Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla; born 2 June 1938) is the third child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and granddaughter of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. Her younger brother is King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Princess Désirée
Baroness Silfverschiöld
Silfverschiöld prior to the wedding of her niece Madeleine in June 2013
Born (1938-06-02) 2 June 1938
Haga Palace, Solna, Sweden
Spouse
Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld
​
​
(m. 1964; died 2017)​
IssueBaron Carl Silfverschiöld
Baroness Christina-Louise Silfverschiöld
Baroness Hélène Silfverschiöld
Full name
Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla Silfverschiöld
HouseBernadotte
FatherPrince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
MotherPrincess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Early life

Désirée was born on 2 June 1938 as the third daughter and child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (son of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and his late wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught) and his wife, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (daughter of Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife, Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein).

Desiree was christened on 30 June 1938 at Solna Church in the Solna Municipality of Stockholm, Sweden;[1] She was given the names: Desiree after her great-4x grandmother Queen Desideria and Sibylla after her mother, Princess Sibylla.

She grew up at the family home, Haga Palace outside Stockholm, with her three sisters; together they were known as the Haga Princesses.

In November 1960, Désirée accompanied her elder sister Princess Birgitta for a visit to the United States on behalf of their grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf for the 50th anniversary of The American-Scandinavian Foundation. In their honour a ball was organised for the two princesses at the Renaissance Blackstone Hotel in Chicago by Mayor Richard Daley.[2]

Marriage and children
The Silfverschiöld couple after their wedding.

Désirée's engagement to Baron Nils-August Otto Carl Niclas Silfverschiöld, (31 May 1934 – 11 April 2017), son of Baron Carl Silfverschiöld and wife Madeleine Bennich, was announced on 18 December 1963, and the couple married on 5 June 1964 in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. As a result of her non-royal marriage, she lost her style of Royal Highness and her position as a princess of Sweden,[3] but was given the courtesy Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld by the King. Under the Swedish constitution of that time, she, as a woman, and her descendants were not eligible to inherit the throne. When this was later changed to absolute primogeniture the right of succession was limited to the descendants of her brother, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld's marriage has produced three children: Carl (b. 1965), Christina-Louise (b. 1966), and Hélène (b. 1968). In 1976, Hélène was a bridesmaid at the weddings of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, and of Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian.[4]

Since getting married, Silfverschiöld lives in the family's home at Koberg Castle and at Gåsevadholm Castle in Halland.[5]

Silfverschiöld is Crown Princess Victoria's godmother. Her grandson Ian was a pageboy at Victoria's wedding.[6]

Later life

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, has occasionally attended Nobel Prize festivities and public royal-family events in Stockholm in a semi-official capacity, sometimes wearing tiaras and jewelry belonging to the royal family.[7] She also represented Sweden in first receiving Emperor Akihito of Japan when he arrived for a state visit in 2000.[8] She was widowed in 2017.[9]

Honours
See also: List of honours of the Swedish Royal Family by country
Désirée's original coat of arms when she was a princess of Sweden.
  • 2 June 1938 — 5 June 1964: Her Royal Highness Princess Désirée of Sweden
  • 5 June 1964 — present: Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld

National honours

Foreign honours

Ancestry

References
  1. "Stock Photo - Christening of Princess Desiree of Sweden at the Church of Solna, Sweden, 30 June 1938. Princess Desiree (1938-), the third daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of". Alamy.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  2. "November 3, 1960 - 2 Princesses Will Visit Chicago". Archives.chicagotribune.com. 1960-11-03. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  3. Royal Court lists those who are HRH as such, also naming them as Swedish royalty in their bio articles there, and does not give such info for other relatives listed.
  4. "Finaste gåvan får Carl Philip". Aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  5. "Gasevadholm". Slottsguiden.info. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  6. "Royal wedding guest list published". Stockholm News. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  7. Royal Court article 2013-06-08
  8. Article by Bengt Falkkloo in Dagens Nyheter 2000-05-29
  9. Article by Kaj Falkman in Dagens Nyheter 2017-04-24
  10. "Princess Desiree wearing the Royal Order of Seraphim and Royal Decoration of Carl XVI Gustaf". Aftonbladet.se. Archived from the original (PNG) on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  11. "Princess Desiree wearing the Royal Order of Seraphim and Royal Decoration of King Gustaf VI Adolf" (JPG). Ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  12. "Image: (736 × 785 px)". S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  13. "Princess Desiree wearing the Royal Order of Seraphim and Royal Decoration of Gustaf VI Adolf" (JPG). Alamy.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  14. "Photographic image" (JPG). C8.alamy.com. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  15. "Photographic image" (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  16. "Photographic image" (JPG). Oi64.tinypic.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  17. "Photographic image" (JPG). Res.cloudinary.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  18. "Photographic image". Svenskdam.se. Archived from the original (JPG) on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  19. "Image (319 × 480 px)". S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  20. "Photographic image" (JPG). S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  21. "Photographic image". Theroyalforums.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  22. "Photographic image". Svenskdam.se. Archived from the original (JPG) on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  23. "William Tubman and Princess Desiree of Sweden in Stockholm 1962". Gettyimages.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  24. "Photographic image". Geheugenvannderland.nl. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  25. "Photographic image" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  26. "Image (430 × 600 px)". S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
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