Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg

Sigvard Bernadotte
Count of Wisborg prev. Prince of Sweden, Duke of Uppland
Spouse	Erica Maria Patzek Sonja Christensen Robbert Marianne Lindberg
Issue
Count Michael Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg
Full name
Sigvard Oscar Fredrik Bernadotte
House	House of Bernadotte
Father	Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
Mother	Princess Margaret of Connaught
Born	7 June 1907(1907-06-07) Stockholm, Sweden
Died	4 February 2002(2002-02-04) (aged 94) Stockholm, Sweden

Sigvard Oscar Fredrik Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (Drottningholm, 7 June 1907 – Stockholm, 4 February 2002) was a Swedish industrial designer. He was the second son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught and was originally known as Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland, but lost his royal titles in 1934 when he married a commoner.

Marriages

He married three times; on 8 March 1934 in London he married commoner Erica Maria Patzek (Wilmersdorf, 12 July 1911-Wilmersdorf, 20 July 2007), daughter of Anton Patzek and wife Marie Anna Lala, and because it was an unequal match, regardless of whether the monarch was willing to consent to the marriage, he lost his princely title and was excluded from the line of succession. Sigvard and Erika had no children and divorced on 14 October 1943.

Only 12 days later on 26 October in Copenhagen he married another commoner, Sonja Christensen Robbert (Copenhagen, 12 October 1909 – 21 May 2004), daughter of Robert Alexander Christensen Robbert and wife Ebba Elisabeth Svenson. They had a son, Count Michael Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg, born in Copenhagen on 21 August 1944. Sigvard and Sonja were divorced on 6 June 1961.

A month later, on 30 July 1961, he married in Stockholm Gullan Marie or Marianne Lindberg (b. Helsingborg, 15 July 1924), former Mrs. Gabriel Tchang (a son of a Chinese Minister in Stockholm by whom she had two children), daughter of Helge Lindberg and wife Thyra Dahlman, who then became Countess Marianne Bernadotte af Wisborg.

Title

On 2 July 1951 he was created Count Bernadotte af Wisborg by Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. In 28 May 1983 Sigvard announced to Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå, TT that he will title himself prince again.

Over the years he petitioned for restoration of his princely title (although he did not seek re-instatement in the line of succession to the throne), but King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden never obliged, and remained estranged from his uncle. Sigvard went to the European Court of Human Rights in an effort to re-claim his princely title. In 2004, after the death of Sigvard, the ECHR declared the application inadmissible.^[1]

From 1994 to 2002, he was the oldest living great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and having reached the age of 94, he was her longest-lived male descendant until being overtaken by his younger brother Carl on 29 June 2011.

Professional life

An industrial designer, Bernadotte was known for designing everything from luxurious silver objects for Georg Jensen to everyday-use household items in plastic.^[2]

Issue

By his second marriage Count Sigvard had one son:

• Count Michael Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Copenhagen, 21 August 1944), married in Stuttgart, 6 February 1976 Christine Vellhöjer or Wellhöfer (b. Stuttgart, 26 April 1947), daughter of Ernst Vellhöjer or Wellhöfer and wife Erna Kromer, and had an only daughter:
  • Countess Kajsa Michaela Sophia Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Stuttgart, 12 October 1980)

Ancestry

See also

• Swedish Act of Succession
• Instrument of Government (1809)

External links

• Royal House of Sweden
• Sigvard Bernadotte at the Internet Movie Database

Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg House of Bernadotte Born: 7 June 1907 Died: 4 February 2002
Swedish royalty
Preceded by Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland	Duke of Uppland	Succeeded by none

References

1. ^ http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=1&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=69688/01&sessionid=10807042&skin=hudoc-en
2. ^ http://www.hollsten.com/news/sigvard.htm