(Princes in coronets l-r: Eugen, Wilhelm, Gustav (V) and Carl). Throne Room, Royal Palace, Stockholm, 21st June 1905.
From the book Oscar II En Lefvandsteckning by Andreas Hasselgren, Fröleen, Stockholm, 1908.
Source: Wikipedia/Unknown photographer (scanned by Ristesson Ent.)
Having looked at the present Swedish Royal Family and their Ducal Titles, we turn now to the history of previous holders and their spouses.
We will just be looking at the House of Bernadotte, which was founded in 1818. The first date, however, is 1810 for Prince Oscar who became HM King Oscar I in 1844. He was created Duke in anticipation of his Father, Jean Bernadotte, ascending the Throne and succeeding the heirless King Carl XIII.
We will also be looking at the remaining Provinces not covered in Part One.
As was pointed out in the previous Blog on the subject, ducal titles were only extended to princesses after the change in the Act of Succession which came into force on 1st January 1980 and made Victoria Crown Princess. Also, as mentioned in the previous Blog, the placement of the Quarter representing the appropriate Dukedom/Province's Coat of Arms has settled down to a version which is more pleasing to the eye. The previous arrangements became awkward because of giving equal balance to Sweden and Norway due to the personal union of the separate kingdoms under a common monarch which lasted from 1814 until its amicable and peaceful dissolution in 1905.
Equally, there were no Norwegian Dukedoms granted or created during the Union as the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 forbade the creation of new nobility and the Nobility Law of 1st August 1821 set about abolishing noble titles and privileges within two generations.
The present Dynasty considers that a Ducal Title is for life, even if the Duke (or, nowadays, Duchess) becomes monarch. We saw that the present King for a time around his Accession considered himself to be King and Duke (of Jämtland). However, this wasn't always the case in the beginning.
Ångermanland (Angermannia)
Blekinge (Blekingia)
Dalarna (Dalecarlia)
1864–1914 Princess Teresia as wife and widow of Prince August, died with title
1916–1946 Prince Carl Johan from birth, title no longer recognized due to unapproved marriage, died 2012
2017–present Prince Gabriel. Already covered in Part One.
HRH Prince August, Duke of Dalarnia (1831-1873)
Prince Nikolaus August of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Dalarna (24th August 1831 – 4th March 1873) was the youngest of the five children of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg. Born in Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö, Stockholm County, his eldest sibling was King Carl XV of Sweden. During parts of 1849-1853, he was a student at Uppsala University. On 10th December 1851, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. |
In 1866 he became a Lieutenant, and had progressed to the rank of General by 1872. August did not share his brothers' talents, but he was a kind-hearted, down-to-earth person with a number of eccentric ways. As a young man, he lived periodically at Stjernsund Castle.
The Prince was very interested in trains and locomotives, and a locomotive was named after him. Since it was commonly thought the Prince was not very bright, this led to the expression "dummare än tåget" (lit. "more stupid than the train"), an expression still in use in the Swedish language.
Prince August died at the age of 41 of pneumonia at the Stockholm Palace, Stockholm.
As you will see from the present Prince Gabriel's Coat of Arms in the previous Blog, the Field of the Coat Arms of Dalarnia has changed from red to blue. It is not clear when this happened.
HRH Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarnia (1916-2012) (Count of Wisborg)
Carl Johan Arthur Bernadotte, Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, (31st October 1916 – 5th May 2012) was the fifth and youngest child of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. In 1935 he completed his school exams at Lundsberg School, after which he carried out his military training. Alongside this he also pursued legal studies, and followed the work of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with a view to a future career there. Following his marriage in 1946 to Kerstin Wijkmark and the resulting loss of his Swedish princely title (although he became Prince Bernadotte as had become the custom), Carl Johan became a businessman overseas. They adopted two children. The Bernadottes lived for some time in New York City, where Carl Johann worked as the representative of the Anglo-Nordic Trading Company. They made friends with the Swedish film star Greta Garbo. Following the death of his wife in 1987, he moved back to Sweden. The following year, he married Gunnila Bussler. |
On 29th June 2011, Carl Johann surpassed his elder brother, Sigvard (1907–2002), as the longest-lived of Queen Victoria's male descendants. This record was surpassed by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 13th December 2016. Carl Johann was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, the last surviving child of Gustaf VI Adolf and the last surviving grandchild of both Gustaf V and Arthur, Duke of Connaught.
In 1951 Carl Johann was assigned the title Count of Wisborg by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. The Arms of Prince/Princess Bernadotte in the nobility of Luxemborg were granted as per a decree of 2nd July 1951 by the Grand Duchess and her government and issued for Sigvard Prince Bernadotte, Carl Johan Prince Bernadotte and Lennart Prince Bernadotte and their wives. They show the Vasa and Pontercorvo Arms taken from the Inescutcheon of the Swedish Royal Arms signifying the Bernadotte Dynasty tierced in pairle (divided into three sections) with a Pascal Lamb in the bottom third of the Shield. (Although there may be a connection as we will see below, this is not to be confused with the Lamb and Flag of Gotland.)
Gotland (Gothland)
2014–present Princess Leonore. Already covered in Part One.
HRH Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland (1859-1953) (Count of Wisborg)
Prince Oscar Carl August Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (15th November 1859 – 4th October 1953) was a Swedish religious activist and the second son of King Oscar II and his consort, Sofia of Nassau. He completed his school exams and his naval officer training in 1879, after which he studied at Uppsala. When he married Lady-in-Waiting Ebba Munck of Fulkila in Bournemouth, England on 15th March 1888, he renounced all rights to the Swedish throne. He and his wife were deeply religious, and in 1892 Oscar became Chairman of the Swedish YMCA. He was appointed Rear Admiral in 1897. |
Oscar became a widower in 1946, and died in 1953. He was survived by his children Maria, Carl, Sofia, Elsa and Folke – the latter was the famous Count Bernadotte who in 1945 helped to save thousands of prisoners from the German concentration camps.
Oscar and Ebba were given new titles as Prince and Princess Bernadotte as of their wedding day. It has never been determined if that was a Swedish title of nobility or another form of unofficial courtesy title (such as some later dynasty members have been given). On 2nd April 1892, he and his wife were given personal noble titles as Prince and Princess Bernadotte when admitted into the nobility of Luxembourg by Oscar's uncle Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, previously Duke of Nassau, and also were then the first to be given the Luxembourgish hereditary title as Count and Countess of Wisborg. (Wisborg was derived from Visborg, castle ruins in Oscar's former Duchy of Gotland.)
Oscar's Arms are confirmed by his Stall Plate as Knight of the Order of the Seraphim as tierced in pairle Vasa, Pontercorvo and the Pascal Lamb, separated by the yellow cross of Sweden. The Shield, though, is shown ensigned by a Swedish Coronet and not one from Luxembourg. This was the first Count of Wisborg Achievement and it cannot be a coincidence that the choice of a Pascal Lamb would have been based on Oscar's religious beliefs and his former Dukedom of Gotland.
Gästrikland (Gestricland)
Halland (Hallandia)
1976–2013 Princess Lilian as wife and widow of Prince Bertil above, died with title
HRH Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912-97)
Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén; 28th February 1912 – 5th January 1997), was the third son of King Gustaf VI Adolf and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught, as well as the uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. When his elder brother, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, died in a plane crash in 1947, Bertil became second in the order of succession and possible regent to his 9-month-old nephew, Carl Gustaf, Gustaf Adolf's only son. The next elder brother/uncle, Sigvard, had already given up his succession rights by marrying a commoner. Carl Gustaf did not come of age until 1964. From 1973 to 1977 Bertil was heir presumptive to his nephew who had now become HM King Carl XVI Gustaf. Even with the births of The King's first children and the change in the Swedish Succession Laws, Bertil remained in the Line to the Throne by special addendum, again a possible regent. A charismatic man, at home in a uniform as much as in a plain, ordinary shirt, Prince Bertil was a good athlete in his youth, leading to a lifelong commitment to Swedish sport. He was known as the 'Sporting Prince', and in 1947 was elected Chairman of both the Swedish Sports Confederation and the Swedish Olympic Committee. |
He also worked hard to promote Swedish exports and led several industrial delegations around the world.
In 1943, while the Prince was working as a naval attaché in London, he met Lilian Craig. At that time, Prince Bertil could not marry the daughter of a foreigner without the consent of the king, since he – like his older brother Sigvard and his younger brother Carl Johan – would have lost his succession rights to the Swedish throne. Considering his position as possible regent, the couple lived together for 33 years before they were able to marry. Their private homes were in Sainte-Maxime in France and the Villa Solbacken on Djurgården in Stockholm.
When King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne and married a commoner himself, Prince Bertil asked his nephew for permission to marry, which was granted. The couple were married in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm in December 1976.
Prince Bertil died at the age of 84 at his home, Villa Solbacken.
The Coat of Arms of Halland provided Prince Bertil with possibly the most balanced Achievement of a Swedish Prince with the white Lion on blue complementing and balancing the Folkunga Lion opposite.
Halland
Halland is a small traditional Province in Sweden which lies in the south-west of the country, opposite Denmark, to which it used to belong. The Province is well known for its fertile soil and as an agricultural district. The Bronze Age was probably a period of relative prosperity in Halland which may have been its downfall as large areas became deforested, maybe as a result of a high demand for charcoal in smelting gold or bronze among the local elites. The area saw much combat over the next centuries, including one of the major battles of the Northern Seven Years' War, the Battle of Axtorna. Halland was not transferred to Sweden from Denmark until 1645 under the terms of the Second Treaty of Brömsebro, which was initially temporary but became permanent by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 |
Halland as a title goes back to the feudal magnates of the early Middle Ages, including Duchess Ingeborg (Princess of Norway) in her own right during the 14th Century.
The first known Coat of Arms of Halland consisted of a crowned Lion over 10 hearts and was used by Niels II and James I, Counts of (Northern) Halland, and most likely also by Niels I although no examples are preserved from the latter's reign. The colours of this first symbol are uncertain. In 1305, James used a seal showing a lion and 20 hearts. One of the seals used by Duchess Ingeborg of Halland represents Halland by Arms party per fess (split horizontally) with an unspecified colour in chief and a Lion in the larger lower base. This seal dates from 1336, and the figure was repeated in her seal used 1340–1352. A fresco in Søborg Castle, Denmark, dates from her stay there 1331–36 and shows the arms of Halland as a crowned upstanding silver lion on blue.
The present heraldic Blazon is as follows:
Azure, a Lion rampant Argent langued, armed and dente Gules.
HRH Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland (1915-2013)
Lilian May Davies (30th August 1915 – 10th March 2013) was born in Swansea, Wales to William and Gladys Davies. She began work as a fashion model, but worked in a factory that made radios for the Royal Navy and at a hospital for wounded soldiers during the War. Lilian met first Prince Bertil, who at that time was a trainee naval attaché, at the Swedish Embassy in London, shortly before her 28th birthday in 1943. At that time, she was married to the actor Ivan Craig, but they were amicably divorced on 7 November 1947 when Craig returned from active service. |
When King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended to the Throne and married a commoner himself, Bertil was given permission to marry Lilian after 33 years together. The couple were married in the Royal Chapel at Drottningholm on 7 December 1976.
Lilian became an active member of the Swedish Royal Family and continued to represent them at various engagements and other occasions even after Bertil passed away. She was a very regal lady but with an impish sense of humour. She was a much-loved member of the family as a surrogate mother/grandmother figure, which is why her Alzheimer's and ultimate death hit the family hard.
Princess Lilian died at the age of 97 at her home, Villa Solbacken shortly before Princess Madeleine's wedding. Madeleine's first-born child, a daughter Leonore, has Lilian as one of her middle names in the Duchess's honour.
As a commoner, Lilian did not have a Coat of Arms and so, on her marriage, one was drawn up for her by the Swedish Court. She was granted three Fleurs-de-Lys conjoined on a branch in the Swedish colours of blue on yellow. They were placed as an Inescutcheon on her husband's Shield. This is a beautiful pun on her name, but also, lilies, especially lily-of-the-valley, were her favourite flowers forming her wedding bouquet and the wreath placed on her coffin.
I had the honour of seeing Princess Lilian and the rest of the Swedish Royal Family on a visit to Windsor Castle on what must have been one of her last outings. Although there were guards, we didn't have to keep too much of a distance and I simply watched a natural family on an afternoon visit. I remember The King's glance towards me as if to say, "Aunt Lilian would insist on coming here." He may have equally meant that it was typical that it was raining...
Hälsingland (Helsingia)
Jämtland (Iemptia)
Närke (Nericia)
HRH Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865-1947)
As well as being a Prince, Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus, Duke of Närke (1st August 1865 – 17th August 1947) was a Swedish painter, art collector and patron of artists, which he devoted himself to after completing his school exams and his officer training. His work was first shown in Paris in 1889, including a Skåne landscape. He helped to create the national Swedish landscape style of the 1890s and his works include The Old Castle, The Cloud and The Mill. In 1898 he completed his first mural, Haga Moods, for the foyer of the Royal Opera. He also produced frescos for the Royal Dramatic Theatre and Stockholm City Hall. In 1899, he bought Waldemarsudde on Djurgården in Stockholm. He was a great admirer of Norwegian nature and frequently visited Christiania (later known as Oslo). With the break-up of the personal union between Sweden and Norway, Eugen was suggested as a possible candidate for the Norwegian Crown. His Father, King Oscar II of Sweden, refused to allow any of his sons to become King of Norway and Eugen himself would not have wanted it as he was more interested in painting than in reigning. |
Prince Eugen died at Waldemarsudde in 1947. In his will, he left his home and his art collections to the Swedish State and in late June 1948, the Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde museum was opened to the public.
He is, to date, the only Prince of the Bernadotte Dynasty to have carried the title Duke of Närke.
Närke
Närke is a small Province situated in the centre of Sweden. Its comes from an old word när (narrow) which is said to refer to a narrow ridge in the landscape at Norrbyås or to the narrow inlets that characterized the geography. Norse mythology mentions three kings of Närke: Nidud, Olof the Sharp-sighted and Sporsnjall. The inhabitants, the Njars, probably lost their independence early to the Swedish king at Uppsala, and there are few mentions of the tribe by the 6th century. By the 16th and 17th Centuries iron manufacturing became more attractive to the farmers, as well as trade with oxen, where the skins were important items in the mines. The shoe-making business took shape there and became an important industry up until the middle of the last century. Arms were granted in 1560 and revised a decade or so later with the current one. The Balson reads as follows: |
Gules between four Roses Argent two Arrows in saltire Or points upward pointed Argent.
Östergötland (East Gothland)
1857–1872 Princess Sophia as wife of Prince Oscar above, became his queen 1872, died 1913
1911–1937 Prince Carl from birth, title no longer recognized due to unapproved marriage, died 2003
2012–present Princess Estelle from birth. Already covered in Part One.
HRH Prince Oscar Frederick, Duke of Östergötland (1829-1907)
(HM King Oscar II)
Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik - 21st January 1829 – 8th December 1907) was the third of four sons of Crown Prince Oscar (later HM King Oscar I) and Josephine of Leuchtenberg. After the death of his eldest brother King Carl XV & IV, who was without legitimate heirs, having lost his only son to pneumonia in 1854, (and their middle brother, Gustaf, having died of typhoid fever in 1852), Oscar became King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and the last Bernadotte King of Norway from 1872 until the dissolution of the Union in 1905. At his accession he adopted as his motto Brödrafolkens väl / Broderfolkenes Vel ("The Welfare of the Brother Peoples"). While the King and the Royal Court resided mostly in Sweden, Oscar made the effort of learning to be fluent in Norwegian and from the very beginning realised the essential difficulties in the maintenance of the union between the two countries. Oskar was extremely talented and well educated, but was also temperamental and volatile. |
Sweden underwent a period of industrialisation and rapid technological development. At the same time, the union between Sweden and Norway grew weaker. This period is sometimes known as the Oscarian Period. The political events which led up to the peaceful dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 could hardly have been attained but for the tact and patience of the King himself. He was dethroned on 7th June 1905 by the Norwegian Storting and renounced the Norwegian throne on 26th October. He declined, indeed, to permit any prince of his house to become king of Norway, but better relations between the two countries were restored before his death.
It is debatable whether Oscar, who died two years later at the age of 78, did so a bitterly disappointed man or not. He was the last monarch of Sweden to be crowned and can be seen in all his finery at the centre of the top photograph with Swedish Princes at an extraordinary session of the Swedish Parliament in 1905.
The Province of Östergötland has been looked at in a previous Blog as the title is now carried by Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel's eldest child, Estelle.
HRH Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland (1911-2003) (Prince Carl Bernadotte)
Carl Gustaf Oscar Fredrik Christian, Prince Bernadotte (10th January 1911 – 27th June 2003) - originally Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland - was the youngest child and only son of Prince Carl of Sweden and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. To distinguish himself from his father, he was widely known as Carl Junior. He was the brother of Princess Margaretha of Sweden, Queen Astrid of Belgium and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway. In 1937, he relinquished his title and his succession rights when he married Countess Elsa von Rosen. That same year, his brother-in-law, HM King Leopold III of Belgium, conferred upon him the Belgian princely title of Prince Bernadotte. Included was the right to a comital title for his male-line descendants. He had one daughter, called Countess Madeleine Bernadotte (born Stockholm, 8th October 1938). His first marriage was dissolved in 1951, and in 1954 he was married for the second time, to Ann Larsson. He married for the third time in 1978, with Norwegian Kristine Rivelsrud. Carl Bernadotte was at the centre of the Huseby scandal that occurred in the late 1950's in Sweden amidst a great deal of publicity. A complex set of criminal transactions brought Bernadotte and others to court. Bernadotte was acquitted and left Sweden shortly after the trial and spent the rest of his life with his third wife in Spain |
Scania (Skåne)
1850–1859 Crown Princess Louise as wife of Carl above, became his queen 1859, died 1871
1882–1950 Prince Gustaf Adolf from birth, became King 1950, died 1973
1904–1920 Crown Princess Margareta as first wife of Prince Gustaf Adolf above, died with title
1923–1950 Crown Princess Louise as second wife of Gustaf Adolf above, became his queen 1950, died 1965
2016–present Prince Oscar from birth. Already covered in Part One.
HRH Prince Carl Ludvig, Duke of Scania (1826-72) (HM King Carl XV)
Karl/Carl Ludvig Eugene (3rd May 1826 – 18th September 1872) was born at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. He was the oldest of the five children of HM King Oskar I and Josefina of Leuchtenberg. He received his first officer's commission from his grandfather, King Carl XIV Johan, on Midsummer's Eve 1841. After his father ascended to the throne in 1844, he was elected chancellor of the universities of Lund and Uppsala, in accordance with an 18th-century tradition. In autumn 1844, he began his studies in Uppsala. Carl visited the Dutch court in The Hague during 1849 where he fell in love with Princess Louise of the Netherlands whom he married in Stockholm in 1850. |
King Oskar I died on 8th July 1859, and Crown Prince Carl was crowned the following year. He was so down to earth among the public that he shocked many people, but was perhaps Sweden's most popular monarch of all time. Despite this, during his reign he lost so much of the real power that his father and grandfather had wielded that his successor was never able to regain this power.
King Carl XV died at the age of only 46 without a son and was therefore succeeded by his brother Oscar (HM King Oscar II) as mentioned above.
Carl's Father changed the Swedish/Norwegian Union Coat of Arms as shown in Carl's two Achievements above, as well as changing the flag of the Union, to show more balance between the two countries. I can only assume that the representation of his Duchy's Arms on a white background is an error, even on Carl's Stall Plate as a Knight of the Order of the Seraphim. Scania's Coat of Arms should be shown on a yellow/gold background as the white/silver background is for the Province's main city, Malmö, from where the Province's Arms were taken. The difference was made early on when the Province's Arms were adopted in 1560 in time for the funeral of HM King Carl X.
HRH Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Scania (1882-1973) (HM Gustaf VI Adolf)
Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf (11th November 1882 – 15th September 1973) was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden, and was known by his two last names. He was Crown Prince of Sweden for the 43 year reign of his father. When he eventually came to the Throne in 1950, he still had a reign of 23 years himself and was the last king to hold the traditional designation King of Sweden, the Goths and the Wends. Gustaf Adolf married the eligible British Princess Margaret of Connaught, Granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in 1905. Her story and Coat of Arms are covered in a previous Blog. |
Margaret died in tragic circumstances in 1920 at the age of 38 from sepsis (blood poisoning) after a series of operations following a bout of measles. At the time, she was eight months pregnant with her sixth child and the baby was lost.
Three years after Margaret's death Gustaf Adolf married Lady Louise Mountbatten. She was the Great-Granddaughter of Queen Victoria through Princess Alice and would eventually become Queen of Sweden in 1950.
Gustaf Adolf's reputation as a "professional amateur professor" was widely known and he was a devoted archaeologist. He was admitted to the British Academy for his work in botany in 1958 and was an expert on the rhododendron. Gustaf VI Adolf participated in archaeological expeditions in China, Greece, Korea and Italy, and founded the Swedish Institute in Rome. He had an enormous private library consisting of 80,000 volumes and – more impressively – he had actually read the main part of them! He had an interest in specialist literature on Chinese art and East Asian history.
He maintained wide, lifelong interests in sports, enjoying tennis, golf, and fly fishing. He was president of the Swedish Olympic Committee and the Swedish Sports Confederation from their foundations, and these positions were then taken over by his sons in succession.
Not long before his death at the age of 90, he approved the constitutional changes which removed the last traces of political power from the Swedish monarch.
During the earlier part of the 20th Century, after the dissolution of the Union with Norway, the Quarterings for Dukes became most awkward with a fifth Quarter! Gustaf Adolf's Grandson, the present King, appears to be the last to have this arrangement.
HRH Crown Princess Louise, Duchess of Scania (1889-1965)
(Lady Louise Mountbatten - HM QUeen Louise)
Lady Louise Alexandra Marie Irene Mountbatten (13th July 1889 – 7th March 1965), was born Princess Louise of Battenberg to Prince Louis of Battenberg, who was Admiral of the Fleet in the United Kingdom, and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria through Princess Alice. Louise was a sister of Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and of Princess Alice of Battenberg, who was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. During the First World War, she volunteered with the Red Cross and served as a nurse from March 1915 to July 1917. |
In 1950, Louise became Queen when her husband ascended to the throne. But Louise has been described as a staunch democrat and a practical person who disliked the attention she received.
During the 1950s, Queen Louise suffered a couple of minor heart attacks. Her health deteriorated significantly during the autumn of 1964, and she was taken ill following the Nobel Banquet in December, which was to be her final public appearance. She died the following year at the age of 75 at Saint Göran Hospital, in Stockholm.
Louise's Coat of Arms as Crown Princess follow her husband's but unusually with her paternal Arms (Hesse and Battenberg/Mountbatten) in the second and fourth Quarters. Her Maternal Arms (those of Princess Alice) are therefore shown alone on her Inescutcheon. When she became Queen the Inescutcheon became her full Arms, maternal and paternal combined, on the King's Shield.
Equally surprisingly, the Inescutcheon for both of Gustav Adolf's wives was a Shield shape instead of an Oval. This is confirmed on their Stall Plates as Knights (Ladies) of the Order of the Seraphim (below, right).
Småland (Small Lands or the Smallands)
HRH Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland (1909-2004) (Count of Wisborg)
Gustaf Lennart Nicolaus Paul (born Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland: 8th May 1909 – 21st December 2004) was the son of Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland and Maria Pavlovna, and therefore a Grandson of King Gustaf V. After his parents' divorce, Lennart's grandmother Queen Viktoria took over his upbringing. When Lennart Bernadotte was a teenager, he moved in with his father at Stenhammar Palace. The Prince completed his school exams in 1927 and became a Reserve Lieutenant in 1930. Before her death in 1930, his Grandmother had left her Lake Constance castle and estate, Mainau, to the Prince and he took over its management in 1932. That same year, he lost the title of Prince and his duchy when he married Karin Nissvandt. Because of a new ruling, he was then Mr Bernadotte until 1951 when he was granted the title Count Bernadotte of Wisborg by the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. |
Until his death in 2004, Lennart Bernadotte owned and managed Mainau Castle, and is considered the founder of the “Insel Mainau” tourism enterprise. The castle's grounds are known as a floral paradise. In addition, he was the first president of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, and for many years served as president of the German Horticulture Society.
His Arms as Prince of Sweden and Duke were the modern version with the Arms of Småland in the third Quarter. As Count of Wisborg he was granted the Wisborg Arms that had first been set up for his Great-Uncle
Lennart remains the only Swedish Prince of the Bernadotte Dynasty to have been granted the Ducal title of Småland.
Småland
Småland is a historical Province whose name literally means Small Lands but is, in reality, quite large, as it is made up of a dozen smaller, largely independent territories. The land is dominated by a forested high plain and a series of flat surfaces. The largest city is Jönköping, which in 1284 became the first City in Sweden to be granted its rights. Kalmar, to the south east, was one of Sweden's most important cities from the 13th to the 17th Century. The well-known furniture company IKEA was founded in the Småland town of Älmhult. The current Coat of Arms of Småland, granted in 1569, are blasonned as follows: Or, a Lion rampant gules, langued and armed azure, holding in its front Paws a Crossbow of the second, bowed and stringed Sable with a Bolt argent. |
Södermanland (Southmanland or Sudermania)
1823–1844 Crown Princess Josephine as wife of Crown Prince Oscar above, became his queen 1844, died 1876
1852–1854 Prince Carl Oscar from birth, died with title
1884–1965 Prince Wilhelm from birth, died with title
1909–1914 Princess Maria as wife of Prince Wilhelm above, until divorce
2016–present Prince Alexander from birth. Already covered in Part One.
HRH Crown Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland (1799-1859)
(HM King Oscar I)
Joseph François Oscar (4th July 1799 – 8th July 1859) was born in Paris, and grew up in France. He was the only child of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte and Désirée Clary. The name Oscar was chosen by Napoleon after one of the heroes in the Ossian cycle of poems. When electing the successor to the throne in Örebro in 1810, it was deemed important that the future king should also have a son and heir. A portrait of the young Oscar was circulated at the Parliamentary Session in Örebro to assist with the candidature of his father (who was born Jean Bernadotte and made Sovereign Prince of Pontecorvo by Napoleon). When his Father became King of the Union as Carl XIV Johan in 1818, Oscar became Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway. He married Joséphine of Leuchtenberg at Stockholm Cathedral first by proxy at the Leuchtenberg Palace in Munich on 22th May 1823 and then in person at a wedding ceremony in Stockholm on 19th June 1823. Joséphine's surname was de Beauharnais as she was the paternal Granddaughter of her namesake, Napoleon's first wife. Her Father had been made Duke of Leuchtenberg. |
King Oscar I's hope that the Swedish-Norwegian union would be seen as a single kingdom came to nothing. Towards the end of his reign, he is said to have complained that the Union was unsuccessful, and could not be otherwise in the future.
Oscar I died at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1859 following a long period of illness and was succeeded in turn by his two elder sons as Carl XV and Oscar II.
Oscar was granted the Duchy of Södermanland on 5th November 1810 when he was made Prince of Sweden and Norway. This was done by his adoptive Grandfather, the childless King Carl XIII. This was unusual in that this had been Carl XIII's own Dukedom and means that the idea that a title reverted to the Crown still existed then, especially when, in his turn, Oscar granted this same Dukedom to his Grandson, Carl Oscar whose Blog follows. With this head start, Södermanland is the most granted Province with four Dukes including the present Prince Alexander, son of Prince Carl Philip. Oscar quartered Södermanland with the Swedish Crowns, Folkung's Lion and Norway's Lion and was the first Prince to do so as the personal Union between Sweden and Norway had occurred during the reign of the childless King Carl XIII, whom Oscar's Father succeeded. The Quarters in saltire (diagonal cross) look well-balanced, but still put Sweden in prime position.
Naturally, as the first Prince of the new Bernadotte Dynasty, Oscar was the first Prince to carry the Vasa/Pontecorvo Inescutcheon which has gone through a number of changes. (His Father, as Crown Prince, had only carried an Inescutcheon of Pontecorvo.) It started off a simple black Bird (raven = Corvo in Italian) sitting on a simple brick Bridge (bridge = Ponte in Italian) but under Charles Bernadotte as Sovereign Prince had become an Napoleonic Eagle on a very much grander Bridge. Bernadotte never used any stars in the arms of Pontecorvo (neither as Prince of Pontecorvo, nor as King of Sweden and Norway). The stars were introduced as an element in the royal coat of arms in the 19th century, chosen as a symbol of Sweden's 'eternal existence'. The constellation of the Great Bear or Plough is called Charles's Wain (derived from churl's or men's wagon) in Sweden. For a period the eagle reverted to black but appears to have gone back to the Napoleonic gold at the time of the dissolution of the Union of Sweden and Norway in 1905.
Oscar's Father - Jean Baptiste Bernadotte who became King Carl XIV John - was never granted a Swedish Dukedom, but was in turn Prince of Sweden, Crown Prince of Sweden and then Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway.
HRH Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland (1852-1854)
He had one elder sibling, Louise of Sweden who would become Queen of Denmark.
He contracted measles in February 1854 and was incorrectly prescribed cold baths, which caused pneumonia. Carl Oscar died at the age of just 15 months, as a result of which his uncle Oscar eventually inherited the throne as King Oscar II.
HRH Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland (1884-1965)
Carl Wilhelm Ludvig (17th June 1884 – 5th June 1965) was the second son of King Gustaf V of Sweden and his wife Victoria of Baden. It was traditional for the second child in the royal family to follow a naval career. On his twentieth birthday in 1904, he became a Second Lieutenant in the Navy. Wilhelm was an excellent sailor, and advanced to the rank of Commodore, eventually becoming Rear Admiral. In 1908 he married the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, with whom he had a son, Lennart. Their marriage was not a happy one and was dissolved in 1914. |
Wilhelm was a prominent author and lyrical poet of his time. The Prince published books of poetry including Silhouettes of Reality (1955) and collections of short stories including Black Novels (1924), as well as global travelogues and books about Swedish nature. He also made short films. Between 1920 and 1949 he was involved in making almost 250 newsreels. He lived at Stenhammar Palace in Flen (situated in his Ducal Province, Södermanland) until he died in his sleep, from a heart attack, just 12 days before his 81st birthday. Wilhelm's Coat of Arms changed as above with the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway. |
Uppland (Upland)
1907–1934 Prince Sigvard from birth, title no longer recognized due to unapproved marriage, died 2002
HRH Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland (1827-52)
Frans Gustaf Oscar (18th June 1827 – 24th September 1852) was the second son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg. He was the first Prince of the Bernadotte Dynasty to be granted the Dukedom of Uppland. He was a trained musician and under the artist's name of G***** was a well known composer. He was consequently known as the "Song Prince". More than 50 of his compositions have been preserved: marches, romances and ballads. His The Student Song (Studentsången) is traditionally sung at the graduation festivities for gymnasium students, and his Spring Song (Vårsång) is often performed by men's choruses on Walpurgis night. |
In around 1850, Prince Gustaf was given Stjernsund Castle near Askersund as a summer residence, but he had only just finished having it decorated when he died from typhoid fever at the age of only 25.
HRH Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (1907-2002)
(Prince Bernadotte and Count of Wisborg)
Sigvard Oscar Fredrik (7th June 1907 – 4th February 2002) was the second son of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Margaret. He became an internationally recognised designer, illustrator and industrial designer, designing everything from luxurious silver objects to everyday-use household items in plastic. He worked as an assistant director at MGM in California. Until his marriage to the German Erica Patzek in 1934, he held the titles Prince of Sweden and Duke of Uppland. As Erica was a commoner this marriage couldn't be sanctioned by his Grandfather, The King. As a consequence, Sigvard lost his right to the Swedish Throne and became Prince Bernadotte and Count of Wisborg. The marriage, however, was dissolved in 1943. The following year, he married the Dane, Sonja Robbert, but they divorced in 1961. Sigvard Bernadotte's third wife, whom he married in 1961, was Marianne Lindberg. From 1994 to 2002, he was the oldest living great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and having reached the age of 94, he was her longest-lived male descendant until being overtaken by his younger brother Carl Johan on 29th June 2011. |
Uppland
Uppland is a historic Province situated on the east coast of Sweden and encompasses the northern half of the nation's capital of Stockholm. Uppland is the birthplace of Saint Brigitta of Sweden who was a mystic. After the death of her husband of twenty years, she founded the Bridgettine nuns and monks. Its other major city, Uppsala, is the seat of the only archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, and Drottningholm, which literally means "Queen's Islet", is the site of Drottningholm Palace, which has been the residence of the Swedish Royal Family since 1981. Uppland's Arms were also granted in 1560 and are distinctive as being an Orb and Cross, a Christian symbol of authority. The Shield is blasonned as follows: Gules, a Royal Orb Or gemmed of the field and Azure with the cross bottoned Argent. |
Värmland (Vermelandia or Wermelandia)
1881–1907 Crown Princess Victoria as wife of Gustaf above, became his queen 1907, died 1930
1979–present Prince Carl Philip from birth. Already covered in Part One.
2015–present Princess Sofia as wife of Prince Carl Philip above. Already covered in Part One.
Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland (1858-1950) (HM King Gustaf V)
Oscar Gustaf Adolf (16th June 1858 – 29th October 1950) was the eldest son of King Oscar II and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1881, he married Victoria of Baden. They had three children, the oldest of whom eventually became his successor, King Gustaf VI Adolf. With a reign of almost 43 years, he was the second-longest reigning monarch in the history of Sweden (after Magnus Eriksson) and also the oldest ever. He was also the first Swedish king to refrain from being crowned, which had been the custom in Sweden since the 13th century. |
His personal interests included music, art and sports, and he was a noted tennis player under the pseudonym Mr. G.
His health deteriorated after his 90th birthday, and he died at Drottningholm Palace at the age of 92. His funeral at Riddarholm Church was the last royal burial to be held there. His 68-year-old son Gustav succeeded him as King Gustav VI Adolf.
Following his death, Gustaf was implicated in the Haijby affair. His supposed gay lover – 'career criminal' Kurt Haijby – was imprisoned in 1952 for blackmailing the court in the 1930s.
Having been Duke of Norrland for a few hours [Trond Norén Isaksen relates], the newborn [Gustaf] transformed into Duke of Värmland, a title suggested by two of his ministers.
Västmanland (Westmania)
HRH Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (1889-1918)
Erik Gustav Ludvig Albert (20th April 1889 – 20th September 1918) was the youngest son of King Gustaf V and Viktoria of Baden. Erik was an epileptic and suffered from a mild learning disability, which is thought to have been caused by the strong medication taken by his mother while pregnant. Victoria, called him "my much loved child of grief". Like the British King George and Queen Mary's youngest child, Prince John, Erik lived an extremely secluded life, and very rarely attended large social gatherings. Every two weeks, he was allowed a trip to the capital, during which he sometimes could be seen visiting the opera. |
Västmanland
Västmanland lies in the centre of Sweden to the west of the core Province of Uppland, as its name implies. The terrain is split between the rocky area to the north and the plains of the rest of the Province. The Province is also known for its mines - Norberg and Skinnskatteberg which began being being used in the 14th Century and the mine of Lindesberg which began being cultivated in the early 16th Century. The Coat of Arms was granted, again, in 1560. At the time it featured one fire mountain, to represent the mine of Sala Municipality. Soon, their numbers were increased to symbolize the Lindesberg, Norberg and Skinnskatteberg mines. The present blazon was ratified in 1943. The Blason is as follows: Argent, in base a triple Mount Azure issuant from each Flames Gules. |
Västerbotten (West Bothnia)
1932–1972 Princess Sibylla as wife & widow of Prince Gustaf Adolf above, died with title
HRH Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906-47)
He attended Lundsberg School in Värmland from 1918 until 1924, and took his school exams at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in 1925. He then carried out his officer's training and studied at Uppsala University.
His honorary roles and chairmanships included chairing the International Scout Committee, the Swedish Olympic Committee, the Swedish Sports Confederation and the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management.
In 1932 he married Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and they had five children: Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée, Christina and Carl Gustaf, the present King.
Gustaf Adolf participated in the 1936 Olympic Games with the Swedish riding team, but was disqualified when his horse Aida refused to jump over the 13th obstacle in the show jumping event. The Prince was also an elite fencer with sabre and épée. In terms of prizes and awards, he is still by far the most successful royal Swedish athlete.
The Prince was killed in an air crash at Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen in 1947. The plane plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded on impact. All 22 people on board the plane were killed. Also aboard the ill-fated flight was American singer and actress Grace Moore. An investigation found that, short of time, the plane's captain had failed to perform the final pre-flight check list properly and took off not realising that a gust lock on an elevator was still in place.
Gustaf Adolf was only 40 years old. His son, the present King, took over his Father's position as second in line to the Throne at the age of 9 months. Gustaf Adolf's brother Bertil would stand by in case he had to act as regent for his nephew but never did. Gustaf Adolf and Sibylla's other children were all girls and were collectively known as the Haga Princesses after the Palace they were all born in.
As confirmed by his Stall Plate as Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, Gustav Adolf placed the Arms of his Province, Västerbotten, in a fifth Quarter at the bottom of his Shield in the rather clumsy arrangement of the time.
HH Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1908-1972)
(HRH Princess Sibylla of Sweden, Duchess of Västerbotten)
In November 1931, Sibylla was in London to attend the wedding of Lady May Abel Smith as a bridesmaid. One of the other bridesmaids was Ingrid of Sweden, who introduced Sibylla to her brother, Prince Gustaf Adolf. Their engagement was announced at Callenberg Castle in Coburg 16th June 1932.
The couple had a civil marriage on 19th October 1932 and a church marriage on 20th October at St Maurice's Church in Coburg. From 1932, the couple lived at Haga Palace in Solna where all of their five children were born.
Sibylla became a widow in 1947 when Gustaf Adolf died in the plane crash outlined above. Their only son, Carl Gustaf, became second-in-line to the throne at the age of nine months and, later, Crown Prince at the age of four. In 1950, Sybilla moved from Haga to the Royal Palace of Stockholm. During the summers, she stayed at Solliden. During these years, she developed an interest in environmental issues.
After her stepmother-in-law, Queen Louise, died in 1965, Sibylla became the highest ranking woman in the royal family. She took over duties in support of her father-in-law, King Gustaf VI Adolf. During these years, she enjoyed somewhat more popularity as her humour and sense of self-irony became more known and appreciated. She continued with the so-called "Democratic Ladies Lunches" for career women instigated by Queen Louise in 1962 as a replacement for court presentation.
Sibylla died in Stockholm of cancer at the age of 64 less than a year before her son ascended the Throne.
As Duchess of Västerbotten, Princess Sibylla showed her paternal Arms of Saxony on an Inescutcheon in the middle of her husband's Arms as the Duke. She dropped her Father's personal Coat of Arms which were actually, in turn, his Father Prince Leopold's as Carl Edward was never granted a Label as a prince of the United Kingdom.
Västerbotten
Västerbotten lies to the north of Sweden near to Finland which it used to belong to until the end of the Finnish War 1808-1809 and the Treaty of Fredrikshamn. Although the Treaty split the Province between Sweden and Finland, the modern Swedish Counties split the area left in Sweden into Västerbotten and Norbotten. Norrbotten is known for being the coldest county with -40 degrees Celsius during the Winter. At the other extreme, Norrbotten holds the record for the highest temperature ever measured in Sweden at +37 degrees Celsuis! Västerbotten is a culinary county where the famous Västerbotten cheese is made. The scenery is a spectacular mix of mountains, forests, lakes and streams and is the home of the big University city of Umeå. The whole area includes Swedish Lappland, hence, presumably, the reindeer in the province's Coat of Arms, the Blason for which runs as follows: |
Azure Seme of Mullets Or a Reindeer in full course, hoofed Gules.
Västergötland (West Gothland)
1897–1958 Princess Ingeborg as wife & widow of Prince Carl above, died with title
1980–present Crown Princess Victoria appointed. Already covered in Part One.
2010–present Prince Daniel as husband of Crown Princess Victoria above. Already covered in Part One.
HRH Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (1861-1951)
Oscar Carl Wilhelm (27th February 1861 – 24th October 1951) was the son of Oskar (II) and Sofia of Nassau. Prince Carl was created Duke of Västergötland. After completing his school exams in 1880, he studied first in Uppsala and then at the Swedish Academy of Military Sciences in 1884-85. For two years he was second-in-command of the Mounted Life Guards, and was nicknamed the "Blue Prince" in reference to their light blue uniforms. In 1897 he married Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. The couple had three daughters, all of whom married Princes: Margareta became Princess of Denmark, Märta became Crown Princess of Norway, and Astrid became Queen of Belgium. The couple also had a son, Prince Carl Junior. Carl and Ingeborg's family was known for being conventional and harmonious. In 1905, during the political struggle in which Norway obtained its independence from Sweden, Prince Carl was seriously considered as a candidate for the Norwegian crown but his Father refused. The eventual King of Norway was a Prince Carl of Denmark, whose son, Olaf, would, ironically, marry Carl of Sweden's daughter Märta, as mentioned above. |
Carl Senior lived to be 90 and passed away in Stockholm.
Before the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway, Carl's Coat of Arms was the cumbersome version of the times. After 1907 his revised Arms were a simpler version with three Quarters - Sweden, Folkung and Västergötland - as confirmed on his Stall Plate as Knight of the Order of the Seraphim.
His Duchy of Västergötland was revived for the present Crown Princess, Victoria.
Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (1878-1958)
(HRH The Duchess of Västergötland)
Anna Lerche and Marcus Mandal, in their excellent story of the Scandinavian Royal Families A Royal Family, 2003, tell of Ingeborg and Carl's engagement.
During a dinner at Charlottenlund Palace [in Denmark], when the Swedish Prince Carl was visiting, Christian IX suddenly rose and announced his eighteen year old grandchild Ingeborg's engagement to the thirty-six year old Swedish Prince Carl. Ingeborg sat there and could not believe her ears, for it was the first she had heard about her betrothal. Very diplomatically, Carl said to the Danish monarch that it should have been the next day. He wanted the opportunity to propose first.
Ingeborg was much loved by both her family and the public for her happy, humorous and informal nature. King Oskar II is said to have called her the family's "little ray of sunshine". She carried out many official duties when Queen Sofia scaled back her public appearances and Crown Princess Viktoria spent long periods abroad for health reasons.
The first King of modern Norway, who took the regnal name of Haakon VII, would turn out to be her brother, Prince Carl of Denmark, rather than her husband, Prince Carl of Sweden.
She lived an informal and harmonious family life and they were known as "The Happy Family". In the historic traditions of the Danish Royal Family, the children were given a simple upbringing and were expected to learn household tasks. They were, for example, given a real stove in their play cottage on which they cooked real food.
Princess Ingeborg passed away in Stockholm, at the age of 79.
Ingeborg's Stall Plate as Knight (Lady) of the Order of the Seraphim confirms that she placed the simple Arms of Denmark - the three blue Lions amongst the red Hearts - on an Inescutcheon on to her husband's simplified Arms.
The happy and informal Ingeborg brings this Blog and our look at Swedish Royal Ducal titles to a close.
In conclusion, apart from remarks made in the previous Blog about Swedish Royal Duchies and the first few grants of the Bernadotte Dynasty, namely the reuse of the province of Södermanland, there really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to the designation of the Ducal Titles. It is a practical way of providing both a historical link between the Royal Family and the country, and also a heraldic means of difference and cadency.