Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland (Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén; 28 February 1912 – 5 January 1997), was a member of the Swedish royal family. He was the third son of King

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

and his first wife,

Princess Margaret of Connaught 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. She was the elder daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of C ...

, as well as the uncle of

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

. From 1973 to 1979, he was

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to his nephew Carl XVI Gustaf and the Swedish throne.

Early life

Bertil was born on 28 February 1912 at

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, as the fourth of five children born to Princess Margaret of Connaught and Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden. His siblings included: Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Vasterbotten, Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland, Princess Ingrid and Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna. Margareta och prins Bertil

The family lived in apartments at

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...

, at

Ulriksdal Palace Ulriksdal Palace () is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called ''Jakobsdal'' for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it ...

near the capital in

Ulriksdal Ulriksdal Palace () is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called ''Jakobsdal'' for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had i ...

and at the summer residence:

Sofiero Palace Sofiero Palace, or just Sofiero (), in Helsingborg Municipality, Scania, was one of the Swedish royal family's country mansions, located north of Helsingborg. It was originally a Scanian farm called Skabelycke, bought in 1864 by Prince Oscar ...

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

in the southernmost province of Sweden,

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

Royal role

Bertil was granted a very old dukedom, one that was bestowed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

on various Danish and Swedish royal relatives. After his eldest brother, Prince Gustaf Adolf, died in 1947, leaving an infant son, Prince Carl Gustaf, in the line of succession, and because his elder brother Sigvard had already given up his place in the

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

(owing to a constitutionally unacceptable marriage), it seemed likely that Bertil could one day become

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. After Carl Gustaf became king, Bertil remained the next in line to the throne (until the birth of Prince Carl Philip in 1979), and continued to act as the King's deputy. When the Act of Succession was changed in 1980, rights to the throne were restricted to Carl XVI Gustaf and his descendants; however, a special addendum was made for Bertil's case, so that he became third (and, after the birth of

Princess Madeleine Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

in 1982, fourth) in line to the throne.

Personal life

Bertil became a naval officer; and, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served as Swedish naval attaché at the embassy in London. In 1943, Bertil met his long-term partner, Welsh

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

Lilian Craig. However, in order to preserve his place in the royal succession, Bertil and Lilian did not marry for decades. They lived together discreetly, as a fully private arrangement, from the 1940s until their marriage was announced and took place in 1976. Their common base was a home in

Sainte-Maxime Sainte-Maxime (; Occitan language, Occitan and Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Santa Maxima'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France ...

, in the

south of France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. Since his life with Craig was not official, Prince Bertil's single status meant he was suggested as a match for, among others, Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom. After the death of Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973, the new king, Carl XVI Gustaf, married a non-royal woman and approved the marriage of Bertil and Lilian, which took place at

Drottningholm Palace Drottningholm Palace (), or Drottningholm, one of Sweden's royal palaces, situated near Sweden's capital Stockholm, is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Located on Lovön island in Stockholm County's Ekerö Municipalit ...

on 7 December 1976. Bertil was fond of cars, owning a rare

Aston Martin DB2 The Aston Martin DB2 is a grand tourer that was sold by Aston Martin from May 1950 until April 1953. The successor to the 2-Litre Sports model, it had a comparatively advanced dual overhead cam 2.6 L Lagonda straight-6 engine in place of ...

and a

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is not ...

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

asked him to open the

Volvo Halifax Assembly The Volvo Halifax Assembly Plant located in Halifax, Nova Scotia was opened on 11 June 1963 by Prince Bertil. It was the second assembly plant Volvo opened outside of Sweden and the third non-domestic auto plant in North America after Fiat and R ...

plant in 1963 in

Nova Scotia, Canada Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. A parking garage in Sainte-Maxime is named after him. The ex-HRH Prince Bertil of Sweden also owned a 1926

Bugatti Type 35 The Bugatti Type 35 is an iconic race car design produced by Bugatti at their Molsheim premises between 1924 and 1930. It was extremely successful when raced by the factory works team. It was also bought by a diverse roster of privateer client ...

Grand Prix A copy of its original Swedish registration document starting in the name of HRH Prince Bertil in 1939. Prince Bertil was a keen supporter and practitioner of various sports, notably

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

boules Boules (, ), or ''jeu de boules'', is a collective name for a wide range of games similar to bowls and bocce in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls as closely as possible to a small target ball, called the ''jack''. 'Boules' its ...

. In 1947, he was elected Chairman of both the

Swedish Sports Confederation The Swedish Sports Confederation (, RF) is the umbrella organisation of the Sport in Sweden, Swedish sports movement founded in 1903. Through its member organisations, it has three million members in 22,000 clubs. Its present chair, since 2024, i ...

and Sweden's Olympic Committee. He was also a member of the fine-dining society ''La Chaine des Rotisseurs''. He died at his home the Villa Solbacken in Stockholm in 1997, with Princess Lilian at his side. Their grave is at the Royal Cemetery in Haga Park.

Military ranks

* 4 October 1934: Acting sub-lieutenant * 1936: ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

'' * 1937: Sub-lieutenant * 13 February 1942:

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

* 1 April 1948: Lieutenant commander * ????:

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

* 1952:

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

* 1956:

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

* 1956: Major general in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

* 1956: Major general in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

* 17 October 1969:

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

* 17 October 1969:

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the Army * 17 October 1969:

in the Air Force

Honours

National honours

Knight of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

(1912) *

Royal Order of the Sword - Commander Grand Cross BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(1912) * Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(1912) *

Knight of the

Order of Charles XIII The Royal Order of Charles XIII () is a Swedish order (honour), order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII of Sweden, Charles XIII in 1811. Membership The Lord and Master of the Order is the Monarch, King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gust ...

(1912) *

Commander Grand Cross of the

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

(28 February 1952) * Seraphimerorden ribbon

Recipient of the King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Seraphimerorden ribbon

Recipient of the King Gustaf VI Adolf's Commemorative Medal (1967) * SWE King Carl XVI Gustaf Jubilee Medal III

Recipient of the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It") is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gusta ...

in gold of 18th size with chain (1969) * Recipient of the H. M. The King's Medal, 12th size gold medal with diamonds worn around the neck on a chain of gold (silver-gilt) (1987) * Seraphimerorden ribbon

Recipient of the King Carl XVI Gustaf's Jubilee Commemorative Medal I (1996)

Foreign honours

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Liberator General San Martín The Order of the Liberator General San Martín () is the highest decoration in Argentina. It is awarded to foreign politicians or military, deemed worthy of the highest recognition from Argentina. It is granted by the sitting President of Argenti ...

* : Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1960) * : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold * : ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

** Grand Cross of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins () is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean state, the independentist gener ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Boyaca * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

: Grand Cross of the

Order of Muhammad Ali The Royal Order of Muhammad Ali (''Nishan al-Muhammad'Ali'') was an order of chivalry and state honour in the Kingdom of Egypt. History The Order of Muhammad Ali was founded by Sultan Hussein Kamel to commemorate the Muhammad Ali dynasty on 14 ...

* : First Class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

* : ** Grand Cross of the Order of Solomon ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Menelik II The Imperial Order of Emperor Menelik II is an Ethiopian Order (decoration), order established in 1924 by then-Regent Haile Selassie, Tafari Makonnen, during the reign of Zewditu I of Ethiopia, Empress Zewditu I, in order to honor the memory of Em ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* : Grand Cross 1st class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* : First Class of the

Order of the Two Rivers The Order of the Two Rivers ( ''Wisam Al Rafidain'') was an Order awarded by the Kings of Iraq and then the Presidents of Iraq. History It was named after the two rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, that flow through the middle of the country. I ...

* : ** Second Class of the Order of Pahlavi ** Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

* : Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest Order (decoration), order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike European counterparts, the order may be Posthumous award, ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle () forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

* : ** Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(23 March 1953) ** Grand Cross of the

(1 March 1952) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sun of Peru The Order of the Sun of Peru (Spanish: ''Orden El Sol del Perú''), formerly known as the Order of the Sun, is the highest award bestowed by the nation of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit. The award is the oldest civilian award in ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Christ * : Grand Cross of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order ()Hausorden
Herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha was a ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

(15 October 1979) * : Knight of the

Order of the Royal House of Chakri The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (; ) was founded in 1882 by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) to commemorate the Bangkok Centennial. The order is awarded to members of the House of Chakri ...

(21 September 1960) * : Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(June 1956) * : Commander of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(4 June 1948) * : Grand Cordon of the Order of the Liberator * : Recipient of the Order of the Yugoslav Great Star (29 March 1976)

Arms

On his creation as Duke of Halland, Prince Bertil was granted use of a coat of arms based on the Arms of Dominion of Sweden, with the arms of Halland in the third quarter.

Monogram

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertil Of Halland, Duke, Prince 1912 births 1997 deaths Swedish princes Dukes of Halland House of Bernadotte Royalty from Stockholm Swedish people of British descent Burials at Kungliga begravningsplatsen Swedish Lutherans Knights of the Order of Charles XIII Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Swedish Navy admirals Swedish naval attachés Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Sons of kings Recipients of the Illis quorum Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia