Princess Birgitta, sister of Carl Gustav of Sweden, died this Wednesday at the age of 87 in Mallorca, where she lived for decades. “It is with great sadness that I have learned of the death of my sister, Princess Brigitta. She was a strong personality and a person of great sincerity who will be deeply missed by my family and I. Together with the entire family, I extend my deepest condolences to Birgitta’s children and grandchildren. Let me know,” Sweden’s king said in a statement.
© Birgitta from Kungahuset, SwedenThe King has decided that flags at Drottningholm Palace and Haga Palace will be at half-mast this Thursday. In accordance with her wishes, the princess’s body will be laid to rest in the royal cemetery in Hagaparken Park, north of Stockholm, an extensive green area consisting of large brown areas, forests and gardens. The funeral will be intimate and confined to the family circle.
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© Getty ImagesBirgitta of Sweden was born on January 19, 1937 at Haga Castle and was the second of five children born to Crown Prince Gustav Adolf and Princess Sybil. She grew up with her four siblings, Princess Margaret, Princess Desiree, Princess Christina and the then Prince Carl Gustav. She became very popular after her birth and her name started being given to girls of her generation. The four sisters of the present king were called ‘Hagasesorna’.
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© GTRESThe five brothers had a peaceful childhood, filled with play, nature and travel. In the palace, the crown prince’s family had several animals such as ducks, goats and a pony named Eva, a gift from his father. Happy family scenes immortalized in several documentaries.
© Photo: Jonas Borg/Royal Court of SwedenThroughout her life, Birgitta lived through some of the most important moments in history, such as World War II where she recounted how butter was rationed and windows were darkened. Prince Gustav Adolphus told her that he did not want “the family to have privileges… while other people are forced to give up so much.”
© GTRESFather’s tragic death
His life took a dramatic turn when his father died in a plane crash in Denmark in 1947. Birgitta, who came from Sweden, was only ten years old and the sadness and longing for her father never left her. She attended a private class at the Royal Palace along with six other girls, daughters of friends of the Royal Family. At age 14 she started at a French school and then went to a school for girls in Chateauz d’Oex, Switzerland.
© Getty ImagesFor some time, the princess participated in representative work for her country, state visits and all kinds of events, which she combined with sports. He was a Swedish fencing champion and in 1936 he competed in the equestrian competition at the Berlin Olympic Games. Besides horse riding and fencing, he was fond of tennis and golf. He trained as director of gymnastics at the Central Gymnastics Institute between 1956 and 1958, which he himself described as “a great time”.
© Getty ImagesIn the fall of 1959 he went to Munich, Germany to study German, and there he met the German prince and art historian Johann Georg von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, known as Hansi. They were married civilly on May 25, 1961, and were consecrated a few days later in Germany. At her wedding, her only jewels were Queen Josephine’s tiara, a duchess silk wedding dress made by Marthascolan, and a tulle veil. The train is detachable and was worn by the Queen during her marriage to the King. Since yellow was her favorite color, her bridal bouquet was made of yellow and white roses. In addition, the bouquet She had a myrtle from the tree that Crown Princess Margaret, Crown Princess Margaret, had brought from England and planted at Sofiero Castle.
© Getty ImagesAfter their marriage, the couple settled in Munich and welcomed their three children, Karl Christian (1962), Desire (1963) and Hubertus (1966). There she worked for a while as a photography model and in the 80s she owned her own clothing store. Among his many occupations and interests, he edited a book on sports, wrote his memoirs, and was a television presenter.
© Getty ImagesYour Balearic retreat
In the mid-90s he moved to Mallorca, where he was able to live close to nature, the mountains and the sun. There he played golf and found a new home where he had a great social life and where he died. He described himself as a strong-willed person and valued commitment and family. The princess wanted to build bridges between the countries and participated in the Royal Society of Sweden in Hong Kong, which promoted trade between the two countries. Environmental issues were also very important to him. He co-founded the HELP organization for vulnerable children around the world, to which he donated much of the proceeds from his biography. “As I always say when people ask me to do something for charity, I only say it if it involves children because they are our future.”
