Princess Birgitta of Sweden
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Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (Birgitta Ingeborg Alice) (January 19, 1937-) was born at Haga Palace in Sweden. She is a sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf.
She is the second child of late Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and late Princess Sibylla of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha and a granddaughter of late King Gustaf VI Adolf. Her sisters are Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler; Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld; and Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson.
As the (currently estranged) wife of HSH Johann Georg, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, she is the only one of the sisters to marry a man of royal status and thus retain the style of Royal Highness.
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On a visit in 1959 to friends and relatives in Germany, the princess met her future husband at a cocktail party. On 15 December 1960, her engagement to Johann Georg Carl Leopold Eitel-Friedrich Meinrad Maria Hubertus Michael, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was announced. The civil ceremony took place at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on 25 May 1961, and the religious in the Sankt Johann Church at the bridegroom's family palace Sigmaringen on July 31, 1961.
Prince Johann Georg and Princess Birgitta separated in 1990, though they remain legally married. She lives on the island Mallorca in Spain, while her husband, known as "Hansi," lives in Munich and is the director of a museum.
Princess Birgitta performs a lot of assignments for golf and charity (not in Sweden), and is a Honorary Board Member of The Royal Swedish Golf Society (which she took over when her uncle Prince Bertil died). She has her own golf competition in Majorca, "The Princess Birgitta Trophy" at her home golf course. She participates in the celebrations of the Swedish Lucia every year, and also the party held at her golf club on Sweden’s National Day.
Princess Birgitta's marriage has produced three children:
- HSH Prince Carl Christian of Hohenzollern
- HSH Princess Désirée of Hohenzollern
- HSH Prince Hubertus of Hohenzollern