Princess Margaret of Connaught

Princess Margaret of Connaught
Crown Princess of Sweden; Duchess of Scania
Spouse	Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden
Issue
Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland Ingrid, Queen of Denmark Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland Count Carl Johan, Bernadotte af Wisborg
Full name
Margaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah
House	House of Bernadotte House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father	Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Mother	Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
Born	(1882-01-15)15 January 1882 Bagshot Park, Surrey
Died	1 May 1920(1920-05-01) (aged 38) Stockholm

Princess Margaret of Connaught (Margaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah; 15 January 1882 – 1 May 1920) was Crown Princess of Sweden as the first wife of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. She was the elder daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. Nicknamed Daisy and known in Sweden as Margareta,^[1] she died before her husband's accession to the throne of Sweden.

Early life

The Princess was born at Bagshot Park and baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 11 March 1882 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archibald Tait, and her godparents were: Queen Victoria (her paternal grandmother); Wilhelm I, German Emperor (her maternal great-granduncle, who was represented by the German Ambassador Count Münster); the German Crown Princess (her paternal aunt, who was represented by her own sister Princess Christian); Prince and Princess Friedrich Karl of Prussia (her maternal grandparents, for whom her paternal uncle the Duke of Edinburgh and aunt Princess Beatrice stood proxy) and the Prince of Wales (her paternal uncle).^[2]

She was confirmed in the same chapel in March 1898, aged 16. Confirmation traditionally marked the end of childhood, after which a girl would 'come out' and be considered for marriage.

Princess Margaret grew up as a close member of the Royal Family, taking part in family holidays and weddings. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York (future George V and Queen Mary) on 6 July 1893. ^[3]

Marriage

When Princess Margaret of Connaught was 23 and her younger sister Princess Patricia of Connaught was 18, both girls were among the most beautiful and eligible princesses in Europe. Their uncle, King Edward VII, wanted his nieces to marry a European king or crown prince. In January 1905, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught visited Portugal where they were received by King Carlos and his queen, Amélie of Orléans, whose sons Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza, and Prince Manuel entertained the young British princesses. The Portuguese expected one of the Connaught princesses would become the future Queen of Portugal. Then the Connaughts visited Spain, where there were expectations that Patricia would be King Alfonso XIII's future wife (instead, Alfonso married another granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg). Neither of these expectations would become true; Margaret and Patricia had other destinies.

The Connaughts continued their trip to Egypt and Sudan. In Cairo, they met Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, the future Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, grandson of the Swedish King Oscar II. Originally, Margaret's sister Patricia had been considered a suitable match for Gustaf; without his knowledge, a meeting was arranged with the two sisters.^[4] Gustaf and Margaret fell in love at first sight. Prince Gustaf proposed at a dinner held by Lord Cromer at the British Consulate in Egypt, and was accepted. Margaret had certainly fallen completely in love with Gustaf. Her parents were very happy with the match even though the Prince was ten months younger than his bride. Prince Gustaf was short of sight and used spectacles; he was "tall, dark, well informed, fond of music, an excellent shot and a good dancer." Gustaf and Margaret married on 15 June 1905, in St. George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle. The couple spent their honeymoon in Ireland, and arrived in Sweden on 8 July 1905.

One of Margaret's wedding presents was the Connaught tiara, which remains in the Swedish royal jewelry collection today.^[5]

The couple had five children:

• Prince Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, born 22 April 1906. Married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 19/20 October 1932 and had five children including the future King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Died 26 January 1947.
• Prince Sigvard Oscar Fredrik of Sweden, Duke of Uppland, born 7 June 1907. Married commoner Erica Maria Patzek on 8 March 1934, thereby losing his royal titles. They had no issue and divorced on 14 October 1943. Married secondly Sonja Christensen Robbert on 26 October 1943 and had one son. They divorced on 6 June 1961. Married thirdly Marianne Lindberg on 30 July 1961. The couple had no issue. Died 4 February 2002.
• Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta of Sweden, born 28 March 1910. Married Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and Iceland on 24 May 1935 and had three daughters including the future Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Died 7 November 2000.
• Prince Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén of Sweden, Duke of Halland, born 28 February 1912. Married commoner Lilian Craig on 7 December 1976 with approval of the King with and had no issue. Died 5 January 1997.
• Prince Carl Johan Arthur of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna, born 31 October 1916. Married commoner Kerstin Wijkmark on 19 February 1946, thereby losing his royal titles, and adopted two children. Married secondly Countess Gunnila Wachtmeister af Johannishus on 29 September 1988. Died 5 May 2012.

When Gustaf Adolf's father, Crown Prince Gustaf, acceeded to the throne as King Gustaf V in 1907, the couple became Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden.

Crown Princess

The marriage between Margaret and Gustaf Adolf is described as a happy love match.^[4] Gustaf Adolf felt great pressure from the "Prussian" military discipline with which he had been raised by his mother, and he was greatly affected and attracted to Margaret's English customs, which contrasted with that of his mother's.^[4]

After her arrival in Sweden, Margaret, who in Sweden was called "Margareta," received lessons in the Swedish language, and asked to be educated in Swedish history and social welfare. After two years, she spoke good Swedish. During her first years in Sweden, Margaret behaved with great seriousness and was therefore regarded as stiff, but the view of her changed because of her great interest in sports, where she showed a more relaxed and natural manner. Margaret took a great interest in many forms of sports; she used the winters for skiing, ice skating and playing hockey, and played tennis and golf during the summers. She also corresponded with various relatives.

Margaret was also interested in art. She photographed, painted, and took a great interest in gardening. She and her spouse received Sofiero Palace as a wedding gift, and they spent their summers there and made a great effort in the gardens of the estate. The gardens of Sofiero were in an English style, and her children participated in their improvement. In 1915, Margaret as Kronprinsessan Margareta published the book Vår trädgård på Sofiero ("Our Garden at Sofiero") and two years later also Från blomstergården ("From the Flower Garden") illustrated with her own drawings and photographs, which were sold for the benefit of household schools with childcare.

During World War I, Margaret created a sewing society in Sweden to support the Red Cross. The society was called Kronprinsessans Centralförråd för landstormsmäns beklädnad och utrustning ("The Crown Princess's central storage for clothing and equipment of the home guard"), which was to equip the Swedish armed forces with suitable underwear. When paraffin supplies ran low she organized a candle collection, and in November 1917 she instituted a scheme to train girls to work on the land. She also acted as intermediary for relatives separated by the war. With her help, private letters and requests to trace men missing in action were passed on. She was also active in her work on behalf of prisoners. She aided prisoners of war in camps around Europe, especially British nationals. Margaret's efforts during the war were pro-British, in contrast to that of her mother-in-law's strictly pro-German attitude. In 1917, Margaret organized Margaretainsamlingen för de de fattiga ("The Margaret fundraiser for the poor"). At the end of the war, when the final steps towards full democracy were taken in Sweden, Margaret's positive attitude to reform influenced her husband the Crown Prince. Unlike the attitude of her reform-hostile in-laws, King Gustaf and Queen Victoria, this is believed to have eased political tensions and preserved the Swedish monarchy.^[6]

Death

Margaret's, Gustaf Adolf's and Louise's grave on Karlsborg Island in Solna, Sweden

On 1 May 1920, Crown Princess Margaret died suddenly in Stockholm. The official announcement said infection set in following a mastoid operation. At the time, she was eight months pregnant and expecting her sixth child. After announcing her death during traditional International Workers' Day celebrations, Swedish Prime Minister Hjalmar Branting said Stockholm Palace's ray of sun had gone out.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 15 January 1882 – 15 June 1905: Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret of Connaught
• 15 June 1905 – 8 December 1907: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Scania
• 8 December 1907 – 1 May 1920: Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Sweden

Honours

VA: Member Second Class of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert
CI: Companion of the Order of the Star of India
DJStJ: Dame of Justice of St John

Arms

Upon her marriage in 1905, Princess Margaret ceased to use the arms of the United Kingdom, with an inescutcheon of Saxony, the whole differenced by a label argent of five points, the first and fifth bearing fleurs-de-lys azure, the second and fourth shamrocks vert, and the central point a cross gules. In 1917, the inescutcheon was dropped by royal warrant from George V.^[7] Instead she used the arms of a Princess of Sweden and Duchess of Scania.

Margaret's coat of arms as a British princess

Margaret's coat of arms as crown princess of Sweden

Issue

Crown Princess Margaret was a grandmother of the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, as well as of her namesake, the current Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, and of the former Queen-consort of Greece, Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark.

Ancestry

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princess Margaret of Connaught.