Florence Stephens

As a child, Stephens and her younger sisters Mary (1882–1953) and Maggie (1883–1958) were given a conventional education considered suitable for a female member of the upper class with no purpose in life other than to marry a member of the aristocracy and be a good society hostess; they were tutored at home by a governess and given good knowledge in languages and literature, but received no formal education.[1] Stephens, however, never married.

When she inherited the estate of her father in 1934, she had no knowledge of estate management, and became totally dependent upon advisers in how to manage her estate and economy. Reportedly, she showed a lack of judgement in whom she appointed, and gave responsibility to the wrong people for the wrong reasons, often celebrities whom she liked but who did not have the necessary expertise.[2] As a royalist, she made King Gustav V's nephew, Prince Carl Bernadotte, her financial adviser and heir. As a result, the Huseby estates were severely misused and drained of assets through abuse of the land, forests and bad affairs.[3] In parallel, Stephens was a celebrated society hostess, and often entertained royalty such as King Gustav in her home.

In 1956, the municipal council applied for the by then elderly Stephens to be made a ward of court, to prevent any further misuse of her property. In 1957, she was persuaded to give up her legal majority and to agree to her affairs being controlled by a guardian.[4] This resulted in public prosecutions of her former advisers, which caused the so-called "Husebyskandalen" ('Huseby Scandal').[5] The process was dragged out until 1962. Her former adviser Berl Gutenberg was sentenced to prison. Stephens used the press to gain sympathy from the Swedish public, because of the humiliating treatment she was given by her guardian, Olof Malmqvist. At the same time, the media coverage of her previous luxury life and "escorts" was considered scandalous.

In 1975 Stephens was declared of legal majority again, but was not given back the control of her estate. She died in 1979, aged 97, and in her last will she donated Huseby to the Swedish state.[6]