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King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden led tributes at the funeral of his beloved sister, Princess Désirée of Sweden, on Thursday. The royal family gathered for the service at the Palace Church at the Royal Palace.
Crown Princess Victoria accompanied her husband, Prince Daniel, and her daughter, Princess Estelle, at the ceremony, where they were joined by Queen Sonja, Prince Carl Philip , Princess Sofia, Princess Madeleine and Christopher O’Neill. Princess Désirée’s sister, Princess Margaretha, was also in attendance, wearing a delicate string of pearls around her neck.
Desirée was known to the public as one of the “Haga Princesses.” who grew up in the Haga Palace outside Stockholm with Carl XVI Gustaf and their sisters, Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitta, and Princess Christina. Officially titled Baroness Silfverschiöld, Princess Désirée passed away on January 21 at the age of 87.
Born on June2, 1938 to Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess Desirée’s paternal grandparents were Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She was named after her ancestor, Queen Desideria, and was, at one point, number 306 in line to the British throne.
Desirée, Birgitta and Cristina in 1944
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Princess Désirée was also a first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark . Margrethe’s mother, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, and the Princess’ father, Prince Gustaf Adolf, were siblings.
Despite war in Europe looming large, the Haga Princesses and their brother, the future king, enjoyed a bucolic childhood in the Swedish countryside, growing up alongside the ducks and goats of the Haga Palace—and the family pony, Eva, a gift from the King.
As the daughter of the Crown Prince’s oldest son, the throne was always looming over Princess Desirée, though succession laws at the time meant that her brother, Carl Gustaf, was the only one who would ever inherit the crown. Despite this proximity to power, her father was keen that the royal family should set an example during the war years and thus should not “have any special privileges … while other people are forced to give up so much.” Desirée’s sister, Birgitta, would later recount how the royal household rationed their butter and darkened their windows during the Second World War.
Princess Désirée of Sweden, Baroness Silfverschiöld, sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf, has died aged 87
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Tragedy would strike before the war was done. In the afternoon of January 26, 1947, Prince Gustaf Adolf took off from Katstrup Airport in Copenhagen, seated in a plane next to the American opera star Grace Moore (dubbed the ‘Tennessee Nightingale’) and Danish actress Gerda Neumann. He was making his way home from a hunting trip with Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, but 50 meters into their ascent, the aircraft plummeted out of the sky, exploding on impact and killing all 16 passengers and six crew members. After Gustaf Adolf’s death, his son replaced him as second in line to the throne. Carl Gustaf was nine months old. Princess Desirée was eight years old.
Princess Desirée was part of the royal circuit as a young woman, attending a banquet in honor of the Dutch royals in 1957; joining Princess Birgitta on a visit to the US in 1960; and accompanying her sister Princess Margaretha on a visit to Britain in honor of the wedding of Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy in 1963.
In December of that year she announced her engagement to Baron Nils-August Otto Carl Niclas Silfverschiöld, an aristocrat and landowner. Although he hailed from the upper echelons of Swedish high society, Silfverschiöld was not a royal and thus Désirée lost her position as a princess of Sweden and styling of Her Royal Highnessas of their wedding in June 1964.
King King Gustaf the V of Sweden (seated centre) with his family, from left top row: Prince Wilhelm, Princess Birgitta, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, Princess Margaretha, Countess Maria Bernadotte. Princess Sibylla, Prince Oscar. Princess Désirée, Prince Carl Gustaf (now King Carl XVI Gustaf) and Princess Christina
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However, she continued to use “Princess” as a courtesy title and was officially known as Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld. The couple went on to welcome three children, Baron Carl Otto Edmund Silfverschiöld, Baroness Christina Louise Ewa Madeleine Silfverschiöld and Baroness Hélène Ingeborg Sibylla Silfverschiöld, all of whom went on to welcome children. She was also godmother to her niece, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
Princess Désirée preferred to stay out of the spotlight but did join the family for a handful of important royal occasions, including attending the 2010 wedding of Crown Princess Victoria, the 2013 wedding of Princess Madeleine and appearing alongside her sisters for Victoria’s 40th birthday celebrations in 2017. The low-key royal also occasionally stepped out for events surrounding the Nobel Prize ceremony.
Desiree of Sweden is escorted by Baron Von Hardenbrook to an event in May, 1957
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In her later years, Princess Désirée spoke openly about finding fulfillment in her role as a wife and a mother. “I now see myself only as a mother and wife and do not attach much importance to my princessship,” she recalled in a 2008 interview. “In principle, I also think it is wrong to rely on origins and kinship.” Her husband died in 2017.
Princess Desirée’s eldest sister, Princess Margaretha, 91, lives in a stunning Grade II-listed manor house in Oxfordshire, after marrying an English businessman, John Ambler, in 1964. Their second sister, Princess Birgitta, who competed in the Olympics, died in December 2024 aged 87. Their youngest sister, Princess Christina, 82, married business executive Tord Magnuson and remains a public figure in Sweden.
Princess Désirée of Sweden (left) and Princess Margaretha of Sweden are met by Lord Louis Mountbatten as they arrive at London Airport (later Heathrow) for the wedding of Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy in April 1963.
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The King of Sweden paid tribute to his sister in a statement shared following her death, saying, “With great sadness, I have today received the news that my sister, Princess Désirée, has passed away. Many warm family memories were created in the home of the Silfverschiöld family in Västergötland – a place in Sweden that came to mean a great deal to my sister.” He concluded: “Together with my family, I send my condolences to Princess Désirée’s children and their families.”
Princess Désirée of Sweden is survived by her brother, two sisters, children and their families.
Princess Desiree and her then-fiance Baron Nicolas Silfverschiold walking in the park of the Koberg Castle, where they lived after their wedding, December 1963
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Originally published in Tatler
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