Farewell Princess Birgitta (1937-2024)

By Frankie Fouganthin via Wikimedia Commons

On December 4, 2024, we received the sad news that Princess Brigitta of Sweden passed away at her home on Mallorca. She was 87.

Although Birgitta Ingeborg Alice was the second child of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and his wife Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, she was never in the Swedish Line of Succession. Until 1980, no women were allowed to accede to the Swedish throne. When the law was changed to include women, it was limited to the descendants of her brother, King Carl Gustaf, and their uncle, Prince Bertil. She and her sisters, however, were in the British Line of Succession as granddaughters of Princess Margaret of Connaught, who had married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf. Margaret was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. At the time of her death, Birgitta was around #200 in the British succession.

Birgitta is the first of the Haga Princesses to pass away. She and her three sisters--Margaretha, Desiree, and Christina--were known by this collective name after Haga Palace, where they were born and grew up. Born between 1934 and 1943, the princesses finally had a little brother, the current king, in 1946. Nine months later, their father died in a plane crash. Birgitta had celebrated her 10th birthday one week earlier.

Birgitta (center) surrounded by her parents, sisters, and

baby brother shortly before her father's tragic death.

By Ateljé Jaeger via Wikimedia Commons

The princesses grew up in the royal spotlight. In 1960, Birgitta and Desiree were sent on an official visit to the United States in honor of their grandfather's 50th anniversary on the throne. They spent 10-days being feted. Their older sister Margaretha and cousins Astrid of Norway and Margarethe of Denmark had visited the U.S. West Coast just a few months earlier.

In 1961, Birgitta was the first of the sisters to marry. She was also the only one to make a so-called "equal marriage", choosing a husband of princely rank. She and Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern had three children: Carl Christian in 1962, Desiree in 1963, and Hubertus in 1966. Later, they had four grandchildren. The couple separated in 1990 but remained married until his death in 2016. He continued to live in homeland of Germany while she made her home in Spain.

Because Birgitta married a prince, she is the only one of her sisters who retained the style of a Royal Highness and continued to be an official member of the Swedish Royal House. 

Birgitta was a sporty person. She even trained a gymnastics instructor and was well-known for her love of golf.