Count Lennart Bernadotte of Wisborg

Lennart
Count Bernadotte of Wisborg
Prince Lennart (then Count Bernadotte) on his yacht at Gripsholm with grandson Friedrich, August, 1965. Photo: John Rusek.
Spouse	Karin Nissvandt (m.1932-1972) Sonja Haunz (m.1972-2004)
Issue
See table!
Full name
Gustaf Lennart Nicolaus Paul
House	House of Bernadotte
Father	Prince Vilhelm, Duke of Södermanland
Mother	Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia
Born	8 May 1909(1909-05-08) Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
Died	21 December 2004(2004-12-21) (aged 95) Schloss Mainau, Mainau, Lake Constance, Germany

Lennart Bernadotte Count of Wisborg, né Prince Gustaf Lennart Nicolaus Paul of Sweden (8 May 1909 – 21 December 2004), a grandson of King Gustaf V of Sweden, was until 1932 a Prince of Sweden and the Duke of Småland.

He was born at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, to Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Gustaf V's second son) and Wilhelms's wife Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia. His father's first cousin was Count Folke Bernadotte and his own first cousin was the father of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Title

Under the Swedish Act of Succession, a prince or princess marrying without the consent of the Sovereign and government forfeits the right of succession for themselves and their descendants. They give up their titles and assume the family name of Bernadotte. By his marriage on 11 March 1932 he was subsequently stripped of his title, renounced his rights and became Mr. Lennart Bernadotte.

Since 1868, Swedish princes who have lost their succession rights have received noble titles conferred by other reigning monarchs. The Grand Duke or Grand Duchess of Luxembourg has conferred the title of Count of Wisborg, and in one case, the King of Belgium has conferred the title Prince Bernadotte. Thus, on ennoblement by the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, on 2 July 1951 he became Lennart Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg.

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who lost the right to confer noble titles in the new constitution of 1974, still retains the prerogative to restore royal titles, but has chosen not to do so.

Prince Lennart as a baby with his parents.

Career

Lennart Bernadotte concentrated his energy on his estate on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance, Germany, where he died, and on his charitable fund, the Lennart Bernadotte Stiftung. He was considered a major gardening and landscaping talent and expert and turned his island into a popular tourist attraction.

He received the Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor from the German Eduard Rhein Foundation in 1996.^[1][2]

Ancestors, wives and children

References

1. ^ "The Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor Recipients". Eduard Rhein Foundation. http://www.eduard-rhein-stiftung.de/html/Ehrenring_e.html. Retrieved February 5, 2011 (2011-02-05). 
2. ^ "1996 - Ring of Honor - Prof. Dr.h.c.mult. Lennart Graf Bernadotte af Wisborg". Eduard Rhein Foundation. http://www.eduard-rhein-stiftung.de/html/1996/E96_e.html. Retrieved February 5, 2011 (2011-02-05). 

External links

• Royal House of Sweden (An Online Gotha)

Persondata
Name	Bernadotte, Lennart
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	8 May 1908
Place of birth	Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
Date of death	21 December 2004
Place of death	Schloss Mainau, Mainau, Lake Constance, Germany