.

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Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 1944)

Princess Benedikte married German Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. The couple had one son and two daughters. One of their daughters, Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, competed for Denmark in the Equestrian Team and Individual Dressage in the 2008/Bejing and 2012/London Summer Olympics. In the 2008 Bejing Olympics, Nathalie won a Bronze Medal in Team Dressage.

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Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, Queen of Greece (born 1946)

Anne-Marie married King Constantine II of Greece and the couple had three sons and two daughters. Unfortunately, her tenure as Queen did not last very long. Following a coup in 1967, the Greek royal family went into exile, living in Rome for several years before moving to Denmark and then finally settling in the United Kingdom. While in exile, King Constantine was deposed and the monarchy formally abolished in 1974.

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Paternal First Cousins: Adopted Children of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg, born Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, and Kerstin Wijkmark

  • Monika Bernadotte (born 1948, adopted in 1951) married Count Johan Peder Bonde. They had three children and divorced after 21 years of marriage.
  • Christian Bernadotte (born 1949, adopted in 1950) married Marianne Jenny and had three children.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Baroness Feodora von der Horst

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Prince Ernst Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1935 – 1996) 

  • Prince Ernst Leopold married (1) Ingeborg Henig, had one son, divorced  (2) Gertraude Monika Pfeiffer, had two daughters and three sons, divorced  (3) Sabine Biller, with whom he committed suicide, no children

In 1986, Ernst Leopold married for a third time to Sabine Biller, a journalist. The couple began to have money problems as they were living beyond their means. On June 27, 1996, in the parking lot of a chalet restaurant in Bad Wiessee, Bavaria, Germany, the bodies of Ernst Leopold and Sabine were found in their car, dead from gunshot wounds from hunting rifles. Apparently, they had simultaneously shot themselves.

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Caroline of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and her first husband Friedrich Wolfgang Otto, Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Caroline of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and her second husband Flight Captain Max Schnirring

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Prince Friedrich Josias. Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth

Prince Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 21 March 1943)

Prince Andreas is the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He married Carin Dabelstein, daughter of Adolf Wilhelm Martin Dabelstein and Irma Maria Margarete Callsen. The marriage, although unequal, is not morganatic because it was authorized by Andreas’s father. Andreas and Carin have two sons and one daughter.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his second wife Denyse Henrietta de Muralt

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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.

Works Cited

  • Lundy, D. (2019). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2019). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
  • Wikipedia. (2019). Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/.  (for biographical and genealogy information)

Swedish Royal Christenings

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

The members of the Swedish royal family belong to the Church of Sweden, an Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Act of Succession states: “The King shall always profess the pure evangelical faith, as adopted and explained in the unaltered Confession of Augsburg and in the Resolution of the Uppsala Meeting of the year 1593, princes and princesses of the Royal House shall be brought up in that same faith and within the Realm. Any member of the Royal Family not professing this faith shall be excluded from all rights of succession.” Therefore, the christening of a royal infant into the Church of Sweden is a state ceremony and is a necessity for those in the line of succession.

Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm; Credit – By Holger.Ellgaard – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14663353

Most royal christenings have been held at the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden or at the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden. The Royal Palace in Stockholm houses the offices of the Royal Court, as well as several museums, and serves as the setting for many official functions. It has not been used as an actual residence since 1981, although private apartments still remain there. The Royal Chapel has been in use since the Royal Palace in Stockholm was built in 1754. The chapel is used as a parish church for members of the Royal Court and their families and is also open to the public. It has also been used for many weddings, christenings, and funerals.

Drottningholm Palace Chapel during Prince Alexander’s christening in 2016; Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT https://www.kungligaslotten.se/english

Drottningholm Palace, on the island Lovön in Lake Mälaren near Stockholm, is the private residence of the Swedish royal family and a popular tourist site. Construction began in 1696 and was completed in 1728. The palace grounds include a beautiful baroque garden and other gardens featuring numerous sculptures and statues, along with several fountains and water features. The Palace Chapel is on the northern end of the palace. The Lovön Parish conducts services in the chapel on the last weekend of each month.

Swedish royal christening gown; Photo: Håkan Lind, Copyright Kungahuset.se

The white linen batiste christening gown of the Swedish royal family has been worn by every baby since 1906. The gown was first used at the christening of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s father Prince Gustaf Adolf. Underneath all the ruffles is a lining embroidered with the names and dates of the infants who have worn it.

Karl XI christening font; Credit – https://www.kungligaslotten.se

The magnificent silver christening font used by the Swedish royal family was commissioned by King Karl XI. When the font was completed in 1707, it took nearly forty years before any royal child was born in Sweden. In 1746, the future King Gustav III was born and he is probably the first child to be christened in this christening font.

Karl XI’s Cradle; Credit – Wikipedia

It is a Swedish royal family tradition to place the newly-christened infant in a cradle. In 1655, the future King Karl XI received a cradle made out of gold-plate and painted wood as a christening gift from his maternal grandparents. Another cradle was used for princesses since 1830 but when Princess Estelle was born in 2012 as the heir to the throne after her mother, Karl XI’s cradle was used.

Karl XV’s Cradle; Credit – https://www.kungahuset.se, Copyright Kungahuset.se

Karl XV’s Cradle was made before the birth of the future king in 1826. The cradle was used as an everyday cradle for Karl and his brothers Gustaf and Oscar II. For the christening of their sister Eugenie in 1830, the cradle created for Karl became the cradle used for princesses at their christenings. This cradle has been used for all King Carl XVI Gustaf’s grandchildren except Princess Estelle who will be Queen of Sweden.

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King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Four Generations: The infant Prince Carl Gustaf held by his great-grandfather King Gustaf V. Seated on the left is the prince’s grandfather, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf), and standing is the prince’s father, Prince Gustaf Adolf; Photo: Swedish Royal Court

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland

Victoria with her parents; Credit – Swedish Royal Court

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Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland

Embed from Getty Images 

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Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne

Embed from Getty Images

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Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland

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Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland

Prince Alexander in the Charles XV Cradle; Photo: Jonas Ekströmer www.kungahuset.se, Copyright Kungahuset.se

  • Parents: Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Princess Sofia, born Sofia Hellqvist
  • Born: April 19, 2016, at Danderyd Hospital in Danderyd, Sweden
  • Christened: September 9, 2016, in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden
  • Names: Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil
  • Godparents:
    • Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, his paternal aunt
    • Lina Frejd, his maternal aunt
    • Victor Magnuson, his father’s paternal first cousin
    • Jan-Åke Hansson, his father friend
    • Cajsa Larsson, his mother’s friend

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Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna

Embed from Getty Images

  • Parents: Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Princess Sofia, born Sofia Hellqvist
  • Born: August 31, 2017, at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Christened: December 1, 2017 in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden
  • Names: Gabriel Carl Walther
  • Godparents:
    • Princess Madeleine of Sweden, his paternal aunt
    • Sara Hellqvist, his maternal aunt
    • Thomas de Toledo Summerlath, his father’s maternal cousin
    • Oscar Kylberg, his parents’ friend
    • Carolina Pihl, his parents’ friend

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Prince Julian, Duke of Halland

Credit – Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT www.kungahuset.se, Copyright Kungahuset.se

  • Parents: Prince Carl Philip of Sweden and Princess Sofia, born Sofia Hellqvist
  • Born: March 26, 2021, at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Christened: August 14, 2021 in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden
  • Names: Julian Herbert Folke
  • Godparents:
    • Johan Andersson, his parents’ friend
    • Stina Andersson, his parents’ friend
    • Jacob Högfeldt, his father’s school friend
    • Patrick Sommerlath, his father’s maternal cousin
    • Frida Vesterberg, his mother’s friend

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Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

Princess Madeleine in the Charles XV Cradle with family and godparents Photo: Jan Collsiöö Scanpix www.kungahuset.se, Copyright Kungahuset.se

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Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland

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Prince Nicolas, Duke of Ångermanland

Embed from Getty Images

  • Parents: Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill
  • Born: June 15, 2015 at Danderyd Hospital in Danderyd, Sweden
  • Christened: October 11, 2015 in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden
  • Names: Nicolas Paul Gustaf
  • Godparents:
    • Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, his maternal uncle
    • Natascha Abensperg und Traun, his paternal aunt
    • Henry d’Abo, his paternal uncle by marriage
    • Gustaf Magnuson, his mother’s paternal first cousin
    • Katarina von Horn, his parents’ friend
    • Marco Wajselfisz, his parents’ friend

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Princess Adrienne, Duchess of Blekinge

Princess Adrienne with her mother Princess Madeleine and her grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf; Photo Credit – Swedish Royal Court, photo by Jonas Ekströmer

  • Parents: Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill
  • Born: March 9, 2018, at Danderyd Hospital in Danderyd, Sweden
  • Christened: June 8, 2018, in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm Palace near Stockholm, Sweden
  • Names: Adrienne Josephine Alice
  • Godparents:
    • Miss Anouska d’Abo, her paternal first cousin
    • Mrs. Coralie Charriol Paul, her parents’ friend
    • Mr. Nader Panahpour, her parents’ friend
    • Baron Gustav Thott, her parents’ friend
    • Mrs. Charlotte Kreuger Cederlund, her parents’ friend
    • Mrs. Natalie Werner, her parents’ friend

********************

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.

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the Younger) of Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the Younger) of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

A first cousin of both Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia was the only daughter and the eldest of the two children of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark (Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna). She was born at her father’s palace on the English Embankment in St. Petersburg, Russia on April 18, 1890. Grand Duke Paul was the youngest child of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna). Princess Alexandra was the eldest daughter of King George I of Greece (born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark) and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia.

Maria Pavlovna was named after her late paternal grandmother Empress Maria Alexandrovna and her aunt by marriage and great-aunt by blood Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, the sister of Maria Pavlovna’s maternal grandfather) who was one of the godparents at Maria Pavlovna’s christening at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Maria Pavlovna was often referred to as “the Younger” to differentiate her from Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (born Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), the wife of her paternal uncle Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.

Maria Pavlovna was well-connected to royalty throughout Europe. Among her other first cousins were King Christian X of Denmark, King Haakon VII of Norway, King George V of the United Kingdom, Queen Maud of Norway, King Constantine I of Greece, Queen Marie of Romania, and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) who married Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, who was both Maria Pavlovna’s first cousin and his wife’s first cousin.

Maria Pavlovna with her mother; Credit – Wikipedia

When Maria Pavlovna was only seventeen months old, her mother died shortly after giving premature birth to her second child, Maria Pavlovna’s brother:

Maria’s father Grand Duke Paul was grief-stricken and depressed after the tragic death of his wife. For a period of time, his childless brother Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine) took care of little Maria and Dmitri. Eventually, Grand Duke Paul recovered from his grief and Maria and Dmitri went to live with him. The two children were brought up by English nannies and because of this, Maria did not speak Russian until she was six years old. Christmas holidays and some periods during the summer were spent with Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Maria Pavlovna and her brother Dmitri Pavlovich in the 1890s; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1895, Maria’s father Grand Duke Paul began an affair with a married woman Olga Valerianovna Karnovich. Olga gave birth in 1897 to a son. After Olga divorced her husband, Paul asked for permission to marry her from his nephew Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia but Nicholas refused. Despite this, Paul morganatically married Olga in 1902. Because he married without Nicholas II’s permission, Paul was banished from Russia, dismissed from his military commissions, and all his property was seized. His brother Grand Duke Sergei was appointed the guardian of Maria and Dmitri. Grand Duke Paul and his wife Olga settled in France. Paul was allowed to visit his children periodically in Russia.

Grand Duke Paul had three children with Olga, Maria’s half-siblings:

Paul, Olga, and their children in 1916; Credit – Wikipedia

When Grand Duke Sergei was assassinated by a bomb in 1905, his brother Paul was allowed to return to Russia to attend the funeral. Paul asked Nicholas II to restore the custody of his children but instead, Nicholas named Sergei’s widow Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna as the children’s guardian. Grand Duke Paul was allowed to return to Russia for good in 1914. His titles and property were restored and Nicholas II granted his wife and children the titles Princess and Prince Paley. By the time her father was allowed to return to Russia, Maria Pavlovna had married and divorced a Swedish prince.

In 1907, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna received a request from the Swedish royal court via her sister Irene in Berlin for a photograph of Maria. The soon-to-be Queen Victoria of Sweden (born Victoria of Baden, wife of the soon-to-be King Gustav V of Sweden) was looking for a bride for her second son Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland. Marrying off Maria worked well with Elizabeth’s plans of retiring from the court and starting a Russian Orthodox religious order.

It was decided that Prince Wilhelm would travel to Moscow to meet Maria Pavlovna. The day after they met, 23-year-old Wilhelm told 16-year-old Maria he wanted to marry her. Pressured by Elizabeth Feodorovna, Maria Pavlovna became engaged to marry a man she had just met but with the stipulation that the wedding was to be postponed until Maria was 18 years old. Nicholas II gave his permission but notably absent was any input from Maria’s exiled father. The couple married at the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo on May 3, 1908, and Grand Duke Paul was at least permitted to attend the wedding.

Embed from Getty Images

Maria Pavlovna and Prince Wilhelm of Sweden on their wedding day

Maria Pavlovna and Wilhelm had one child:

Prince Wilhelm and Maria Pavlovna with their son Lennart in 1911; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria’s marriage was not a happy one. She never came to love her husband who was a naval officer and frequently absent from home,  In addition, Maria was homesick in a strange country where the royal court was even more formal than the Russian court. In 1913, Maria left her husband and son and returned to Russia which caused a great scandal in Sweden. On March 13, 1914, her marriage was officially dissolved and confirmed by an edict issued by Nicholas II on July 15, 1914. Maria’s son Lennart remained in his father’s custody, was raised primarily by his paternal grandmother Queen Victoria of Sweden. Lennart rarely saw his mother during his childhood.

Maria Pavlovna in her nurse’s uniform; Credit – Wikipedia

When World War I started in 1914, Marie Pavlovna trained as a nurse. For two and a half years, she treated injured soldiers, sometimes even performing simple surgeries herself. For her bravery under enemy fire, Maria received the Cross of St. George.

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna in 1914; Credit – Wikipedia

In the fall of 1916, the Romanov family was increasingly worried about Grigori Rasputin’s influence on Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. After working with many physicians to help her son Tsarevich Alexei relieve his hemophilia, Alexandra turned to mystics and faith healers. This led to her close, and disastrous, relationship with Grigori Rasputin. Several times Rasputin appeared to have brought the Tsarevich back from the brink of death, which further cemented Alexandra’s reliance. To many historians and experts, this relationship would contribute greatly to the fall of the Russian monarchy. On December 30, 1916, Rasputin was murdered and Maria’s brother Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich was one of the conspirators. Dmitri was exiled to Persia (Iran) – a blessing in disguise as the exile possibly saved him from being killed during the upcoming Russian Revolution.

The February Revolution was the first of two revolutions that occurred in Russia in 1917. The February Revolution was caused by military defeats during World War I, economic issues, and scandals surrounding the monarchy. The immediate result was Nicholas II’s abdication, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire. Later in 1917, the October Revolution occurred, paving the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union.

Maria Pavlovna’s second husband Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin; Credit – Wikipedia

In the early days of World War I, Maria Pavlovna became reacquainted with Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin, the son of the former palace commandant at Tsarkoye Selo, where they had met as children. A romance developed and Maria and Sergei Mikhailovich were married on September 19, 1917. They had one son:

  • Prince Roman Sergeievich Putyatin (1918 – 1919), died from an intestinal disorder

The Russian Revolution was disastrous for Maria Pavlovna’s family. On July 18, 1918, the day after the execution of her first cousin Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and his family, Maria Pavlovna’s half-brother Prince Vladimir Paley, Prince Ioann Konstantinovich, Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, Prince Igor Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Maria’s aunt and her former guardian, were murdered by the Bolsheviks. See Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Five Other Romanovs for more information.

On January 28, 1919, Maria’s father Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich along with three other Grand Dukes were executed by a firing squad in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress. See Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Four Russian Grand Dukes for more information.

When the October Revolution broke out in 1917, Maria was pregnant and could not leave Russia. After she gave birth to her son in June 1918, Maria left her son in the care of her mother-in-law, and along with her husband Sergei Mikhailovich, left Russia for good. They went to Romania where they were sheltered by King Ferdinand I of Romania who was married to Maria’s first cousin Queen Marie (born Princess Marie of Edinburgh). It was while she was in Romania that she learned the tragic news of the deaths of her father, half-brother, and aunt. Marie and Sergei Mikhailovich received traveling visas for France and left for Paris. The first years of exile were financed by the sale of the jewels Maria had managed to smuggle to Sweden before escaping Russia. On July 29, 1919, Maria and Sergei received the news that their young son had died in Romania.

Maria Pavlovna, like many exiled aristocratic Russians, found a place for herself in the Paris fashion industry by founding a Russian embroidery shop called “Kitmir” that specialized in bead and sequins embroidery. Maria was reunited with her brother Dmitri in Paris who began a love affair with the fashion designer Coco Chanel. This affair proved to be a great advantage to Maria’s embroidery shop and soon Chanel became Maria’s main client. While Maria was spending many hours working in her business, her husband Sergei Mikhailovich was spending his time with former Russian army officers and squandering money. The couple divorced in 1923.

Maria Pavlovna in the 1920s; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria’s business continued to be successful but by 1928, embroidery was out of style. Maria sold her shop and moved to London.  There she started to sell her own perfume, Prince Igor, in an unsuccessful attempt to copy the success of Chanel No. 5 and fashion designer (and Maria’s former lover) Jean Patou‘s perfume Joy. In 1929, Maria emigrated to the United States where she wrote her two best-selling- memoirs, The Education of a Princess and A Princess in Exile. She also worked for the department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York City purchasing fashionable clothing from France. Maria’s interest in photography got her jobs with Hearst and Vogue as a photojournalist.

In 1937, Maria Pavlovna was reunited with her son Lennart at his estate on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance, Germany. The estate with a castle and beautiful gardens had been the personal property of the last Grand Duke of Baden, Friedrich II.  When Friedrich died childless, he left the estate to his sister Queen Victoria of Sweden who in turn left it to her second son Prince Wilhelm, Lennart’s father. In 1932 Prince Wilhelm gave Mainau to his only child Lennart who owned it until 1974 when he transferred the ownership of the estate to a foundation.  Because of Lennart’s influence, King Gustav V of Sweden, Maria’s former father-in-law, arranged for her to have a Swedish passport to replace her stateless persons’ passport. This made it easier for Maria to travel.

Lennart’s home on the island of Mainau: Photo Credit – https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=582646

After twelve years of living in the United States, Maria moved to Argentina because she did not like the United States’ alliance during World War II with the Soviet Union, which in its infancy had murdered seventeen members of the Romanov family.  In Argentina, she wrote articles for Argentine newspapers and continued her photography work. It was in Argentina that she learned her brother Dmitri had died of tuberculosis in a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland.

In 1949, Maria Pavlovna returned to Europe and lived with Lennart and his family at his estate Mainau Castle on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance in Germany where she continued to enjoy photography. It was at Lennart’s home that Maria met, for the first time in many years, her first husband Prince Wilhelm of Sweden. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna died from pneumonia, aged 68, on December 13, 1958, in a hospital in Konstanz, Germany. She was buried in a side altar of the Mainau Palace Church next to her brother Grand Duke Dmitri.

Maria Pavlovna’s burial place in the Mainau Palace Church; Credit – www.findagrave.com

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.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marija Pawlowna Romanowa (1890–1958). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marija_Pawlowna_Romanowa_(1890%E2%80%931958) [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Maria_Pavlovna_of_Russia_(1890%E2%80%931958) [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie Pavlovna de Russie (1890-1958). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Pavlovna_de_Russie_(1890-1958) [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].
  • Manger, H. (1998). Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Мария Павловна (1890—1958). [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_(1890%E2%80%941958) [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].
  • Warwick, C. (2006). Princess, Saint and Martyr. Chichester: Wiley.

Princess Adrienne of Sweden christened

Princess Adrienne with her mother Princess Madeleine and her grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf; Photo Credit – Swedish Royal Court, photo by Jonas Ekströmer

Princess Adrienne of Sweden (Adrienne Josephine Alice), born March 9, 2018, and the youngest of the three children of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill, was christened today, June 8, 2018, at the Drottningholm Palace Church. Today is also the fifth wedding anniversary of Princess Adrienne’s parents.  King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Princess Adrienne’s grandfather,  hosted a reception and a luncheon for the invited guests at Drottningholm Castle.

The godparents are:

  • Miss Anouska d’Abo: niece of Christopher O’Neill
  • Mrs. Coralie Charriol Paul: a friend of the parents
  • Mr. Nader Panahpour: a friend of the parents
  • Freiherr Gustav Thott: a friend of the parents
  • Mrs. Charlotte Kreuger Cederlund: a friend of the parents
  • Mrs. Natalie Werner: a friend of the parents

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More information about the christening can be found at Swedish Royal Court: Princess Adrienne’s Christening with more information and photos from the Swedish Royal Court’s pages about the christening in Swedish.

King Carl XVI Gustaf now longest-reigning Swedish monarch

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On April 26, 2018, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden became the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history surpassing King Magnus IV who reigned for 44 years and 222 days from July 8, 1319 – February 15, 1364.

Carl Gustaf’s parents were Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, He is a descendant of Queen Victoria through both of his parents.  His paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.  His maternal grandfather was Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s youngest son.

Four Generations: The infant Prince Carl Gustaf held by his great-grandfather King Gustaf V. Seated on the left is the prince’s grandfather, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf), and standing is the prince’s father, Prince Gustaf Adolf; Photo: Swedish Royal Court


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On January 26, 1947, when Carl Gustaf was only nine months old, his father died in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport near Copenhagen, Denmark.  At that time, Carl Gustaf became second in the line of succession behind his grandfather.  Carl Gustaf’s great-grandfather King Gustaf V died on October 29, 1950, and his grandfather became King Gustaf VI Adolf while four-year-old Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince. At the age of 27, King Carl XVI Gustaf succeeded his grandfather upon his death on September 15, 1973.

Unofficial Royalty: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

Learn more about the Swedish Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty: Swedish Index

Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Cecilia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Cecilia of Sweden was the third wife of Grand Duke August I of Oldenburg, and the only one of his three wives to hold the title of Grand Duchess. She was born at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on June 22, 1807, the youngest child of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Princess Friederike of Baden. Cecilia had four siblings:

Cecilia was not yet two years old when her father was deposed as King of Sweden in 1809. The family moved to Baden, and her parents divorced three years later. After that, Cecilia was raised primarily by her maternal grandmother Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, Hereditary Princess of Baden at Schloss Bruchsal in Bruchsal, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Grand Duke August of Oldenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

In October 1830, Cecilia met her future husband. Grand Duke August stopped in Bruchsal during his travels, and within just an hour of conversation, he asked for her hand in marriage. Cecilia then moved to Vienna, where her brother was serving in the court of the Austrian Emperor Franz I. There, on May 5, 1831, Cecilia and August were married.

Cecilia and August had three sons:

  • Duke Alexander (1834-1835) – died in infancy
  • Duke Nikolaus (1836-1837) – died in infancy
  • Duke Elimar (1844-1895) – married Baroness Natalie Vogel von Friesenhof, had issue

As Grand Duchess, Cecilia worked to promote the arts in Oldenburg, helping to found the city’s first theater, and writing the melody of a hymn that would later become the unofficial anthem of the Grand Duchy. Despite her efforts, she never found a connection to the people of Oldenburg outside of her court, and those within the artistic communities.

Grand Duchess Cecilia died in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, on January 27, 1844, just days after giving birth to her youngest son. She is buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in Saint Gertrude’s Cemetery in Oldenburg.

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.

Oldenburg Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Wedding of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Credit – Wikipedia

On March 21, 1929, the future King Olav V of Norway married Princess Märtha of Sweden at Oslo Cathedral in Norway. It was the first royal wedding in Norway in 340 years.

Olav’s Early Life

Olav with his parents, 1913. source: Wikipedia

Olav was born Prince Alexander of Denmark on July 2, 1903, at Appleton House on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England. He was the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wales. In 1905, his father was elected King of Norway, taking the name Haakon VII. Prince Alexander took the name Olav and became Crown Prince. He attended the Norwegian Military Academy and studied law and economics at Balliol College, Oxford University. Olav also represented Norway in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, winning a Gold Medal in sailing. He served in the Norwegian Armed Forces – both the navy and army – attaining the rank of Admiral of the Navy and General of the Army in 1939.

For more information about Olav see:

Märtha’s Early Life

Princess Martha (right) with her mother and sisters, c1910. source: Wikipedia

Princess Märtha was born on March 28, 1901, at the Hereditary Prince’s Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. She was the second child of Prince Carl of Sweden and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Her siblings included an elder sister Margaretha (later Princess Axel of Denmark); a younger sister Astrid (later Queen of the Belgians); and a younger brother Carl (later Prince Carl Bernadotte). Interestingly, at birth, she was also a Princess of Norway, as Sweden and Norway were in a personal union under the Swedish sovereigns. This union ended in 1905, just before her future husband’s father was elected as the new King of Norway.

Märtha never became Queen of Norway. She died from cancer before Olav became King of Norway.

For more information about Märtha see:

The Engagement

Official engagement photo. photo: Axel Malström, The Royal Court Photo Archives

As first cousins, Olav and Märtha had known each other since childhood, and in the late 1920s, they began a romantic relationship. They managed to keep the relationship private, with Olav often traveling to Sweden in disguise to see his future bride. While both were in Amsterdam in 1928 for the Summer Olympic Games (in which Olav was competing), they became secretly engaged. The following January, after Olav again traveled to Sweden under an assumed name, the engagement was officially announced on January 14, 1929. The announcement was met with great support and excitement in both Norway and Sweden.

Pre-Wedding Festivities

Princess Märtha being greeted by Crown Prince Olav upon her arrival in Oslo. photo: Brødrene Halvorsen, The Royal Court Photo Archives

In the weeks before the wedding, Olav traveled to Sweden where he and Märtha were guests of honor at several functions. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf hosted a ball at the Royal Palace, and the city of Stockholm hosted a reception at the Stockholm Town Hall. On the Monday before the wedding, King Gustav V hosted a State Banquet at the palace, after which the couple, along with the bride’s family, left to make their way to Norway. Prince Olav took a separate train so that he could already be in Oslo to welcome Märtha and her parents upon their arrival the following day. After they arrived, the couple traveled by carriage through the streets of Oslo on their way to the Royal Palace, where they appeared on the balcony to greet the crowds of well-wishers who had gathered in the Palace Square. King Haakon VII hosted a ball at the palace that evening, and the following night, a gala performance was held at the National Theatre.

The Wedding Attendants

The Bride and Groom with their bridal party. photo: The Royal Court Photo Archives

The Duke of York (the future King George VI of the United Kingdom), a first cousin of Crown Prince Olav and second cousin of Princess Märtha, served as the groom’s best man. The bride had eight bridesmaids, four from Sweden and four from Norway. They were led by the bride’s first cousin once removed, Princess Ingrid of Sweden, and Miss Irmelin Nansen, the daughter of famed Norwegian explorer and humanitarian, Professor Fridtjof Nansen. The rest were daughters of prominent families associated with the Swedish and Norwegian courts. The bride’s nephews, Prince George and Prince Flemming of Denmark, served as her train bearers.

The Wedding Attire

The official wedding portrait. photo: E. Rude, The Royal Court Photo Archives

The bride wore a gown of white silver lamé, made in Paris, which was a gift from her uncle, King Gustav V of Sweden. The gown had a four-meter train that was embroidered with lilies and embellished with pearls and sequins. Her veil – of Brussels lace – extended nearly the full length of her train. She held her veil in place with a tiara of orange blossoms topped with a wreath of myrtle. She carried a large bouquet of white lilies.

The groom wore a full military uniform, adorned with the Collar and Star of the Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, the Sash and Star of the Swedish Order of the Seraphim, along with numerous medals and other decorations.

The Duke of York wore full uniform adorned with the Collar and Star of the Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, the Sash and Star of the British Order of the Garter, and the Necklet of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.

The bridesmaids wore white tea-length dresses and carried large bouquets of white flowers.

The Ceremony

photo: The Royal Court Photo Archives

Conducted by the Bishop of Oslo, Johan Lunde, the ceremony took place at 12:00 noon on March 21, 1929, at Olso Cathedral in Oslo, Norway. The 1,600 wedding guests included many government officials, foreign diplomats, and prominent citizens from both Norway and Sweden, along with numerous relatives and friends of the couple. Surprisingly, other than the Swedish and Danish royal families, there was not a large number of foreign royalty in attendance. The most prominent guests were The Duke and Duchess of York, representing King George V of the United Kingdom.

Following the groom’s arrival, the immediate members of the royal families processed into the church to the Norwegian Student Choral Society singing Stenhammar’s “Sverige”. The bride then entered with her father, followed by her bridesmaids. The ceremony was simple and traditional, with the Bishop having stated that the royal couple would have the same marriage service as any other Norwegian citizen. Loudspeakers had been set up outside the cathedral for the crowds gathered there, and there were loud cheers when the couple gave their “I Do’s”. The service ended with Händel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”, and two 21-gun salutes fired from Akershus Fortress. The couple led the carriage process back to the Royal Palace.

The Wedding Banquet and Honeymoon

photo: A.B. Wilse, The Royal Court Photo Archives

Following the ceremony, a luncheon for 200 guests was held at the Royal Palace. That evening, Olav and Märtha left Oslo and made their way to Sassnitz, Rugen Island, Prussia. From there, they made an unaccompanied trip by car through Europe to the French Riviera for the remainder of their honeymoon. Upon their return, they took up residence at the Skaugum Estate which had recently been purchased by Crown Prince Olav. Since then, the property has been the traditional residence of the Norwegian Crown Prince and his family.

Children

Olav and Märtha had three children; Credit – Wikipedia

Olav and Märtha had three children:

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Princess Adrienne of Sweden, Duchess of Blekinge

by Susan Flantzer

Princess Adrienne; Photo Credit – http://www.kungahuset.se, photo: Christopher O’Neill

Princess Adrienne of Sweden was born on March 9, 2018, at Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. She is the third child of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and her husband Christopher O’Neill.

Princess Adrienne has two older siblings:

Leonore and Nicolas welcoming their little sister home ❤

A post shared by Princess Madeleine of Sweden (@princess_madeleine_of_sweden) on

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At a council held at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden on March 12, 2018, attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the King announced the full name and title of his granddaughter: Her Royal Highness Princess Adrienne Josephine Alice, Duchess of Blekinge. This is the first time the province of Blekinge has been used as a ducal title for a member of the Swedish royal family.

  • Adrienne: A name liked by her parents
  • Josephine: Brought into the Swedish Royal Family when Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, a granddaughter of Empress Joséphine (Napoleon Bonaparte‘s first wife), married King Oscar I in 1823. It is one of the names of Adrienne’s mother Princess Madeleine (Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine).
  • Alice: For her great-grandmother Alice Soares de Toledo, the mother of her maternal grandmother Queen Silvia. It is also one of the names of Adrienne’s aunt Crown Princess Victoria (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée).

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. 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. As a result, Adrienne will be styled Princess Adrienne, Duchess of Blekinge.

Princess Adrienne with her mother Princess Madeleine and her grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf; Photo Credit – Swedish Royal Court, photo by Jonas Ekströmer

Princess Adrienne was christened on June 8, 2018, her parents’ fifth wedding anniversary, at the Drottningholm Palace Church. Princess Adrienne’s grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf hosted a reception and a luncheon for the invited guests at Drottningholm Castle.

The godparents were:

  • Miss Anouska d’Abo: niece of Christopher O’Neill
  • Mrs. Coralie Charriol Paul: a friend of the parents
  • Mr. Nader Panahpour: a friend of the parents
  • Freiherr Gustav Thott: a friend of the parents
  • Mrs. Charlotte Kreuger Cederlund: a friend of the parents
  • Mrs. Natalie Werner: a friend of the parents

Wikipedia: Princess Adrienne of Sweden