Count of Wisborg
The title Count of Wisborg (French: Comte de Wisborg; Swedish: Greve af Wisborg) has been granted by the monarchs of Luxembourg to some former princes of Sweden and their descendants.
Since 1892, the title has been borne by the male-line descendants of four princes of Sweden who married morganatically without the consent of the King of Sweden and thereby lost their Swedish royal titles, status and the right of succession to the throne of Sweden for themselves, their children and their descendants.
The four former princes of Sweden each lost their Swedish titles and assumed the surname of Bernadotte. In each case the former prince of Sweden was given the title Count of Wisborg by the reigning Grand Duke or Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.[1]
In Sweden, these members of the House of Bernadotte are considered part of the unintroduced nobility, and are members of Ointroducerad Adels Förening.
The original four Counts of Wisborg
The four former princes of Sweden given the title Count of Wisborg are:
- Oscar Bernadotte (1859–1953), second son of King Oscar II of Sweden. He married morganatically and lost his Swedish titles on March 15, 1888. He and his wife were invested with the new titles of Prince and Princess Bernadotte on their wedding day.[1] It has never been determined if this was a title of nobility or another form of unofficial courtesy title (such as some later dynasty members have been given). On 2 April 1892, he was also given a hereditary title as Count of Wisborg by his uncle Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, previously Duke of Nassau. Oscar's mother, Queen Sofia of Sweden, was the half-sister of Grand Duke Adolphe. A possible explanation for the choice of the Wisborg title is that Oscar was formerly Duke of Gotland and the fortification Visborg (then spelled Wisborg) lies within Gotland.
- Lennart Bernadotte (1909–2004), only son of Prince Vilhelm, Duke of Södermanland. He married morganatically and lost his Swedish titles on March 11, 1932. He was created Count of Wisborg by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg on July 2, 1951. Lennart styled himself Prince Lennart Bernadotte, but this usage was never recognised by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
- Sigvard Bernadotte (1907–2002), second son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. He married morganatically and lost his Swedish titles on March 8, 1934. He was created Count of Wisborg by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg on July 2, 1951. Sigvard unilaterally reclaimed the title of Prince of Sweden on May 28, 1983, but this usage was never recognised by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
- Carl Johan Bernadotte (1916–2012), fourth son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. He married morganatically and lost his Swedish titles on February 19, 1946. He was created Count of Wisborg by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg on July 2, 1951. He was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Count Carl Johan was for many years chairman of Ointroducerad Adels Förening.
A fifth prince of Sweden, Carl (1911–2003), married morganatically and lost his Swedish titles in 1937. He was given the title Prince Bernadotte by his brother-in-law King Leopold III of Belgium. His male-line descendants would have borne the title Count Bernadotte, but in fact his only child, is a daughter (Mrs. Madeleine Kogevinas, Countess Madeleine Bernadotte).
Later title-holders
The agnatic (male-line) descendants of each of these four former princes of Sweden are entitled to the title Count of Wisborg. In practice, their surname is often included in the title, Count Bernadotte of Wisborg.
The most well-known is Folke Bernadotte, a son of Oscar Bernadotte, the first Count of Wisborg. He was the United Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1947–1948, assassinated in 1948 by Zionist militants.
A number of members of the Bernadotte af Wisborg family were guests at the 2010 Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling. [2]
- Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg, widow of Sigvard
- Count Michael Bernadotte af Wisborg (son of Sigvard), his wife Countess Christine Bernadotte af Wisborg and their daughter Countess Kajsa Bernadotte af Wisborg
- Count Carl Johan Bernadotte af Wisborg (son of King Gustaf VI Adolf) and his wife Countess Gunilla Bernadotte af Wisborg
- Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg (daughter of Lennart) and her husband Philipp Haug
- Count Björn Bernadotte af Wisborg (son of Lennart) and his wife Countess Sandra Bernadotte af Wisborg [3]
- Count Bertil Bernadotte af Wisborg (son of Folke) and Countess Jill Bernadotte af Wisborg.
References
- ↑ The Royalty, peerage and aristocracy of the world, Vol 90
- ↑ http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=5493
- ↑ "Sandra Bernadotte af Wisborg". Mariees du Gotha.
See also
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