Prince Carl, Duke Of Västergötland

Through his daughters Märtha and Astrid, for whom he arranged excellent dynastic marriages, he is an ancestor of current members of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg, Belgian royal family and Norwegian royal family.

Prince Carl
Duke of Västergötland
Photograph of Prince Carl, c. 1930
Born	(1861-02-27)27 February 1861 Arvfurstens palats, Stockholm, Sweden
Died	24 October 1951(1951-10-24) (aged 90) Stockholm, Sweden
Spouse	Princess Ingeborg of Denmark ​ ​ (m. 1897)​
Issue	Margaretha, Princess Axel of Denmark Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway Astrid, Queen of the Belgians Prince Carl Bernadotte
Names Oscar Carl Wilhelm
House	Bernadotte
Father	Oscar II of Sweden
Mother	Sophia of Nassau

 

 

Prince Carl was born on (1861-02-27)27 February 1861 at his parent's residence in the Arvfurstens palats (English: Palace of the Hereditary Prince), an 18th century palace located at Gustav Adolfs Torg in central Stockholm. Born into the House of Bernadotte, he was the third son and child of the then Prince Oscar and Princess Sophia. His father was the younger brother and heir presumptive of the reigning king of Sweden-Norway, the sonless King Charles XV, and his mother was the youngest daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau. Upon the death of Charles XV on 18 September 1872, Carl's father ascended the Swedish and Norwegian thrones as King Oscar II.

 

Carl was known as "the Blue Prince" (Blå Prinsen) because he often wore the blue-coloured uniform of the Life Regiment, to which he belonged in a ceremonial manner.

 

In May 1897, Prince Carl was engaged at the age of 36 to the 17 year old Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, the second daughter of King Frederik VIII of Denmark. Ingeborg's mother, Louise of Sweden, was a first cousin of Prince Carl, and they were, therefore, first cousins once-removed. The engagement was arranged, and in 1947, on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, Carl admitted that their marriage had been completely arranged by their respective fathers, and Ingeborg herself added : "I married a complete stranger!"

The couple were married on 27 August 1897 at the chapel of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen and spent their wedding trip (honeymoon) in Germany. The couple had four children:

1. Margaretha (1899–1977), who married Prince Axel of Denmark
2. Märtha (1901–1954), wife of Crown Prince Olav of Norway and mother of Harald V of Norway
3. Astrid (1905–1935), wife of Leopold III of Belgium and mother of kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium, as well as Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg.
4. Carl, Duke of Östergötland, known as Carl Jr., later Prince Bernadotte (1911–2003).

All of Carl's children grew up to be healthy adults. While all three daughters made dynastic marriages that were encouraged by their parents, and became the matriarchs of their own successful families, the couple's only son gave up his (highly improbable) chance of succeeding to the throne to marry a noblewoman.

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. It was thought that electing a Swedish prince as king was a less radical way for Norway to secede from the union, and hence a more peaceful approach. Carl was chosen because his eldest brother would inherit the Swedish throne, and his second brother had renounced his royal status to make an unsuitable marriage. However, Carl's father King Oscar II of Sweden did not approve of the proposal, as he saw the whole "riot" which precipitated the Norwegian crisis as a conspiracy and a betrayal against his rights as King of Norway, and he did not want any of his sons to be involved with people whom he considered his enemies. Therefore, Prince Carl never became King of Norway. Instead, another Prince Carl – Prince Carl of Denmark – was elected after some diplomatic turbulence, taking the name Haakon VII. As history turned out however, the Duke of Västergötland's daughter, Princess Märtha, married Haakon VII's son, who later became King Olav V. Hence, the present King, Harald V of Norway, is a grandchild of the duke.

Prince Carl has the distinction of being a grandfather of three reigning European monarchs: King Harald V of Norway (son of his daughter, Princess Märtha), the late King Baudouin of the Belgians and his brother, King Albert II of the Belgians (sons of his daughter, Princess Astrid). He is also a great-grandfather of King Philippe of the Belgians and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

National honours

• Knight and Commander of the Seraphim, 27 February 1861
• Knight of the Order of Charles XIII, 27 February 1861
• Commander Grand Cross of the Sword, 27 February 1861
• Commander Grand Cross of the Polar Star, 27 February 1861
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of Vasa, 28 April 1892
• Honorary Member of the Johanniter Order

Foreign honours

Arms

•  
  Arms as Prince of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Västergötland 1861 to 1905
•  
  Arms as Prince of Sweden and Duke of Västergötland after 1907

Citations

• Newspaper clippings about Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW