January 26, 1947: Death of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten

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Charles Edward of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, Plane Crash, Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Princess Margaret of Connaught, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund; April 22, 1906 – January 26, 1947) was a Swedish prince, who for most of his life was second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne.

He was the eldest son of Gustaf VI Adolf, who was crown prince for most of his son’s life and ascended the Swedish throne three years after his son’s death. The current king, Carl XVI Gustaf, is Prince Gustaf Adolf’s son. The prince was killed on January 26, 1947 in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden

Gustaf Adolf was born in Stockholm on April 22, 1906 as the eldest son of the then Prince Gustaf Adolf and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught a granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria. He was known by his last given name, Edmund, in the family.

Gustaf Adolf was an accomplished horse rider. He competed in show jumping at the 1936 Summer Olympics, but failed to finish. He served as president of the Swedish Olympic Committee from 1933 until his death in 1947.

Gustaf Adolf joined the Boy Scouts, and as an adult and became a Scoutmaster. He earned his Wood Badge beads at Gilwell Park in England. When the Svenska Scoutrådet formed he served as its first president or Chief Scout. He led the Swedish contingents at the 5th World Scout Jamboree in 1937 and at the World Scout Moot in 1939. He served on the World Scout Committee from May 1937 until his death.

Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

From 1932, Prince Gustaf Adolf was chairman of the Swedish Scout Council and from 1937 honorary chairman of the International Scout Committee. Since 1933, the prince was also chairman of the Central Board of the Swedish Sports Confederation, the Swedish Central Association for Sports Promotion (Centralföreningen för idrottens främjande) and the Swedish Olympic Committee.

Some recent journalists and historians portray Gustaf Adolf as sympathetic towards the Nazi movement in Germany in the 1930s, a highly debated and criticised opinion.

As an official representative of Sweden, Gustaf Adolf met with many Nazi leaders, including Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring (the latter had lived in Sweden and had many friends among the Swedish upper class). His father-in-law, Charles Edward, the deposed Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was one of the few members of any of the former German princely houses who was a Nazi supporter, but this does not mean Gustaf Adolf was.

As the prince very rarely spoke of political matters and left no written evidence of any political sympathies of any kind, the subject remains very much a matter of speculation.

Wedding of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

According to journalist and author Staffan Skott in his book Alla dessa Bernadottar (All these Bernadottes), letters and diary entries by influential Swedes of decidedly anti-Nazi persuasion disprove the rumors. Such documents include those of the diplomat Sven Grafström and of the wife of the cabinet minister Gustav Möller, as well as of the stepson of Hermann Göring, who said that a visit by the prince to Göring’s home was a complete failure and that Göring and Gustaf Adolf did not get along well.

The newspaper Expressen said that “plausible witnesses who were also strongly pro-democracy” had denied the rumors. The Swedish Royal Court made a statement denying any knowledge of Nazi sympathies.

Gustaf Adolf expressed his support for Finland during the Continuation War of 1941–1944, and would even have liked to participate as a voluntary soldier in the Winter War of 1939–1940, but the King’s disapproval prevented this from happening.

Some leading Swedish politicians were adverse to the possibility of seeing Gustaf Adolf inherit the throne, and one prominent Social Democrat publicly uttered that the prince was “a person who must never be King”.

Marriage and family

On October 19/20, 1932 in Coburg, Gustaf Adolf married his second cousin, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the elder daughter and second child of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein. Her father was a posthumous son of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Family of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla of Sweden. Princess Sibylla is holding her son the current King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

The religious ceremony took place the second day at St. Moritz Church.

The couple had five children:

1. Princess Margaretha (born 31 October 1934) married John Ambler on 30 June 1964 and is his widow. They had three children.

2. Princess Birgitta (born 19 January 1937) married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern on 25 May 1961 and is his widow. They had three children.

3. Princess Désirée (born 2 June 1938) married Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld on 5 June 1964 and is his widow. They had three children.

4. Princess Christina (born 3 August 1943) married Tord Magnuson on 15 June 1974. They have three sons.

5. Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born April 30, 1946) he married Silvia Sommerlath on 19 June 1976. They have three children.

Gustaf Adolf was killed in an airplane crash in the afternoon of January 26, 1947 at Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The prince, along with two companions, were returning to Stockholm from a hunting trip and visit to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

The delayed KLM flight from Amsterdam had landed at Copenhagen for a routine stop before continuing to Stockholm. Soon after the Douglas DC-3 aircraft took off, it climbed to an altitude of about 50 meters (150 ft), stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded on impact.

All 22 people aboard the plane (16 passengers and six crew members) were killed. Also aboard the ill-fated flight was American singer and actress Grace Moore and Danish actress Gerda Neumann.

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 realizing that a gust lock on an elevator was still in place.

At the time of his death, Gustaf Adolf had been second in line to the Swedish throne behind his father, the Crown Prince, who in 1950 became King Gustaf VI Adolf. The younger Gustaf Adolf was succeeded as second in line by his only son, Carl Gustaf (at the time only 9 months old), who would later succeed his grandfather in 1973 as King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Sweden: The 1810 Act of Succession.

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Carl Philip of Sweden, Carl XIII of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Equal Rank, House of Bernadotte, Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden, The 1810 Act of Succession

The 1810 Act of Succession is one of four Fundamental Laws of the Realm and thus forms part of the Swedish Constitution. The Act regulates the line of succession to the Swedish Throne and the conditions which eligible members of the Swedish Royal Family must abide by in order to remain in it.

It was jointly adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates, convened in Örebro on 26 September 1810, and Carl XIII, as a logical consequence following the election on 21 August of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as Crown Prince.

The actual contents of the Act, save the solemn preamble, has been thoroughly rewritten over the years: the most notable change occurred in 1980 when the core principle of agnatic primogeniture (male succession only) was changed in favor of absolute primogeniture (eldest child regardless of sex).

Historical background

The Act of Succession was adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates assembled at Örebro in 1810, upon electing Carl XIV Johan (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte) as the heir to King Carl XIII. This happened at a tumultuous time for Sweden, as only one year earlier the former king, Gustaf IV Adolf (and his sons) had been deposed and replaced by his childless uncle, Carl XIII.

At the same time the Finnish War was coming to an end and Finland, then a part of Sweden proper, was held by Russia. The authoritarian constitution of 1772 was abolished and power was returned to parliament by the new Instrument of Government adopted on June 6, 1809. From 1814 to 1905 the Act of Succession also regulated succession to the Norwegian throne, due to the union of Sweden-Norway.

Provisions

The Act in the current version specifies that:

• Only children born in wedlock may inherit the Throne.
• Only the descendants of Carl XVI Gustaf may inherit the Throne.
• A prince or princess in the line of succession shall belong to and profess the “pure evangelical faith”, as defined in the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and the Uppsala Synod of 1593, i.e. by implication the Church of Sweden.
• The offspring of an approved marriage must be brought up within Sweden.
• A prince or princess may not marry and remain in the line of succession without having received consent, upon application of the Monarch, from the Government of Sweden.
• A prince or princess is also prevented from becoming monarch of another country, either by election or marriage, without the consent of the Monarch and the Government.

If any of these provisions are violated: all rights of succession for the person concerned and all descendants are lost.

Changes

In its original version, the Act mandated that a Swedish prince could only marry into families deemed to be of equal rank, or forfeit for himself and his future descendants all dynastic rights.

The key wording was a prohibition of marrying a “private man’s daughter” (Swedish: enskild mans dotter), a term which in Swedish jurisprudence was understood to exclude all non-royal persons, including the aristocracy. In 1937, the statutory provision which in effect had required a spouse of royal birth, was changed and the prohibition only extended to a “private Swedish man’s daughter” (Swedish: enskild svensk mans dotter).

A total of five Swedish princes lost their style of HRH, title as Prince of Sweden, personal Ducal title, and all rights of succession to the throne because they violated the uncompromisable constitutional provision, regardless of whether the King-in-Council did consent or not: Oscar in 1888, Lennart in 1932, Sigvard in 1934, Carl in 1937 and Carl Johan in 1946. There is since 1980 no statutory limitation, based on either nationality or royal rank, on whom a prince or princess can marry, apart from the fact that permission must be granted.

In 1980, the rule of succession was changed from agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This change in effect created Victoria (born 1977) heir apparent, passing over her younger brother Prince Carl Philip (born 1979).

Happy Birthday to HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland.

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Christopher O’Neill, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland., House of Bernadotte, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Prince Nicolas of Sweden, Princess Adrienne, Princess Leonard of Sweden, Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden

Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine; born June 10, 1982), is the second daughter and youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Upon her birth, she was third in line of succession to the Swedish throne. She is currently seventh in the line of succession. Princess Madeleine is married to British-American financier Christopher O’Neill. They have three children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.

Early life

Madeleine was born on June 10, 1982 at 19:05 CEST at Drottningholm Palace and is a member of the Swedish royal family from the House of Bernadotte. She was christened at The Royal Palace Church on 31 August 1982, her godparents being her father’s maternal cousin the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her maternal uncle Walther L. Sommerlath, her father’s paternal cousin Princess Benedikte of Denmark, and her paternal aunt Princess Christina, Mrs Magnuson. She was given the honorary title of Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland. It was the first time since the early 17th century (when such titles were still more than honorary) that a Swedish ducal title included more than one province.

On August 11, 2009, Madeleine announced her engagement to lawyer Jonas Bergström (b. 1979). Madeleine said in her engagement interview that they became engaged in Capri in early June 2009.

The wedding was originally due to take place in the second half of 2010 but was postponed due to “many things happening in an intense period of time”, mainly her sister Victoria’s wedding in June. Queen Silvia denied the rumoured relationship issues. However, media reporting of the relationship issues escalated, and on April 24, 2010 it was announced that the wedding would not go ahead, and the engagement was broken off.

After her relationship with Bergström ended, Madeleine moved to New York City, where she worked for the World Childhood Foundation, the organisation that her mother co-founded. On 25 October 2012, the Swedish Royal Court announced her engagement with the British-born American financier Christopher O’Neill. On December 23, 2012, it was announced that the wedding would take place on June 8, 2013, at the Royal Palace chapel in Stockholm. O’Neill chose to remain untitled: a member of the Swedish royal family must hold Swedish citizenship which O’Neill declined.

The couple’s first child Princess Leonore was born in New York City on February 20, 2014. Prior to the birth, Madeleine had announced on her Facebook page that she would be unable to travel to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize ceremony due to her pregnancy and also mentioned that she was expecting a girl.

Their second child, and their son, Prince Nicolas, was born in Stockholm on June 15, 2015. In February 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that the family had moved to Stockholm from New York. In May 2015, the Swedish Royal Court announced that O’Neill had moved to London in April. In Autumn 2015, several months after the birth of Prince Nicolas, the entire family moved to London, where O’Neill’s business is located. On March 9, 2018, Princess Madeleine gave birth to their third child, Princess Adrienne, at Danderyd Hospital.

In August 2018, the Swedish Royal Court announced that the princess and her family were to move to Florida.
On October 7, 2019 Madeleine’s father the king issued a statement rescinding the royal status of her three children in an effort to more strictly associate Swedish royalty to the office of the head of state; they are still to be styled as princesses and prince, as well as duchesses and duke of their provinces, and they remain in the line of succession to the throne. Madeleine commented that her children now will have greater possibilities to format their own lives as private persons.

May 21, 1801: Birth of Princess Sophie of Sweden. Conclusion.

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Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden, Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, Grand Duke Ludwig II of Baden, House of Bernadotte, House of Holstein-Gottorp, Karlsruhe, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, King Oscar II of Sweden, Prince Sophie of Sweden, Princess Victoria of Baden, Stéphanie de Beauharnais

Marriage

In 1815, Princess Sophie of Sweden was engaged, and on 25 July 1819 in Karlsruhe, Sophie married her half-grand-uncle Prince Leopold of Baden, the son of a morganatic marriage. The marriage with Leopold had been specifically arranged by her uncle, Grand Duke Charles I of Baden, to improve the chances that Leopold would one day succeed him as grand duke because of Sophie’s royal lineage.

Princess Sophie of Sweden

Since Sophie was a granddaughter of Leopold’s oldest half-brother, Hereditary Prince Charles-Ludwig, this marriage united the descendants of his father’s (Grand Duke Charles-Friedrich) two wives. Sophie’s undoubted royal blood would help to offset the stigma of Leopold’s morganatic birth.

During the reign of Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden, they lived a modest life away from court, as Ludwig did not want the heir to the throne at court. In 1830, her husband ascended to the grand ducal throne as Leopold I, and Sophie became Grand Duchess of Baden.

Sophie is described as wise and dutiful but strict. She kept late hours and arose late in the mornings, after which she spent hours writing letters to various relatives around Europe in her négligée. She was interested in science, art and politics, and kept herself well informed on all political events of the day through her correspondence.

Her ties to the Viennese court were particularly tight, and it was to Vienna her sons were sent to complete their education. Sophie retained a certain bitterness over the deposition of her father, and took it very badly when her brother was deprived of his status as a Swedish prince.

Prince Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden

Princess Sophie’s brother, Prince Gustaf, Crown Prince of Sweden and later called Gustaf Gustafsson von Holstein-Gottorp (1799-1877); was not haughty as his younger sister Princess Sophie, but humble. Rather, he seemed too quiet and too careful for his age. When Princess Sophie asked him why their father was no longer King, he told her that it was best not to talk about it.

He asked no questions and did not appear to miss his father. After he was told that his father had been deposed, he acted embarrassed towards his mother. However, when she told him that he too had lost his position as heir, he cried and embraced her without a word. The announcement that he wouldn’t become King of Sweden gave him much relief and happiness.

In 1816, Prince Gustaf assumed the title of Count of Itterburg. Prince Gustaf served as an officer to the Habsburgs of Austria, and in 1829, Emperor Franz I created him Prince of Vasa. During the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) there was some talk of Prince Gustaf becoming its first king, but this never materialized.

The Case of Kaspar Hauser

Kaspar Hauser (c.1812-1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell.

Kaspar Hauser

According to contemporary rumours, probably current as early as 1829, Kaspar Hauser was the Hereditary Prince of Baden who was born circa September 1812, and who, according to known history, died October 16, 1833. It was alleged that this prince was switched with a dying baby and subsequently surfaced 16 years later as Kaspar Hauser in Nuremberg.

In this case, his parents would have been Grand Duke Charles of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais, cousin by marriage and adopted daughter of Napoleon, Emperor of the French. Because Grand Duke Charles had no surviving male progeny, his successor was his uncle Ludwig, who was later succeeded by his half-brother, Leopold. Leopold’s mother, the Countess of Hochberg, was the alleged culprit of Kaspar Hauser’s captivity. The Countess was supposed to have disguised herself as a ghost, the “White Lady”, when kidnapping the prince. Her motive evidently would have been to secure the succession for her sons.

Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden

After Hauser’s death, it was claimed further that he was murdered, again because of his being the prince.

During the tumult caused by the appearance of Kaspar Hauser, Sophie was rumoured to have ordered Hauser’s assassination in 1833. This damaged her relationship to her husband, and Sophie was said to have had an affair. During the revolutions that swept across Europe the summer of 1848, she was forced to flee from Karlsruhe with her family to Strasbourg. They returned in 1849, after the revolt had been subdued by Prussian forces. She became a widow when her husband, Grand Duke Leopold, April 24, 1852 died in Karlsruhe.

Grand Duke Leopold was succeeded by his eldest son with Princess Sophie, as Grand Duke Ludwig II of Baden. His brother Friedrich acted as regent, because Ludwig suffered from mental illness. However, in 1856, Friedrich became Grand Duke as well after the death of Grand Duke Ludwig II.

Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden

While he served as regent for his brother, his mother, Grand Duchess Sophie convinced her son Friedrich to enter an arranged dynastic marriage rather than a marriage to his love, Baroness Stephanie von Gensau. Grand Duke Friedrich I eventually married Princess Louise of Prussia the second child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm I and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She was the younger sister of Friedrich III of Germany (“Fritz”) and aunt of Wilhelm II of Germany.

In 1852, the Swedish royal house wished to make peace with the deposed Swedish royal house, and King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg tried to arrange a meeting, but without success, with resistance coming from Grand Duchess Sophie.

In 1863, however, Sophie met the Swedish heir presumptive Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland, and future King Oscar II of Sweden and his consort Sophie of Nassau. Prince Oscar was from the House of Bernadotte the dynasty that replaced Princess Sophie’s family. The meeting was a success: Sophie asked him about how the Stockholm of her childhood had changed, and when they left, she presented the couple with a gift to their son prince Gustaf, a medallion with the inscription “G” and the crown of the Swedish Crown Prince, because he had the same name as her brother.

Grand Duchess Sophie of Baden. Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

In 1864, Sophie was interviewed by an unnamed Swedish writer, an interview which was published in her biography about famous Swedish women by Wilhelmina Stålberg (who was likely the unnamed writer in question):

She particularly remembered Haga Palace and Stockholm Royal Palace, the latter so well that, if she should ever see it again, she would have the ability to find her way in any part of the palace. I asked, if she should not make a visit to her childhood home. There had been rumours in Sweden that she had the wish to do so, and that she had written about it to King Oscar, who had assured her of a kind welcome. The Grand Duchess disregarded the rumour as “completely unfounded”. She had never had a serious plan to visit Sweden, despite the fact that she often longed for it. Especially during spring she always felt a strange melancholic longing for her childhood home. But to travel there was now too late for her. This she uttered with a tearful glimmer in her big blue eyes. In any case, a true smile seemed uncharacteristic for this not-really-beautiful but very interesting face. As for the latest Swedish literature, she did read it, but all in translation, “Because”, she said, “I can no longer remember the Swedish language well enough to speak or read it in person. I can however understand it spoken, and my prayers are in Swedish!”

Dowager Grand Duchess Sophie, former Princess Sophie died at Karlsruhe Palace on July 6, 1865, aged 64.

Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway and Princess Victoria of Baden

Through Grand Duchess Sophie’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria of Baden, the blood of the Holstein-Gottorp Dynasty returned to the Swedish Royal Family. Princess Victoria’s father was Sophie’s son, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, and his wife Princess Louise of Prussia. On September 20, 1881 in Karlsruhe, Princess Victoria married Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sofia of Nassau.

December 8, 1907 King Oscar II of Sweden died and the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden became King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria of Sweden. This makes the former Princess Sophie of Sweden the great-great-great grandmother of Sweden’s current monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

May 15, 1470: Death of King Carl VIII of Sweden.

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Carl VIII of Sweden, Christian I of Denmark, Christopher of Bavaria., Eric of Pomerania, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Kingdom of Denmark, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of Sweden, Pope Eugene IV, Union of Kalmar

Carl VIII of Sweden, (also Carl Knutsson) (c.1408/1409-1470), in reality King Carl II, and as Carl I of Norway,, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and from 1467 to his death in 1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450).

Carl VIII, King of Sweden and Norway.

Regnal name

Carl was actually the second Swedish king by the name of Carl. King Carl VIII is a posthumous invention and it was not contemporary to his time. His regnal number “VIII” was dirrived counting backwards from King Charles IX (r. 1604–1611) who adopted his numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden.

The six others before King Charles VII (r. c. 1161-1167) are unknown to any sources before Johannes Magnus’s 16th century book Historia de omnibus gothorum sueonumque regibus, and are considered his invention. Carl was the first Swedish monarch of the name to actually use a regnal number as Carl II (later retrospectively renumbered VIII), on his queen’s tombstone (1451) at Vadstena.

Early life

Carl Knutsson was born in October 1408 or 1409, at Ekholmen Castle, the son of Knut Tordsson (Bonde), knight and member of the privy council (riksråd), and Margareta Karlsdotter, the only daughter and heiress of Carl Ulvsson, Lord of Tofta. His father Knut was first cousin of Erik Johansson Vasa’s father.

In 1434 Carl Knutsson became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden and in October of the same year he assumed one of its most senior offices, Lord High Constable of Sweden, or Riksmarsk. At this time Sweden was ruled by Eric of Pomerania (c.1381/1382-1459) was the ruler of the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He succeeded his grandaunt, Queen Margrethe I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Eric of Pomerania is numbered Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396–1439) and Eric XIII as King of Sweden (1396–1434, 1436–39). Later, in all three countries he became more commonly known as Eric of Pomerania which was a pejorative term intended to point out that he belonged elsewhere.

Eric of Pomerania

Because of the growing dissatisfaction with King Eric of Pomerania among the Swedish nobility, Carl was in 1436 made Rikshövitsman, an office equating to Military Governor of the Realm, and finally replaced the king as an elected regent from 1438 to 1440, as the result of the rebellion by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson.

During Carl’s brief regentship, the so-called Rebellion of David (a peasant rebellion) took place in Finland. Eric of Pomerania was forced to step down from the throne and in 1440 Christopher of Bavaria, was elected king of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Christopher of Bavaria was the son of Johann, Count Palatine of Neumarkt (1383–1443) and Catherine of Pomerania (c. 1390–1426). Catherine was the daughter of Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania in Pomerania-Stolp, and sister of the Scandinavian king, Eric of Pomerania. Count Palatine Johann was a son of King Ruprecht of Germany (1352–1410). 1352-1410), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Ruprecht III) and King of Germany (rex Romanorum) from 1400 until his death.

Christopher of Bavaria (1416-1448) was King of Denmark (1440–48, as Christopher III), Sweden (1441–48) and Norway (1442–48) during the era of the Kalmar Union.

Christopher III of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

At the coronation of Christopher of Bavaria as King of Sweden, in September 1441, Carl was dubbed a knight and appointed Lord High Justiciar of Sweden.

King of Sweden

At the death of Christopher in 1448, without a direct heir, which created a power vacuum, Carl Knutsson was elected King of Sweden on June 20, and on June 28, he was hailed as the new monarch at the Stones of Mora, not far from Uppsala, mostly due to his own military troops being present at the place, against the wishes of regents Bengt and Nils Jönsson (Oxenstierna).

However, in September 1448 the counts of Holstein made the Danish Privy Council elect Christian, Count of Oldenburg as King of Denmark. Christian was also Duke of Schleswig (within Denmark) and count (after 1474, duke) of Holstein (within the Holy Roman Empire). He was the first king of the House of Oldenburg. Christian was the eldest son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg by his second wife, Helvig of Holstein

A rivalry ensued between Carl VIII and Christian for the throne of Norway, which had also been ruled by Christopher, with both kings gaining support from various factions in the Norwegian Council of the realm. In 1449 a portion of the Norwegian council elected Carl VIII King of Norway, and he was crowned in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on 20 November. However, Christian also continued pursuing his claim to Norway. The Swedish aristocracy was reluctant to back Carl VIII in a war against Denmark over Norway, and already in 1450, Carl was forced to relinquish the throne of Norway in favour of Christian.

Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and Count of Oldenburg.

From 1451, Sweden and Denmark were in state of war against each other. Because of devastating warring, a growing opposition against Carl emerged among the nobility in Sweden. The strongest opponent was the Swedish church which opposed Carl’s efforts to concentrate royal and secular power. Other opponents were the family group of Oxenstierna and the House of Vasa, which had been on the opposing side in the election of king and lost.

Later reigns

During the next 20 years, Carl VIII was deposed in Sweden twice, only to regain the throne and reign three times (1448–57, 1464–65, 1467–70).

In 1457, a rebellion took place, led by Archbishop Jöns Bengtsson (Oxenstierna) and a nobleman, Erik Axelsson Tott. Carl went into exile to Danzig (Gdańsk). The two leaders of the revolt took the regentship, and organized the election of Christian I of Denmark as king of Sweden (firstly in Turku, then in Stockholm).

In 1463, King Christian quarrelled with Archbishop Jöns Bengtsson because of his taxation policies. The Archbishop was imprisoned, which resulted in a rebellion by his relatives, and led to Christian being driven out of Sweden. Carl VIII was recalled by the rebels and returned at the head of a force of German and Polish mercenaries.

Upon arrival in Sweden he found also himself at war with Archbishop Jöns Bengtsson and after two bloody battles in the winter of 1464–1465 Carl VIII was again exiled. In 1467, the regent Erik Axelsson Tott, now having reverted to support Carl VIII once more had him crowned. Carl VIII then reigned for three years, sharing power with the Riksråd, until his death in Stockholm in May 1470.

Marriages

His first marriage, in 1428, to Birgitta Turesdotter (Bielke) (died 1436) gave him his daughter Christina, (Bonde) (ca 1432- before 1500), married 1446 to the noble, councillor, and courtier Erik Eriksson (Gyllenstierna). Carl VIII and Birgitta Turesdotter had one son, Ture Karlsson (Bonde) (died young before 1447).

Carl VIII’s second marriage, in 1438, was to Catherine Karlsdotter (Gumsehuvud, died in 1450) the daughter of the nobleman Karl Ormsson. This union produced his second daughter Magdalena, who married Ivar Axelsson (Tott). Before their marriage, dispensation was obtained from Pope Eugene IV (r.1431-1447), as Catherine was related to Carl’s first wife. This was to ensure that children born in the marriage would be regarded as legitimate.

Coat of Arms of Carl VIII of Sweden.

The marriage is described as very happy and resulted in nine children. It was said that “Their relationship had always been of the best kind”. Their second daughter, Magdalene, married Ivar Axelsson (Tott), an uncle of Ingeborg Tott.

Queen Catherine was described as beautiful and cheerful; she created a nice environment and a relaxed atmosphere at court, and she was forthcoming to those who came seeking audience.

In 1450, she became one of many who died of the plague in Stockholm, and was deeply mourned by the king. She was buried in 1451 in Vadstena Abbey.

Four sons died early, of his four daughters, two became nuns, one never married. His only married daughter was Magdalena of Sweden (1445-1495). In 1468–1470, her spouse Ivar Axelsson (Tott) was the promised successor of her father as regent.

Carl VIII also had two children by his third wife (and former mistress) Christina Abrahamsdotter, Anna and Carl. The parentage of Christina Abrahamsdotter is not known, but she is believed to have been the daughter of Abraham Pedersson, governor of Raseborg. At the time of their meeting King Carl VIII of Sweden got to know her during his exile in Finland 1457–1464. When Carl returned to Sweden in 1464 and reclaimed the Swedish throne, she followed him there as royal mistress. In 1465, they had a son together, Carl Karlsson (Bonde) (1465–1488)

In 1470, during the last year of his life, when Carl married Christina. She thereby became queen, and her son became legitimate. The exact date of the marriage is unknown. Traditionally, the wedding was to have taken place on his deathbed. The marriage took place on an unknown date during the spring of 1470, a few weeks before the death of Carl in May. The wedding is said to have taken place in Stockholm with 50 wedding witnesses. Their daughter, Anna Karlsdotter (Bonde), was married to the noble Håkan Svensson (Bölja), governor of Västerås castle.

Legacy

Carl VIII represented a growing nationalist tendency among the Swedish aristocracy which tried first to subjugate the other Scandinavian countries under Sweden but soon focused on dissolving the Kalmar Union. In the next century, when the union was finally dissolved, Carl received some respect as an early champion of Swedish independence.

Carl’s great-granddaughter Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna was married to Sten Sture the Younger whose regentship of Sweden represented similar values: nationalism and Swedish independence.

Though the Bonde family, not descendants of Carl VIII himself but just his collateral relatives, remained prominent among the Swedish nobility and in politics into the 20th Century, Charles’s own descendants did not ascend nor inherit any thrones until Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg became Christian IX of Denmark in 1863. Carl VIII’s descendants have since ascended the thrones of Norway, Greece and Great Britain.

His distant direct descendant, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha married the Hereditary Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, in the 20th century, and with Sibylla and Gustaf Adolf‘s son, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Carl VIII’s blood returned to the Swedish throne.

Absolute Primogeniture and future Queen Regnants in Europe: Part I.

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Absolute cognatic primogeniture, Crown Princess of Sweden Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherla, Duchess of Brabant Infanta Leonor of Spain, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Harald V of Norway, Primogeniture, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess of Asturias, Princess of Orange Princess Elisabeth of Belgium

The principles governing the succession to crowns and aristocratic titles was Primogeniture which is was the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate son to inherit his parent’s entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relative. In some contexts it instead means the inheritance of the firstborn child (absolute primogeniture) or the firstborn daughter (matrilineal primogeniture).

The first definition given is also known as male-line primogeniture, the classical form popular in European jurisdictions among others until into the 20th century. In the absence of male-line offspring, variations were expounded to entitle a daughter or a brother or, in the absence of either, to another collateral relative, in a specified order (e.g. male-preference primogeniture, Salic primogeniture, semi-Salic primogeniture). The French throne adhered to Salic primogeniture, while the majority of the extinct German monarchies were either Salic or semi-Salic in their primogeniture laws and traditions.

During the 20th and early 21st century many monarchies have eliminated the preference for males over females (absolute male-preference primogeniture). and have implemented absolute primogeniture in succession. The following extant throne now follow absolute primogeniture Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

With absolute primogeniture now in place in the near future thrones of Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden will be occupied by women. Below is the list of the future Queen Regnants that will occupy European thrones, followed by some biographical info on each of them.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess of Sweden
Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherla, Princess of Orange
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant
Infanta Leonor of Spain, Princess of Asturias

HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway: Born on 21 January 2004 at 9:13 am in The National Hospital the Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Princess Ingrid Alexandra is the first child and only daughter of Crown Prince Haakon, heir apparent to the throne, and the second granddaughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Her mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has a son named Marius Borg Høiby, born in 1997 from a previous relationship. Following Ingrid Alexandra’s birth, the already well-regarded royal family experienced an upsurge of popularity.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, King Harald V of Norway

The Constitution of Norway was altered in 1990 to introduce absolute primogeniture, ensuring that the crown would pass to the eldest child regardless of sex but keeping the Crown Prince ahead of his elder sister, Princess Märtha Louise; the change was to apply for the first time to their children. Princess Ingrid Alexandra has thus been second in the line of succession since birth, preceded only by her father. Because of the reform, her status was not affected by the subsequent birth of her brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, in 2005. The Princess is expected to become Norway’s first female monarch since Queen Margarethe who reigned over Norway, Denmark and Sweden from the late 1380s until her death in 1412.

HRH Princess Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland

HRH Princess Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland: born July 14, 1977, is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be Sweden’s fourth queen regnant (after Margarethe, Christina and Ulrika Eleonora) and the first since 1720. She is a member of the House of Bernadotte. Born as a princess of Sweden, she was designated crown princess in 1979 ahead of her younger brother. Her place as first in the line of succession formally went into effect on January 1, 1980 with the parliamentary change to the Act of Succession that introduced absolute primogeniture. This Act of Succession supplanted her younger brother, Prince Carl Philip who had been heir to the throne since his birth on May 13, 1979. As of 2016, Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of succession.

Princess Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden married Daniel Westling on June 19, 2010, and on February 23, 2012 at Victoria gave birth to Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland, in the Karolinska University Hospital. Princess Estelle is second in line to the Swedish throne.

King Carl XVI Gustafson of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle

Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland was born February 23, 2012, is the elder child and only daughter of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. She is the eldest grandchild of King Carl XVI Gustaf, and is second in line of succession to the Swedish throne.

Princess Estelle is second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne and the first female in Swedish history to be born with a right to inherit the crown that cannot be superseded by the birth of a male heir, as well as the first person in Swedish history to be born of a female heir apparent. The only two princesses of Sweden to be born first in line for the throne were heir presumptive at their birth: Christina (who eventually became queen regnant) and Hedwig Sophia (who was superseded by a younger brother). Her status was not altered when on March 2, 2016, her brother Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne was born.

Part II will be tomorrow.

HM King Carl XVI Gustaf limits the members of the House of Bernadotte.

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Act of Succession, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, House of Bernadotte, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Kings and Queens of Sweden, Royal Family

Today, October 7, 2019, HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden limited the members of the House of Bernadotte. These personages will still be members of the Swedish Royal Family, but only official members of the House of Bernadotte will be expected to work in representing the King.

Styles such as His/Her Royal Highness have been stripped from non working royals. According to the Marshal of the Realm, the princely titles will be regarded as personal. Future spouses and children are not entitled to use those titles.

The Act of Succession has not been change. The requirement that they have to be brought up in Sweden has not been abolished.

Below is the decree released by the Marshal of the Realm.

Here is a previous list of the Members of the House of Bernadotte with the now current members.

Here is a picture of the King and his children, their spouses and grandchildren. Below that is a picture of the King, his daughter Crown Princess Victoria and her eldest daughter and heir Princess Estelle.

This date in History: September 1, 1922. Death of Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Dowager Duchess of Albany.

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Alice of Albany, Charles Edward Duke of Albany, Georg-Victor of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Helena of Waldemar and Pyrmont, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Leopold Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Willem III of the Netherlands

Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Helene Friederike Auguste; February 17, 1861 – September 1, 1922), who became a member of the British royal family by marriage, was the fifth daughter and child of Georg Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his first wife, Princess Helena of Nassau.

She was born in Arolsen, capital of Waldeck principality, in the German Confederation of the Rhine. She was the sister of Friedrich, last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Marie, the first wife of Wilhelm II of Württemberg; and of Emma, Queen consort of Willem III of the Netherlands (and mother of Queen Wilhelmina).

Marriage

Along with Emma and a third sister, Pauline, Helena was considered as a second wife for their distant cousin Willem III of the Netherlands. She later met with another distant cousin Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, youngest son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom at the suggestion of his mother. The two became engaged in November 1881.

On 27 April 1882, Leopold and Helena married in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. After their wedding, Leopold and Helena resided at Claremont House. The couple had a brief, but happy marriage, ending in the hemophiliac Leopold’s death from a fall in Cannes, France, in March 1884. At the time of Leopold’s death, Helena was pregnant with their second child.

The couple had two children:

* Princess Alice of Albany (1883-1981), later Countess of Athlone

* Prince Charles, Duke of Albany (1884-1954), born posthumously, later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Personality and social work

According to the memoirs of Helena’s daughter, Princess Alice of Albany, Helena was very intelligent, had a strong sense of duty, and a genuine love of welfare work. Queen Victoria, initially worried that Helena might turn out to be a stereotypically-remote German Princess, remarked in a letter to her eldest daughter, German Crown Princess Victoria, that she was pleased Helena liked ‘to go among the people.’ The Queen soon came to regard her young daughter-in-law with great respect and affection, notwithstanding her initial concerns upon hearing from the match-making Vicky that Helena was an “intellectual”, being unusually well-educated for a princess.

In 1894, Helena was one of the founders of the Deptford Fund. Originally dedicated to helping find alternative work for women and girls employed in the dangerous cattle slaughter business, the Fund soon expanded, with many projects instigated to help the local community.

Helena was also involved in several hospital charities and with those dedicated to ending human trafficking. During World War I, she organised much of her charity work along with that of her sister-in-law Princess Beatrice and husband’s niece Princess Marie-Louise to avoid the not-uncommon problem of conflicting (and sometimes misguided) royal war-work projects.

Later life

After Leopold’s death, Helena and her two children, Alice and Charles Edward, continued to reside at Claremont House. After the death of her nephew, the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1899, Helena’s sixteen-year-old son was selected as the new heir to the German duchy, and was parted from his mother and sister in order to take up residence there. When the First World War broke out 14 years later, Charles Edward found himself fighting in the German Army.

Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone, (daughter of Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany) with her children May and Rupert, circa 1909.

As a result, he was stripped of his British titles by an act of Parliament in 1917. By contrast, her daughter Princess Alice of Albany remained in England and married her second cousin once-removed, Prince Alexander of Teck, the brother of Princess Mary of Teck, the Princess of Wales (later Queen Mary, consort of George V).

Helena died on September 1, 1922 of a heart attack in Hinterriss in Tyrol, Austria while visiting her son, Carl-Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. She was 61 years old.

German Emperor Wilhelm II picked out Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein, the niece of his wife, Empress Augusta Victoria, as Carl-Eduard’s bride.

Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

She was the eldest daughter of Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, and Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. They married on October 11, 1905, at Glücksburg Castle, Schleswig-Holstein, and had five children, including Sibylla, the mother of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter-in-law of Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany.

Happy Birthday to HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden.

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Happy Birthday, HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden

Another Birthday today…. Happy Birthday to HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine; born June 10, 1982), she is the second daughter and youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Upon her birth, she was third in line of succession to the Swedish throne. She is currently seventh in the line of succession. Princess Madeleine is married to British-American financier Christopher O’Neill. They have three children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne.

Sweden: The Instrument of Government was adopted on June 6, 1809

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Absolute Monarchy, Constitutional Monarchy, Instrument of Government 1809, King Carl XIII of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Gustaf III of Sweden, King Gustaf VI Adolph of Sweden, Kingdom of Sweden, Riksdag

Also on this date in Swedish history. The Instrument of Government (Swedish: 1809 års regeringsform) was adopted on June 6, 1809 by the Riksdag of the Estates and King Carl XIII, was one of the fundamental laws that made up the constitution of Sweden from 1809 to the end of 1974.

King Carl XIII of Sweden and Norway

The Instrument of Government came about after the Coup of 1809, when the disastrous outcome in the Finnish War led Swedish nobles and parts of the Army to revolt, forcing King Gustaf IV Adolf to involuntarily abdicate and go into exile.

For half a century, starting with the Instrument of Government of 1719, often referred to as the Age of Liberty, Sweden had enjoyed parliamentary rule under the Riksdag of the Estates, but in 1772 that was ended by a coup d’état perpetrated by Gustaf III. The coup enabled Gustav III to rule as an enlightened despot, in other words, an absolute monarch. Gustaf III’s son, Gustaf IV Adolph, succeeded him but proved a less charismatic ruler, and the change of sides of Russia in the Napoleonic wars prompted the disastrous Finnish War and the loss of Finland, settled in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn. This provided momentum for the Swedish nobility and other forces to depose the king and restore political power to the Estates.

The aged and childless brother of Gustaf III, Carl XIII was made king in 1809, but he was a mere puppet in the hands of the Estates and the question of his successor had to be solved. The election, by the Riksdag of the Estates, of the French Marshal and Prince of Pontecorvo Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte in 1810, provided not only a successor, but also a vital regent and a new dynasty. The rights of Bernadotte’s successors to accede to the Swedish throne were codified in an amendment to the constitution in the form of the Act of Succession (1810).

The Instrument of Government of 1809 replaced the Instrument of Government of 1772. It established a separation of powers between the executive branch (the king) and the legislative branch (the Riksdag of the Estates). The King and Riksdag possessed joint power over legislation (article 87, constitutional law in articles 81-86), while the Riksdag had sole power over the budget and state incomes and expenses (articles 57-77) including military burdens (article 73). While the king’s power was somewhat reduced compared to the enlightened absolutism of Gustaf III, the new document enabled the king to take a more active role in politics than during the Age of Liberty.

The liberals won a decisive victory in 1917, but Gustaf III tried to appoint another conservative ministry. However, it could not garner nearly enough support in the Riksdag. It was now obvious that the king could no longer pick a government entirely of his choosing, nor could he keep it in office against the will of the Riksdag. Gustaf yielded and appointed a liberal-social democratic coalition that effectively arrogated most of the crown’s political powers to itself.

At that time, it was definitively established that ministers were politically responsible (not just legally) to the Riksdag. From then on, while ministers were still formally appointed by the king, convention required him to ensure they had the support of a majority in the Riksdag and to act on his ministers’ advice. Although the Instrument’s statement that “the King alone shall govern the realm” (article 4) remained unchanged, it was understood that he was to exercise his powers through the ministers, who did most of the actual work of governing.

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

During the period when it was in force several important reforms took place without affecting its status. In 1866 the Four Estates were replaced by a bicameral parliament, and in 1876 the office of the Prime Minister of Sweden was introduced. In the early 20th century universal suffrage was introduced and the country became a de facto parliamentary monarchy. In 1970 the parliament was transformed from a bicameral legislature to a unicameral one.

In 1975, it was replaced by a new Instrument of Government, which stripped the king of even nominal political power and made Sweden a de facto crowned republic.