Birgitta of Sweden, sister of King Carl Gustav, has died at 87

The princess passed away at the age of 87 Birgitta of Swedenone of King’s older sisters Carl Gustav. The announcement came with an official note, also shared on the social channels of the Swedish royal house.

The princess died in Mallorca on Wednesday 4 December. «My sister He was a lively and outspoken person who will be deeply missed by me and my family. Together with my entire family, today I send my condolences to the children and grandchildren of Princess Birgitta”, the king’s message, accompanied by a recent black and white photo, taken by Charles Hammarsten.

Born in 1937 at Haga Castle, in Solna, not far from Stockholm, Birgitta was the second daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla. Arrived later Margaret and before Christina And Desiree, he studied first in a boarding school in Switzerland and then in Sweden, at the Central Institute of Gymnastics (now University of Gymnastics and Sports) and then worked as a physical education teacher in a school in Brom, not far from Stockholm. In 1961 Birgitta married the prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern. The marriage ended in 1990, at least officially, but the two never divorced and remained tied until the prince’s death in 2016.

Birgitta of Sweden and Johann of Hohenzollern on their wedding day, July 30, 1961 in Sigmaringen, Germany.

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Three children, Carl Christianborn in 1962, Desireewhich arrived the following year, and Hubertus, born in 1996, Princess Birgitta he lived permanently in Mallorcawhere she had moved right after the end of her marriage. A place that he loved very much because – as recalled by Palazzo Reale, «Here he could live in close contact with nature, the mountains and the light». A great golf enthusiast, she was a born sportswoman. Obviously, contacts with Stockholm had never been interrupted. The princess returned to her homeland very often, and it was always present at the most important public occasions alongside her family and especially her brother, to whom she has always been very close. The photos that portray them together as children are an extract of a happy and very normal childhood, despite the titles and responsibilities that he would have been called upon to have when he grew up.

Carl Gustav of Sweden and his sister Birgitta in 1956.

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And precisely because of the great bond with her homeland after having spent a good part of her life abroad, the princess will be buried in Sweden. By his own wish he will rest at the Royal Palace, specifically in Hagaparken, a wonderful park in Solna. His funeral will be held privately, as is usually the case with less visible members of royal families.