Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg

Carl Johan Arthur Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, RE formerly Prince Carl Johan Arthur of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna (born Stockholm, 31 October 1916), is the paternal uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and the maternal uncle of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and former Queen-consort Anne-Marie of Greece. He is the fifth and youngest child, and the fourth son, of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught.^[1]

Marriages

Bernadotte lost his succession rights to the Swedish throne and renounced his titles in 1946 when he married in New York City, New York on 19 February a woman who was not of equal rank (i.e., not of a sovereign house), Elin Kerstin Margaretha Wijkmark (Stockholm, 4 October 1910 – Kungsberga, 11 September 1987), daughter of Henning Wijkmark and wife Elin Larsson. However, he is still present in the line of succession to the British throne.

In Copenhagen on 29 September 1988 he married Countess Gunnila Märtha Louise Wachtmeister af Johannishus (Stockholm, 12 May 1923), daughter of Count Nils Wachtmeister af Johannishus and wife Baroness Märta de Geer af Leufsta.

Title

Bernadotte was created Count of Wisborg by Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, on 2 July 1951.

The count celebrated his 95th birthday on 31 October 2011. He is the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, following the death in 2007 of Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark. On 29 June 2011, he surpassed his elder brother Sigvard (1907-2002) as the longest-lived of Queen Victoria's male descendants.

He was chairman of Ointroducerad Adels Förening, the association of unintroduced nobility in Sweden, 1948-1963.

Children

Bernadotte has two adopted children:

• Monica Kristina Margaretha Bernadotte (b. 5 March 1948, adopted in 1951). Married on 16 January 1976 and divorced in 1997 Count Johan Peder Bonde af Björnö (b. Göteborg, Sweden, 5 May 1950). They have three children.
• Christian Carl Henning Bernadotte (b. 3 December 1949, adopted in 1950). Married on 13 September 1980 Marianne Jenny (b. Zurich, Switzerland, 31 January 1958), daughter of Jacques Jenny and wife Caroline Yvonne Venter. They have three children.

Titles from birth

• His Royal Highness Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna (31 October 1916 – 19 February 1946)
• His Royal Highness Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna, RE (21 May 1935 - 19 February 1946)
• His Excellency Carl Johan Bernadotte, RE (19 February 1946 – 2 July 1951)
• His Excellency Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg, RE (2 July 1951 to present)

Ancestry

Bernadotte is descended from King Gustaf V of Sweden through his father King Gustaf VI Adolf, and from Queen Victoria's son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, through Prince Arthur's daughter Princess Margaret of Connaught. He is at present the eldest living descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

References

External links

• Royal House of Sweden