Princess Birgitta of Sweden's 85th Birthday!

Princess Birgitta in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 1999.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Gianni Ferrari.

Today, Princess Birgitta of Sweden celebrates her eighty-fifth birthday.

Princess Sibylle of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden on their wedding day at Coburg, 1932.

Princess Birgitta at a little over one month old.

Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla with their eldest daughter Princess Margaretha and their infant daughter Princess Birgitta, Haga, April 1937.

Born on 19 January 1937 at Haga, Princess Birgitta Ingeborg Alice of Sweden was the second daughter and child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906-1947), and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1908-1972), who married in 1932. Birgitta's paternal grandparents were King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (1882-1973) and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882-1920). Her maternal grandparents were Duke Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1884-1954) and his wife Princess  Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein (1885-1970).

Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitta, Princess Désirée, and Princess Christina of Sweden, 1945.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Hulton Deutsch.

Six month old Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden, the future King, 1946.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Bettmann.

Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla of Sweden had five children, four daughters and one son: Princess Margaretha (b.1934), Princess Birgitta (b.1937), Princess Désirée (b.1938), Princess Christina (b.1943), and Prince Carl Gustaf (b.1946). In January 1947, Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed when the Royal Dutch Airlines DS-3 aircraft on which the prince was a passenger crashed in Copenhagen shortly after its take-off for Stockholm. The prince had been a hunting guest of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. American soprano Grace Moore was one of the other twenty-plus victims of the plane crash.

Princess Birgitta in 1960.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Rolls Press / Popperfoto.

In the late 1950s, Princess Birgitta was a student at the Kungliga Gymnastiska Centralinstitutet (Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences) in Stockholm. Through her studies at the school, the princess became a trained gymnast and also an instructor in the sport. In 1958, Birgitta taught gymnastics to students at the Broms School in Stockholm. 

Princess Birgitta and Prince Johann Georg when their engagement was announced, 1960.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone.

On 15 December 1960, the Swedish royal court announced the engagement of Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern (1932-2016). The prince and princess met in 1959 at a cocktail party during a skiing holiday in Germany. Johann Georg was the son of Fürst Friedrich of Hohenzollern (1891-1965) and Princess Margrethe of Saxony (1900-1962). Birgitta and Johann Georg were fifth cousins; both were descendants of Duke Franz of Sachsen-Saalfeld-Coburg and his second wife Countess Auguste Reuss zu Lobenstein und Ebersdorf. 

The wedding day of Birgitta and Johann Georg, 1961.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone-France.

On 25 May 1961, Princess Birgitta and Prince Johann Georg took part in their civil marriage at the Royal Palace in Stockholm; Mayor Yngve Kristensson joined the prince and princess in matrimony. The simple ceremony lasted for only two minutes, but it was attended by 750 guests and televised. On 30 May, the couple celebrated their religious wedding at Sigmaringen, which was presided over by Father Benedict Rith.  

Prince Johann Georg and Princess Birgitta with their three children: Prince Carl Christian, Princess Désirée, and baby Prince Hubertus, 1966.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone-France.

Princess Birgitta and Prince Johann Georg had three children: Prince Carl Christian (b.1962; married Nicole Neschitsch), Princess Désirée (b.1963; married firstly to Hereditary Count Heinrich zu Ortenburg; married secondly to Eckbert von Bohlen und Halbach), and Prince Hubertus (b.1966; married Ute Maria König). Princess Birgitta has five grandchildren.

Princess Birgitta and Prince Johann Georg at the celebration of the prince's 50th birthday, 1982.
Photo (c) Getty Images / United Archives.

Princess Birgitta and Prince Johann Georg eventually quietly separated, though never legally, and they never divorced. Princess Birgitta preferred the warmer climate of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, where she could pursue her interest in golf; while Prince Johann Georg, an art historian, continued to reside in Germany. 

 

Princess Birgitta departing the funeral of her husband, 2016.
Photo (c) Getty Images / Picture Alliance.

 

Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern died on 2 March 2016, aged eighty-three. Johann Georg and Birgitta had been married for fifty-four years. The princess remains close to her family in Sweden. Princess Birgitta attended the 2010 wedding of her niece Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling, the 2013 wedding of her niece Princess Madeleine to Christopher O'Neill, and the 2015 wedding of her nephew Prince Carl Philip to Sofia Hellqvist.

 

Our congratulations to Princess Birgitta on her birthday!

Bertil and Lilian of Sweden Reflect on Their Lives in Candid 1985 Interview

Prince Bertil of Sweden and Lilian Davies Craig after the announcement of their engagement, Oct. 1976. Photo (c) Getty Images / Keystone.

In December 1985, Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian of Sweden, Duke and Duchess of Halland, paid a visit to the United States. During that time, the royal couple were guests of the Swedish-American Council of Greater Boston and the Swedish Council of America. While resting at their rooms at the Westin Hotel, both the prince and princess gave separate interviews, while expressing nearly identical sentiments, about their love for one another and their life together. Bertil and Lilian had married nine years before in 1976, after beginning a relationship in 1943.

Princess Lilian of Sweden.

Princess Lilian:

In a loving relationship a sense of humour is important. You have to laugh at the pressures in your life. Especially, you have to laugh at yourself. 

Companionship is one of the things that has made our relationship. We have always enjoyed doing the same things. We take long walks together. I love my husband's loyalty towards his duties, his job. Besides, he's a very good chef.

We wed late. Too late to have children. We had to wait such a long time to get married. I regret not having children. But now the queen's children are like my grandchildren. I makes up. Well, not quite.

We were not allowed to be seen in public for many years. I missed being with my husband. Sometimes I felt it wasn't nice. But it was nice that we were together, anyway. That made it less of a strain. We were always very much in love. We enjoyed every moment we were together.

My wedding day was the happiest day of my life. I was as nervous as a kitten. I had butterflies in my tummy. When we exchanged vows, I was afraid I wouldn't even remember my husband's name. I wore a wonderful pale blue gown.

Before our wedding, my husband asked: 'What will you wear on your head? We are of a certain age, so you cannot wear a tiara.' It was supposed to be a secret, the way I looked, so I just replied: 'A hat.' And he pressed on: 'But what kind of a hat?'

I thought he was being too curious. He wouldn't be put off. So I told him I was wearing feathers in my hair. Well, I'll never forget the astonished look on his face. 'Feathers?' he said and went silent. Actually, I wore a hat covered with feathers that were dyed to match my wedding gown. He told me then that I was a beautiful bride.

My husband is an ordinary man. He doesn't behave like a prince. When I have company, he helps me in the kitchen. We get dressed up for the job, like the Nobel Prize (award ceremonies), but as soon as we get home, we get into our favourite clothes: sweaters and trousers.

I'm a feminist. The first feminist decision I made was to live with the man I love. I chose to be with the prince. It was a long wait (marriage). But good things are worth waiting for, and my husband is a good man. Now I feel the challenge of our life is to do our job, to help the king and queen as much as we can.

Prince Bertil of Sweden in 1964.

Photo by Bergne Porträttstudio AB.

Prince Bertil:

I have always done my best to be a good prince. I have always had an agreeable life. I'm a prince, but I still like to do ordinary things, live an ordinary life. I am a very ordinary person. 

We have a house on the outskirts of Stockholm. We have a house in the south of France. We live simply. My office is in the palace. There, I have a suite, a great room for great receptions. But it's just part of the job.

I love the married life. I love my wife. She's very sweet. Love is the most important aspect of anyone's life. We've been together from the very first. The big regret I have is that I married late. We would have liked to have children.

All those years not being married wasn't easy. But we were very lucky. The Swedish press was very understanding, touch wood! It's really remarkable. I think they (the press) liked me. If they had wanted to be ruthless, they could have written badly about us and perhaps ruined our life. I asked them not to write about us at all, and they didn't. 

My wedding day was the happiest moment of my life. The first priority of our lives is that we always loved one another. We were comrades. We were friends. We helped each other. And all that loyalty still continues.

I was never bitter about not being able to marry. It was difficult for my father to give us permission to marry. I understand that. I had promised my father that I'd stay with him, to help him with his work. He was a wonderful man. I could talk to him about anything. Nothing every embarrassed him. 

I performed my duties, and I waited. No, we waited 33 years. That's a long time. But we were happy together, so it was not as bad as it may seem. We had a pleasant life. What was difficult was that she was not allowed to appear at my side in public. That hurt me. But what could I do? Somehow, we got used to it. Somehow. But she had courage. Now that the Swedish people know her, they love her. Even my father was kind to us. I know he liked her.

I'm 73 years old now. I still drive a car, but I don't race. I raced cars in 1936. I liked knowing how the engine stood up under pressure. I liked knowing how I stood up under pressure. I've always thought the sportsman was a happy man. I loved sports - any kind of sports. A sportsman is competitive. I like competition, especially on the Olympic level. The rivals are at war with each other. Yet the overriding spirit is unity. I do love unity.

I came to the United States first in 1938 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the first landing of Swedes in Wilmington, Del. We came by ship. My father fell ill. Kidney trouble. He got very sick. He said to me: 'You have to take over.'

I had never made a speech in my life. I was rather shaken at the prospect, very nervous. I was put in front of first-class professional speakers, like President Roosevelt. It was a big challenge. It was something I had to do. So I did it.

No one threw rotten eggs at me. I believe that was my real beginning, my baptism.

Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian in 1995. Photo (c) Getty Images / James Andanson.

Prince Bertil died in 1997 at the age of eighty-four. Princess Lilian passed away in 2013 at the age of ninety-seven. The couple had been together for fifty-four years and married for twenty-one. They are buried together at the Royal Cemetery in Solna.