Countship of Wisborg | |
---|---|
Creation date | 2 April 1892 |
Created by | Monarch of Luxembourg |
Peerage | Peerage of Sweden |
The Count of Wisborg (Swedish : Greve af Wisborg, French : Comte de Wisborg, German : Graf von Wisborg) is a title of nobility granted by the Monarch of Luxembourg to some male-members of the Swedish royal family, including their spouses and descendants. Since 1892, the title has been borne by the male-line descendants of four Princes of Sweden who married without the consent of the King of Sweden, thereby losing their right of succession to the throne for themselves and their descendants, and had their royal titles prohibited. [1]
The four former Princes of Sweden, after use of their titles no longer was allowed, assumed the surname of Bernadotte. In each case they were given the title of nobility Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg by the reigning Grand Duke or Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. [2] [3] The latter title (count or countess) was shared with the children of each prince, since subsequent generations in the male line were authorized to bear only the title "Count of Wisborg", Bernadotte being recognized as their surname by birth. [2] In some cases, this titulature has not been adhered to, usage of the style Count [Firstname] Bernadotte af Wisborg having been adopted by some of the descendants. [2]
Their legitimate titles of nobility, however, have not been Swedish but Luxembourgish. In Sweden, none of these title holders were admitted to the Swedish House of Nobility. However, Prince Oscar was admitted in 1945 and his son Carl in 1963 as an honorary member of the Sveriges Ointroducerade Adels Förening (Association of the unintroduced nobility in Sweden), which brings together the bearers of non-Swedish titles living in Sweden. [4]
Four original princes of Sweden were admitted in the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and given the title Count of Wisborg: [2]
A fifth prince of Sweden, Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland (1911–2003), only son of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland and grandson of King Oscar II, married morganatically and relinquished his Swedish titles in 1937. He was given the title Prince Bernadotte by his brother-in-law King Leopold III of Belgium. His male-line descendants would have borne the title Count Bernadotte, but in fact his only child is a daughter (Mrs. Madeleine Kogevinas, Countess Madeleine Bernadotte).
The agnatic (male-line) descendants of each of these four former princes of Sweden, after the first generation of children, are entitled to the title Count of Wisborg, but in practice, their surname is often included in the title, Count Bernadotte af Wisborg. [2]
The most well-known is Folke Bernadotte, a son of Oscar Bernadotte, the first Count of Wisborg. He was the United Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab–Israeli conflict of 1947–1948, assassinated in 1948 by Zionist militants.
A number of members of these families were guests at the 2010 Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling. [9]
Sophia of Nassau, also Sofia, was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Oscar II. She was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than anyone before her, and the longest-serving queen until 2011, when she was surpassed by Queen Silvia. She is also the most recent woman to have been officially Dowager Queen of Sweden.
The House of Bernadotte is the royal family of Sweden, founded there in 1818 by King Charles XIV John of Sweden. It was also the royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder was born in Pau in southern France as Jean Bernadotte. Bernadotte, who had been made a General of Division and Minister of War for his service in the French Army during the French Revolution, and Marshal of the French Empire and Prince of Ponte Corvo under Napoleon, was adopted by the elderly King Charles XIII of Sweden, who had no other heir and whose Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg thus was soon to be extinct on the Swedish throne. The current king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is a direct descendant of Charles XIV John.
Prince Oscar Carl August Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish religious activist, the second son of King Oscar II of Sweden and his consort, Sofia of Nassau. Born as a Prince of Sweden and Norway, he was known as Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland. However, by marrying contrary to Swedish constitutional requirements, he lost those titles, becoming instead Luxembourgish nobility as Prince Bernadotte and Count of Wisborg.
Charlotte was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. Her reign is the longest of any Luxembourgish monarch since 1815 when the country was elevated to a Grand Duchy.
The Swedish royal family since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal titles and styles, and perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state. The extended family of the King consists of other close relatives who are not royal and thus do not represent the country officially.
Duchies in Sweden have been allotted since the 13th century to powerful Swedes, almost always to princes of Sweden and wives of the latter. From the beginning these duchies were often centers of regional power, where their dukes and duchesses had considerable executive authority of their own, under the central power of their kings or queens regnant. Since the reign of King Gustav III the titles have practically been nominal, with which their bearers only rarely have enjoyed any ducal authority, though often maintaining specially selected leisure residences in their provinces and some limited measure of cultural attachment to them.
Prince Lennart Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish-German landscaper, filmmaker, photographer and was a grandson of King Gustaf V of Sweden. He was also the eldest great-grandchild of King George I of Greece.
Sigvard Oscar Fredrik, Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg born as, and until 1934 known as, Prince Sigvard of Sweden, Duke of Uppland, was a member of the Swedish Royal Family and a successful industrial designer.
Carl Johan Arthur, Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, was the fourth son and fifth and youngest child of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught.
Princess Birgitta of Sweden is a member of the Swedish royal family. She is the second child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and an elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf.
Visborg (Wisborg) refers to a fortress in the town of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland. Successive fortresses were built in Visby, though Visborg is usually in reference to the castle built here by King Eric of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Gullan Marianne, Princess Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg, also known as Princess Marianne Bernadotte, is a Swedish actress, fashion icon and philanthropist who in 1961 married Sigvard Bernadotte, the second son of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. Since the death of Gunnila Bernadotte in 2016, she is the last surviving aunt of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. She is officially included in the Swedish royal family, and on 23 January 2022, she surpassed her late sister-in-law Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, as the longest-living member on record of the royal family with the age of 97 years and 192 days; on 15 July 2024 she became the first official member of the royal family to turn 100 years old.
Kungliga begravningsplatsen, known in English as the Royal Cemetery, was first used in 1922 and has been the only official burial place of the Swedish royal family since 1950, succeeding Riddarholmen Church as such. It takes up all of the small island of Karlsborg in the bay of Brunnsviken. The cemetery is part of the popular Haga Park in Solna, Sweden.
The following lists events that happened during 1951 in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Estelle Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg (1928–1973), also known as Estelle Ekstrand, was an American-Swedish countess who was a leading figure in the International Red Cross and Girl Scout movement. She married Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish member of a United Nations mediating team. He was assassinated by the extremist Zionist Stern gang while on duty in Israel in September 1948.
Prince Bernadotte is a title that has been used by several members of the House of Bernadotte. It is most commonly known as a title granted to men who were formerly titled as princes of Sweden before losing their royal titles when they married unequally and against the Swedish constitution. It was created in 1892 as a non-hereditary title in the nobility of Luxembourg and conferred upon Oscar Bernadotte by Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. A title with the same name was subsequently created in 1937 as a non-hereditary title in the nobility of Belgium and conferred upon Carl Bernadotte by King Leopold III of Belgium. The wives of these princes of Luxembourgish and Belgian nobility were then granted the title of Princess Bernadotte. The title was also used in the early 19th century with reference to Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, the subsequent founder of the Swedish royal House of Bernadotte.
Gunnila Märta Louise Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg was a Swedish and Luxembourgish noblewoman.
A royal christening gown is an item of baptismal clothing used by a royal family at family christenings. Among those presently using such a gown are the royal families of the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. In most of these families, the tradition goes back over a century: as of 2019, the Swedish gown has been in service for 113 years, the Dutch gown for 139 years, and the Danish gown for 149 years; the current British gown has been in use since 2008. The Spanish gown has been in use for 81 years.
The wedding of Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, and Silvia Sommerlath took place on Friday, 19 June 1976 at Storkyrkan. Carl XVI Gustaf had been king of Sweden since 1973 and Sommerlath was a German-born translator. The couple had met at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich and became engaged in 1976.
The wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Princess Ingrid of Sweden took place on Friday, 24 May 1935 in Storkyrkan.