Marianne Bernadotte

Marianne Bernadotte

Bernadotte in Stockholm in June 2013
Born Gullan Marianne Lindberg
(1924-07-15) 15 July 1924
Helsingborg, Sweden
Title Princess Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg
Spouse(s) Gabriel Tchang
Sigvard Bernadotte
(m. 1961–2002; his death)
Children Robert Gabriel Tchang
Richard Antoine Tchang
Marie Gabrielle Tchang
Parent(s) Helge Lindberg
Thyra Dahlman
Swedish Royal Family

HM The King
HM The Queen

HRH Princess Birgitta

Extended royal family
Bernadotte after lunch with director Lars Jacob in Stockholm in July 2014
Marianne Princess Bernadotte meets up in 2015 with her old colleague Gunvor Pontén from Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre

Marianne Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg (born Gullan Marianne Lindberg; 15 July 1924 in Helsingborg, Sweden), is a Swedish actress and philanthropist who in 1961 married Sigvard Bernadotte, a former Prince of Sweden.

She has been noted for her work supporting causes such as dyslexia, physical disabilities, and children's eye care and as a patron of the arts.

Marriage and family

Bernadotte is the daughter of Helge Lindberg and his wife Thyra Dahlman.

Her first marriage was to Gabriel Tchang (1919-1980), the son of a Chinese Ambassador in Stockholm. They had three children:

She married, secondly, on 30 July 1961 in Stockholm, the former Swedish prince Sigvard Bernadotte, the second son of King Gustaf VI Adolf and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught. On 2 July 1951, Sigvard, for himself, his wife and his marital descendants, by Grand Duchess Charlotte (head of state at the time) had been admitted into the Nobility of Luxembourg and there as a nobleman called Sigvard Oscar Frederik Prince Bernadotte as well as Compte de Wisborg.[1] This has been interpreted as the same right for Marianne Bernadotte to style herself as Princess Bernadotte that her late husband's grandaunt Ebba had.[2] Counts and Countesses of Wisborg are also considered to be part of the Swedish unintroduced nobility.

Swedish hotelier Bicky Chakraborty is married to her sister.[3]

She was a guest at the 2010 wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling.[4]

Professional life

Bernadotte studied at The Royal Dramatic Theatre Acting School Dramatens elevskola 1945-1948. After finishing her education, she was an actress as Marianne Lindberg at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm for eleven years.

In 1983 Marianne Bernadotte received a degree in the History of Art at the University of Stockholm. Her academic papers included work on the glass artist and sculptor Edvin Öhrström. Marianne Bernadotte has also been an international representative for Sotheby’s auction house.

In July 2014 she had good reviews[5][6][7] after hosting the popular radio show Sommar on her 90th birthday.

Philanthropy

As founder of The Sigvard & Marianne Bernadotte Research Foundation for Children’s Eye Care, The International Research Foundation for Children’s Eye Care Inc., The Marianne Bernadotte Scholarship Fund for Prominent Dyslexia Research and Education, and The Marianne & Sigvard Bernadotte Arts Fund, among other civic commitments, she actively supports public and voluntary service.

Bernadotte is Honorary Chairman of The Swedish Dylexia Foundation and Honorary President of The International Rodin Remediation Academy. On her initiative, The Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte Research Foundation was set up in 1989 for juvenile eye care. She took a similar initiative in establishing an international foundation in New York,[8] and at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, she created the Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte Research Laboratories of Pediatric Ophthalmology. In 1998, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Medicine by the that institute.

She also has an Honorary Doctorate from the Bologna University Institute of Psychology in recognition of her contribution to dyslexia research in 2006.

Bernadotte’s involvement in arts charities is exemplified by the Marianne and Sigvard Bernadotte Arts Fund that she created in 1982 to mark Sigvard Bernadotte’s seventy-fifth birthday. The Arts Fund awards scholarships each year to young scholars in music, theatre, design, and art. The scholarships provide young artists with the opportunity to develop their talents at an early stage in their careers, many of whom have later become very successful.

References

  1. ↑ Mémorial du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg No 48, Government of Luxembourg, 13 August 1951, entry dated 18 July 1951
  2. ↑ http://www.theroyalresource.com/threads/titles-given-to-former-swedish-princes.581/
  3. ↑ sv:Bicky Chakraborty
  4. ↑ http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=5493
  5. ↑ 2014-07-15 GP
  6. ↑ 2014-07-15 Helsingborgs Dagblad
  7. ↑ 2014-07-15 Aftonbladet
  8. ↑ http://www.bernadottefoundation.org/board.htm

External links

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