Sad news today! Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern has passed away at the age of 87 in Mallorca! The elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Princess Birgitta married a Hohenzollern Prince and lived in Mallorca.
King Carl XVI Gustaf have made the following statement:
“With great sadness today I received the news that my sister, Princess Birgitta, has passed away. My sister was a colourful and forthright person who will be deeply missed by me and my family. Together with my entire family, today I send my condolences to Princess Birgitta’s children and grandchildren.”
The daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess Birgitta was the the second of the four ‘Haga Princesses’ and sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She was also the first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Princess Birgitta recalled that the Second World War was felt in the royal household, for example with rationed butter and darkening of the windows. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf told her that he did not want “…for our family to have any special privileges…while other people are forced to give up so much.”
The first week of the summer holidays was spent at Sofiero castle and then the family went on to Falsterbo for sun and swimming. After that followed two weeks at Solliden with great-grandfather King Gustaf V.
A tragic turn in the family’s life occurred when Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf died in a plane crash in 1947 in Denmark. Princess Birgitta had just turned ten years old and the sadness and longing for her father never left her.
Princess Birgitta attended her first schooling at the Royal Palace in a privately taught class of six girls, daughters of family acquaintances. She describes in her own words that she had difficulty adapting to school but found herself at home in the scouts, the “Bluewings”.
In 1961, she married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, son of the Prince of Hohenzollern, in a civil ceremony in Sweden and a religious ceremony in the groom’s native Germany. The couple had three children but separated in 1990, while continuing to attend royal events together. Princess Birgitta was widowed in 2016 and resided in Spain since the 1990s.
Princess Birgitta, who in her youth had taken a course in sewing and tailoring at Märthaskolan, was very interested in fashion and for a period she worked as a photo model. She also owned her own clothing store in Munich in the 1980s. She also continued her work with sports by publishing the LP “Spänsta med Birgitta” in 1967, an exercise program with an accompanying book.
In 1997, Princess Birgitta wrote the memoir “Min egen väg” in collaboration with Fred König. She was also the summer host of P1 in 2009 and appeared in the SVT documentary “Sessan – a royal saga” by Jens Lind in 2022. In these she describes in a personal way her upbringing as a princess, her life with her family in Munich and her years abroad.
Princess Birgitta moved in the mid-1990s to Mallorca, where she could live close to nature, mountains and light. Here her golfing was at the center and it gave her a healthy and social life.
Pearl Circle Tiara | Hohenzollern Clover Coronet | Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure | Nine Prong Tiara | Baden Fringe Tiara | Queen Louise’s Diamond Tiara | Connaught Diamond Tiara | Swedish Cameo Parure | Hohenzollern Sapphire Parure | Sapphire Necklace | Diamond Bracelet Bandeau | Princess Sibylla’s 5-Strand Pearl Necklace
