| Princess Sibylla | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Västerbotten | |
| Princess Sibylla in the 1930s | |
| Spouse | Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten |
| Issue | |
| Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler Princess Birgitta of Sweden Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden |
|
| Full name | |
| Sibylla Calma Maria Alice Bathildis Feodora | |
| House | House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a branch of the House of Wettin |
| Father | Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
| Mother | Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Born | 18 January 1908 Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
| Died | 28 November 1972 (aged 64) Stockholm, Sweden |
Princess Sibylla of Sweden, Duchess of Västerbotten (born Princess Sibylla Calma Maria Alice Bathildis Feodora of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Schloss Friedenstein, 18 January 1908 – Stockholm, 28 November 1972), was the wife of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and is the mother of the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf.
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She was the daughter of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein, a daughter of Princess Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, and descended from an older Scandinavian royal house. Through her father, she was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Her grandfather was Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
In November 1931, Sibylla was in London to attend the wedding of Lady May Abel Smith as a bridesmaid. One of the other bridesmaids was Ingrid of Sweden, who introduced Sibylla to her brother, Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten. The engagement was announced at Callenberg Palace in Coburg 16 June 1932.
On 19 October in Coburg, Sibylla married her second cousin Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten in a civil ceremony, followed by a church wedding the day after. Gustaf Adolf was the eldest son of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden (later Gustaf VI Adolf) and Princess Margaret of Connaught, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Both Sibylla and Gustaf Adolf were great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria. Sibylla never became Crown Princess herself since her husband died before his grandfather (King Gustav V). The wedding was celebrated in a very grand official manner in Coburg, as President Hindenburg had ordered that no official military honors should be spared to celebrate the wedding officially.[1] However, as the city of Coburg was dominated by the Nazi party at the time, the official celebrations there was influenced by the Nazi Party, which made a very bad impression in Sweden.[2] The couple spent their honeymoon in Italy before arriving in Stockholm 25 November 1932.
The couple settled at Haga Palace, and their four daughters were to be commonly known during their childhood as "Hagaprinsessorna" (English: "The Haga Princesses"). Sibylla started her royal duties already a couple of days after her arrival, when she awarded the winner at a fencing tournament, assisted by Princess Ingrid. Sibylla shared her husband's enthusiasm for sport and outdoor activities, and the couple own a cottage in at Ingarö and another one in Storlien.[3] She was a keen supporter of the Swedish Girl Guide movement. She is shown in a photo wearing a Guide uniform with her husband at a reception (see his article).
Sibylla was, however, not very popular in Sweden. She and her husband was frequent guests at various German associations and clubs in Stockholm, which made them suspicions in the eyes of a public and press which during the 1930s easily associated everything German with the Nazi party.[4] The fact that members of her own family and relatives in Germany were active within Nazism also affected her own reputation in Sweden. Additionally, she had difficulty in learning the Swedish language, which added to the distance between her and the Swedish public.[5] Sibylla became more reserved, and her and her husband's relationship to the press was never very good, though Sibylla made efforts to break the distance.
Among her official assignments were the chairmanship of Sällskapet Barnavård (English:"The Childcare Society") in 1948, as well as being honorary chairman of Hörselfrämjandet (English:"The Hearing Society") in 1935, Sveriges flickscoutråd (English:"The Swedish Girls Scouts") in 1939, Kvinnliga bilkåren (English:"The Women's Automobile Force") in 1939, Stiftelsen Solstickan (English:"The Solstickan Society") in 1941 and Stiftelsen Drottning Victorias Vilohem på Öland (English: "The Queen Victoria Resting Home in Öland") in 1951. In 1938, she herself founded Prinsessan Sibyllas S:t Martin-stiftelse (English:"The Princess Sibylla Foundation of S:t Martin").
Sibylla was widowed in 1947 when Gustaf Adolf died in an airplane crash at the Copenhagen Airport in Denmark. Their son, Carl Gustaf, became second-in-line to the throne at the age of one year, and later Crown Prince at the age of four. In 1950, she moved in to the Royal Palace of Stockholm from Haga. During the summers, she stayed at Solliden. During these years, she developed in interest in environment issues and nature protection.
After her stepmother-in-law Queen Louise died in 1965, Sibylla became the senior Royal Princess of Sweden, acting in a supporting role for her father-in-law, King Gustaf VI Adolf. During these years, she enjoyed somewhat more popularity, as she was more exposed and her humour and sense of self irony became more known and appreciated. She continued with the so called "Democratic ladies lunches" for career women, which was instigated by Queen Louise as a replacement for the court presentation in 1962.
Sibylla died of cancer before her son ascended to the throne.
Sibylla always had a difficult time in Sweden. She never adjusted to Swedish culture and was under pressure to produce a male heir after the births of four daughters. She was disliked by some Swedes for her German background and her father's support of the Nazis. The journalist Barbro Alving said about her, that Sibylla had "a warmth in her personality, a friendly eagerness in her interest for people which was perhaps greater than most in this country may have thought".
| Styles of Princess Sibylla of Sweden |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Sibylla and Gustaf Adolf had five children:
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler | 31 October 1934 | married John Kenneth Ambler, has issue | |
| HRH Princess Birgitta of Sweden | 31 January 1937 | married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, has issue | |
| Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld | 2 June 1938 | married Baron Nils-August Otto Carl Niclas Silfverschiöld, has issue | |
| Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson | 3 August 1943 | married Tord Gösta Magnuson, has issue | |
| HM King Carl XVI Gustaf | 30 April 1946 | married Silvia Sommerlath, has issue |
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