Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Duke of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

(27 February 1861 – 24 October 1951) was a Swedish prince. Through his daughters, for whom he arranged excellent dynastic marriages, he is an ancestor of several members of European royal houses today, including the reigning monarchs

King Harald V of Norway Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...

, King Philippe of Belgium, and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

Early life

Carl was the third son and child of King

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

of Sweden-

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

by his wife,

Sophia of Nassau Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette; 9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Oscar II. She was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than anyone before her, and the longest-servin ...

. He was known as "the Blue Prince" (''Blå Prinsen'') because he often wore the blue-coloured uniform of the Life Regiment, to which he belonged in a ceremonial manner.

Marriage and children

In May 1897, Prince Carl was engaged to Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, the second daughter of King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Ingeborg's mother,

Louise of Sweden Louise Josephine Eugenie of Sweden ( sv, Lovisa Josefina Eugenia; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the spouse of King Frederick VIII. Born into the House of Bernadotte, Louise was the only surviv ...

, was a first cousin of Prince Carl. Nevertheless, in 1947, on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, Carl admitted that their marriage had been completely arranged by their respective fathers, and Ingeborg herself added : "I married a complete stranger!". The couple were married on 27 August 1897 at Christiansborg Palace in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and spent their wedding trip (honeymoon) in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The couple had four children: #

Margaretha Margaretha is the standard Dutch form of the feminine given name Margaret as well as a common form of it in Sweden. In daily life, many use a short form, like ''Gré'', '' Greet'', '' Greta'', '' Grietje'', '' Marga'', '' Margo'', '' Margot'', ''Ma ...

(1899–1977), who married

Prince Axel of Denmark Prince Axel of Denmark, ( Danish: ''Prins Axel Christian Georg til Danmark''; 12 August 1888 – 14 July 1964) was a member of the Danish royal family. He was the second son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orléans, and a gr ...

# Märtha (1901–1954), wife of Crown Prince Olav of Norway and mother of

Harald V of Norway Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...

Astrid Astrid is a feminine given name of Scandinavian origin, a modern form of the name Ástríðr. Derived from the Old Norse Ássfriðr, a compound name composed of the elements (a god) and (beautiful, fair). Variants * Assan (diminutive) (Swed ...

(1905–1935), wife of Leopold III of Belgium and mother of kings Baudouin and Albert II of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, as also of Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. # Carl, Duke of Östergötland, known as ''Carl Jr.'', later ''

Prince Bernadotte Prince Bernadotte is a title that has been used by several members of the House of Bernadotte. It is most commonly known as a title granted to men who were formerly titled as princes of Sweden before losing their royal titles when they married unequ ...

'' (1911–2003). All of Carl's children grew up to be healthy adults. While all three daughters made dynastic marriages that were encouraged by their parents, and became the matriarchs of their own successful families, the couple's only son gave up his (highly improbable) chance of succeeding to the throne to marry a noblewoman.

Candidate for the Norwegian throne

In 1905, during the political struggle in which

obtained its independence from Sweden, Prince Carl was seriously considered as a candidate for the

Norwegian crown The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian Crown (currency), crown in English. ...

. It was thought that electing a Swedish prince as king was a less radical way for Norway to secede from the union, and hence a more peaceful approach. Carl was chosen because his eldest brother would inherit the Swedish throne, and his second brother had renounced his royal status to make an unsuitable marriage. However, Carl's father King

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norwe ...

did not approve of the proposal, as he saw the whole "riot" which precipitated the Norwegian crisis as a conspiracy and a betrayal against his rights as

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

, and he did not want any of his sons to be involved with people who he considered his enemies. Therefore, Prince Carl never became King of Norway. Instead, another Prince Carl –

Prince Carl of Denmark Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

– was elected after some diplomatic turbulence, taking the name Haakon VII. As history turned out however, the Duke of Västergötland's daughter, Princess Märtha, married Haakon VII's son, who later became King

Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

. Hence, the present King,

, is a grandchild of the duke.

Legacy

Prince Carl has the distinction of being a grandfather of three reigning European monarchs: King

Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...

of Norway (son of his daughter, Princess Märtha), the late King Baudouin of the Belgians and his brother, King Albert II of the Belgians (sons of his daughter, Princess Astrid). He is also a great-grandfather of King Philippe of the Belgians and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

Honours

;National honours * Knight and Commander of the Seraphim, ''27 February 1861'' * Knight of the

Order of Charles XIII The Royal Order of Charles XIII ( sv, Kungliga Carl XIII:s orden) is a Swedish order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII in 1811. Membership The Lord and Master of the Order is the King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gustaf. Membership o ...

, ''27 February 1861'' * Commander Grand Cross of the Sword, ''27 February 1861'' * Commander Grand Cross of the Polar Star, ''27 February 1861'' * Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

, ''28 April 1892'' * Honorary Member of the Johanniter Order ;Foreign honours

Arms

File:Coat of arms of Prince of Sweden duke of Vastergotland.svg, Arms as Prince of Sweden and Norway, Duke of

1861 to 1905 File:Coat of arms of Prince Carl of Sweden (1907).svg, Arms as Prince of Sweden and Duke of

after 1907

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Bomann-Larsen, Tor: ''Folket – Haakon & Maud II'' (2004; in Norwegian) *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carl, Duke Of Vastergotland Carl, Duke of Vastergotland, Prince Carl, Duke of Vastergotland, Prince Carl 1861 Swedish people of French descent Swedish people of German descent Carl, Duke of Vastergotland, Prince Carl, Duke of Vastergotland, Prince People from Stockholm Swedish Lutherans Dukes of Västergötland Sons of kings Burials at Kungliga begravningsplatsen Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Charles XIII Grand Crosses of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Norwegian Lion Recipients of the King Haakon VII Freedom Cross Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order