Maximilian Genealogy Master Database 2000

Notes

Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden BERNADOTTE King of Sweden

1 UPDA
2 DATE 29 OCT 1950
2 PLAC Acceded:

Crown Prince Gustaf of Sweden later became King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. When married to Princess Margaret of Canaught, he was Crown Prince. Reign: 1950-1973. Hew was Crown Prince for forty-three years before ascending the throne. When Gustav died in 1973 the crown passed to his grandson, his eldest son having been killed in a plane crash in 1947 and his second son being as yet unmarried and thus unlikely to produce and heir. King Carl XVI ascended the throne of the Swedes, the Goths and the Wends amid much speculation that he would prove to be the last of Sweden's monarchs. Carl has 4 lively and glamorous sisters: Princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Desiree and Christine.

Gustav Adolf of Sweden BERNADOTTE

Killed in a flying accident. Duke of Västerbotten.

Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden BERNADOTTE King of Sweden

1 UPDA
2 DATE 15 SEP 1973
2 PLAC Acceded:

King Carl XVI Gustaf was born on April 30, 1946 at Haga Palace. His parents, the then heir to the throne Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, were already the parents of four daughters, the Princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Désirée and Christina. Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed in an air crash in Copenhagen in 1947. Princess Sibylla died in Stockholm in 1972.

When Gustaf VI Adolf acceded to the throne in 1950 following the death of Gustaf V, Carl Gustaf became Crown Prince. When Gustaf VI Adolf died on September 15, 1973, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, then 27 years old, became Sweden's Head of State. The new King made his motto "For Sweden - in keeping with the times", signalling his aim to meet the demands made by society on a modern monarch.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

To begin with, the Crown Prince was educated privately at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, after which he went on to Broms School and Sigtuna Boarding School, where he matriculated in 1966.

Military service came next. The Crown Prince completed two and a half years' training in the Army, Navy and Air Force, with special emphasis on naval training. He took part in a long voyage with the mine layer Älvsnabben in the winter of 1966-67 and then passed his naval officer examination in 1968. His military training was later supplemented with a management course at the National Defence College and commissioned service on board ships of the Swedish Navy.

In 1968 and 1969 the Crown Prince followed an academic study programme of history, sociology, political science, financial law and economics at Uppsala University. Later he also studied economics at Stockholm University.

Then followed a specially composed programme of field trips to national and local authorities, industry, laboratories and schools. The Crown Prince studied the judicial system, social welfare organisations and institutions, trade unions and employers' associations. Special emphasis was made on the work of the Riksdag (parliament), the Government and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Crown Prince acquired international experience by serving with The Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in New York and with SIDA (the Swedish International Development Authority) in Africa. He also spent some time in London at Hambro's Bank, the Swedish Embassy and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, and also in France at the Alfa Laval plant in Nevers. The Crown Prince's keen interest in natural history and environment protection lead to his involvement with the preparations for the UN Conference on the Human Environment, in Stockholm in 1972.

The Crown Prince also represented Gustaf VI Adolf on a number of official occasions. In 1970, for example, he headed the Swedish delegation to the World Exhibition in Osaka, Japan.

FAMILY AND PRIVATE LIFE

During the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, the Crown Prince met Miss Silvia Sommerlath, who was serving there as an interpreter and hostess. Born in Heidelberg on December 23, 1943, she is the daughter of the late Walther Sommerlath, a West German businessman, and his Brazilian wife, Alice, née de Toledo.

The engagement of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath was announced on March 12, 1976 and they were married in the Stockholm Cathedral on June 19 that year.

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, born on July 14, 1977, Prince Carl Philip, born on May 13, 1979, and Princess Madeleine, born on June 10, 1982. Under the succession law passed in 1980, the throne passes to the eldest child.

The family resided at the Royal Palace of Stockholm up to and including 1981, before moving to Drottningholm Palace.

The family enjoy skiing in winter. They have a cottage in Storlien which the King inherited from his parents. They spend a great deal of the summer at the Solliden Palace on the island of Öland, where they are able to cultivate various leisure interests: water sports, riding, outdoor life and gardening.

OFFICIAL DUTIES

The King's duties, as defined in the 1974 Constitution Act, are mainly representative and ceremonial. The King pays state visits abroad and receives foreign heads of state on state visits to Sweden. He opens the Riksdag every year and chairs the special council meeting held whenever there is a change of government, as well as the regular "briefing councils" together with members of the Government. He also chairs meetings of the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs and receives the credentials of foreign ambassadors in Stockholm. The King holds the supreme ranks of the three arms of Sweden's defence forces. He is a member of the Church of Sweden.

The King has been on a royal progress ("Eriksgata" in Swedish) in every county of Sweden; this is a royal tradition of medieval origin. The King also pays regular visits to industries, national and local authorities, institutions, schools, universities and businesses for study purposes and frequently takes part in anniversary celebrations, the opening of congresses and symposia and other official occasions.

Everyday work at the Royal Palace of Stockholm also includes meetings with the Speaker of the Riksdag and the members of the Government, for example, for information on current events, with representatives of the Church and the defence establishment, and with representatives of Swedish and foreign organisations.

SPECIAL INTERESTS,
PATRONAGE ACTIVITIES ETC.

Ever since childhood, the King has been interested in nature and outdoor life. He became actively involved in scouting at an early age and in 1977 became Honorary Chairman of the World Scout Foundation. He frequently takes part in scouting activities of various kinds, both in Sweden and abroad.

In 1988 the King's great knowledge of environmental affairs and natural history earned him the chairmanship of the Swedish branch of WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature. He is the initiator of King Carl Gustaf’s Ecological Competition and of the Royal Colloquium, an international eco-symposium which takes place regularly at Ulriksdal Palace. The King has among other things been invested with the United States Environmental Protection Agency Award for his environmental commitment.

King Carl Gustaf is interested in technology, agriculture and business enterprise. He attends meetings of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). In recent years the King has also travelled with Royal Technology Missions under IVA auspices to study technological and industrial know-how and to encourage co-operation in these fields with various countries, including Japan, Italy, the USA, Germany, South Korea and South Africa.

The King is patron of the Royal Swedish Academies and of a number of other organisations, associations and societies. He holds honorary doctorates from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the Åbo Academy in Finland.

The King's leisure interests include hunting, sailing and other water sports, motor sport, cross-country and down-hill skiing. He has, for example, three times taken part in the Vasa Ski Race (in 1977, 1987 and 1997). The King is also interested in art, music and food.

Silvia Renate SOMMERLATH

Queen Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on December 23, 1943. She is the daughter of the late Walther Sommerlath and his Brazilian wife, Alice, née de Toledo. Queen Silvia has three elder brothers: Ralf, Walther and Jörg Sommerlath.

Between 1947 and 1957 the Sommerlath family lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Walther Sommerlath was President of the Brazilian subsidiary of Swedish Uddeholm.

The family returned to West Germany in 1957. Silvia Sommerlath matriculated in Düsseldorf in 1963 and between 1965 and 1969 trained as an interpreter in Munich, graduating in Spanish, after which she worked at the Argentinean Consulate in Munich.

Between 1971 and 1973 Silvia Sommerlath served as a chief hostess on the Organizing Committee for the Munich Olympics, and in 1973 she became Deputy Head of Protocol of the Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

FAMILY AND PRIVATE LIFE

It was at the 1972 Olympics that Silvia Sommerlath met Crown Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden. The engagement of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath was announced on March 12, 1976, and they were married on June 19 that year in the Stockholm Cathedral.

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, born on July 14, 1977, Prince Carl Philip, born on May 13, 1979, and Princess Madeleine, born on June 10, 1982. Under the Swedish Order of Succession introduced in 1980, the throne passes to the eldest child.

The family lived in an apartment at the Royal Palace of Stockholm up to and including 1981, after which they moved to the Drottningholm Palace.

During the winter season the family enjoys skiing. At Storlien, in Northern Sweden, they have a weekend cottage which the King inherited from his parents. They spend much of the summer at Solliden on the island of Öland, where they are able to cultivate various leisure interests: water sports, riding, walking and gardening.

OFFICIAL DUTIES

Queen Silvia often accompanies King Carl XVI Gustaf at official engagements in Sweden and on state visits abroad. Her knowledge of languages comes in useful on these occasions. In addition to Swedish, the Queen speaks German, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Queen takes a special interest in education and social affairs. She is a regular visitor to national and local authorities and institutions, schools and universities etc., for information-gathering purposes. She also frequently takes part in anniversaries, congress and symposium openings and other official events.

SPECIAL INTERESTS, PATRONAGE ETC.

Queen Silvia works actively on behalf of the disabled. She is chairman of the Royal Wedding Fund, which supports research in sports and athletics for disabled youngsters, and in the Queen Silvia’s Jubilee Fund for research on children and handicaps. At the Queen's initiative and with a great deal of personal commitment on her part, the book "Kom Igen!" has been published in Swedish, English, German and Spanish, its purpose being to encourage sports and other leisure activities for young persons with disabilities. Conferences, field trips, sporting events and opening ceremonies focusing on disability questions frequently have priority in the Queen's programme. In 1990 she was awarded the "Deutsche Kulturpreis" for her efforts on behalf of the disabled.

Queen Silvia is an honorary member of a large number of organisations and societies, such as the Swedish Athletic Association, the Swedish Child Cancer Fund and the Swedish Save the Children Federation. She is also an honorary member of the governing body of Mentor, an international organisation whose aim is to combat drug abuse worldwide.

In May 1990 Queen Silvia was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Turku in Finland. She received an honorary doctorate from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, in April 1993 and, in June 1994, from the Health University at the University of Linköping.

Much of Queen Silvia's spare time is spent together with her children and family. She takes an active interest in matters of belief and, like King Carl Gustaf, is a member of the Church of Sweden. The Queen also enjoys going to the theatre, the opera and concerts.

Victoria Ingrid Alice BERNADOTTE Princess

1 UPDA
2 PLAC Duchess of Västergötland.

Carl Philip Edmund Bertil BERNADOTTE Prince

Carl Philip Edmund Bertil, Prince of Sweden, Duke of Värmland, was born on May 13, 1979 at the Royal Palace, Stockholm.

Prince Carl Philip is the second eldest child of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty Queen Silvia. He has two sisters, Crown Princess Victoria, born on July 14, 1977 and Princess Madeleine, born on June 10, 1982. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession which entered into force on January 1, 1980, Prince Carl Philip is second in the line of succession, next to Crown Princess Victoria.

Prince Carl Philip and his family reside at Drottningholm Palace since 1982.

During the period 1984-86, Prince Carl Philip attended the Västerled parish preschool. In the autumn of 1986, he started school at Smedslättsskolan in Bromma which he attended at junior level. For the intermediate level, the Prince attended Ålstensskolan in Bromma, proceeding from there, in the autumn of 1992, to senior level at Enskilda Gymnasiet in Stockholm. In the autumn of 1994 Prince Carl Philip started at the private school Kent in Connecticut, USA, where he spent two years. In the autumn of 1996 the Prince enrolled at Lundsberg School, where he is following a science programme.

Prince Carl Philip was confirmed in the summer of 1994 at Vadstena Church, after confirmation studies in Medevi.

Prince Carl Philip has been a scout and is fond of outdoor life. He is keen on sport and athletics, has played football and tennis and is also a good swimmer and skier.

Madeleine Therese Amelie BERNADOTTE Princess

1 NAME Madeleine Thérèse Amelie/Josephine/
1 UPDA
2 PLAC Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland.

Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine, Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, was born on June 10, 1982 at Drottningholm Palace.
Princess Madeleine and her family have resided at Drottningholm Palace since 1982.
Princess Madeleine is the youngest child of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty Queen Silvia. She has a sister, Crown Princess Victoria, born on July 14, 1977 and a brother, Prince Carl Philip, born on May 13, 1979. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on January 1, 1980, Princess Madeleine is third in the line of succession, next to Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip.
During the period 1985-89, Princess Madeleine attended the Västerled parish pre-school. In the autumn of 1989, she started school at Smedslättsskolan in Bromma, which she attended at junior level. For the intermediate level, the Princess attended Carlssons skola in Stockholm and went on to senior level studies at Enskilda Gymnasiet in Stockholm. Since the autumn of 1998 the Princess follows a social studies programme at Enskilda Gymnasiet upper secondary school.
Princess Madeleine was confirmed in the summer of 1997 at Vadstena Church, after confirmation studies in Medevi.
During her leisure time the Princess enjoys riding, skiing and other forms of outdoor life.

Sigvard Oscar Fredrik BERNADOTTE Count

1 UPDA
2 DATE 2 JUL 1951
2 PLAC Acceded:

Renounced his rights of sucession 7 Mar 1934 Duke of Upland.

Sigvard Oscar Fredrik BERNADOTTE Count

1 UPDA
2 DATE 2 JUL 1951
2 PLAC Acceded:

Renounced his rights of sucession 7 Mar 1934 Duke of Upland.

Sigvard Oscar Fredrik BERNADOTTE Count

1 UPDA
2 DATE 2 JUL 1951
2 PLAC Acceded:

Renounced his rights of sucession 7 Mar 1934 Duke of Upland.