Duchies in Sweden have been allotted since the 13th century to powerful Swedes, almost always to Princes of Sweden (only in some of the dynasties) and wives of the latter. From the beginning these duchies were often centers of regional power, where their dukes and duchesses had considerable executive authority of their own, under the central power of their kings or queens regnant. Since the reign of King Gustav III the titles have practically been nominal, with which their bearers only rarely have enjoyed any ducal authority, though often maintaining specially selected leisure residences in their provinces and some limited measure of cultural attachment to them.
In Sweden today, Duke (hertig) is considered a royal title, and is only given to members of the Royal House (currently Bernadotte). This modern duchy has always been limited to one of the historical provinces of Sweden, which are no longer governmental entities. Currently, there are four such duchies one of which includes two provinces:
The titles are given for life, though they are not used by monarchs after accession to the throne, but unlike British duchies, for example, they are not hereditary. Wives of dukes are also created duchesses, a policy that now also applies to the husband of a duchess, following the marriage of Crown Princess Victoria to Prince Daniel né Westling (above). The titles have not been conferred on women who became Swedish queens by marrying kings, such as the current Queen Silvia of Sweden.
The first use in Swedish of the title of duke was for Magnus Birgersson, son of Birger jarl. The title "duke" ("hertig", from German "herzog") then replaced the older "jarl"; both of them were translated into the latin "dux".[1]
From the 12th or 13th century and until 1618, in some Swedish royal houses, when a king had more than one son, he gave each or some of them duchies to rule as fiefs. The geography of these duchies could be unclear, as they were not generally within the boundaries of one province and could also be reallotted with territorial changes. Feuds between a king and ducal brothers were common, and ended at times in assassination and fratricide. There were only one non-royal duke, Benedict, Duke of Halland.
After the Kalmar Union period, just before his death in 1560, King Gustav I reinstated the tradition by making his sons John, Magnus and Carl powerful dukes, together ruling much more of the kingdom than their older half-brother Eric, who had a less significant duchy in the southeast. When the last-named became King Eric XIV, the imbalance of power his father had created became destructive. John revolted, dethroned Eric and became king; Magnus was unimportant due to mental health issues, but Carl's duchy of Södermanland prospered as a separate territory for several decades and was a powerful factor in his own aspirations to the throne. The duchy was inherited by his younger son, Carl Philip, who died in 1622 having been the last holder of a semi-autonomous Swedish duchy, which his brother, King Gustav II Adolph, officially abolished in 1618.
During the subsequent rule of Queen Christina of Sweden, however, her cousin and heir Carl Gustav of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken was titled Duke of Eyland (Öland) by the Swedish sovereign herself, but her government refused to acknowledge the title officially.[2]
In 1772, King Gustav III reinstated the courtesy title of Duke for his brothers, which did add to the international prestige and domestic influence of at least one of them. Since then, all Swedish princes have been created dukes of a province at birth, as well as one Great Prince or Grand Duke of Finland (who died in infancy). During the 20th century, because of constitutional restraints, several princes gave up their royal titles for marriages that were not approved by the King (see Bernadotte af Wisborg). Whether or not they then actually lost their ducal titles too has never been formally or legally determined.
For the first time since the 14th century a Princess of Sweden was created duchess in her own right in 1980, when the Act of Succession was changed so that Princess Victoria became Crown Princess and also was created Duchess of West Gothland. Her younger sister Madeleine was the first princess to be created duchess at birth, and also the first to get a double duchy (see above), roughly corresponding with the modern governmental limits of Gävleborg County. Such modern ducal titles are handled by the King personally and unregulated by law, so it remains to be seen which possible future children of the three royal siblings might be given them; the same applies to possible future spouses of Carl Philip and Madeleine.
Now the title holders are mainly known domestically as Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine and Princess Lilian though their ducal titles often are included in formal communication and royal court usage. In writing to them, it is considered correct to address all of them but the Crown Princess by ducal title. As of 1772, the dukes and duchesses do not reside permanently within their duchies, though they are associated with them to some extent by making occasional visits, seen as beneficial to public relations for the County Administrative Boards and local business.
Professor of art history Jan Svanberg is of the opinion that since Birger Jarl wore a ducal coronet of English and continental European design, he actually was a duke, and that his Latin title of Dux Sueorum should be given as Duke and Regent of Sweden in English.[3] In Sweden and in Swedish then, the meaning of the Latin dux was still interpreted as jarl until Birger's son officially was given the new hertig title, which the Swedes saw, from then on, as the equivalent of duke.[4] Svanberg's opinion would then make duchesses of both of Birger's wives, in English usage. Other writers have attributed this powerful position that Birger attained to his royal marriage to his first consort[5] as well as the outcome of the Battle of Sparrsätra.[6] Since his son, however, was the first to bear the Swedish title of hertig, this list begins, in the chronological aspect, with him.
This list of dukes and duchesses in Sweden excludes minor duchies (individual towns, manors, mines, estates) as well as former lands and provinces such as Finland and Estonia which are no longer in the kingdom. Established English exonyms[7] are used here as the principal names of some of the provinces. Years given are those during which ducal titles incontestably were held, regardless of subsequent status as monarchs or former royalty.
See West Bothnia.
See West Gothland.