Farewell Princess Desiree of Sweden

By SCANPIX via Wikimedia Commons

The 1950s was a heyday for glamorous princesses. Like never before, these beautiful young women were constantly in the public eye, whether representing their monarchs or entertaining with their friends. The most famous was, of course, Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister Princess Margaret along with their younger cousin Princess Alexandra, but Europe was bursting with others. The number of royal princesses born in the 1930s and 1940s outnumbered their royal brothers. Greece boasted two princesses to one prince with the same ratio in Norway. Belgium had an even split: three princesses and three princes. Denmark had three princesses and no princes while The Netherlands had only princesses--four of them!

Sweden also had four princesses and they had one baby brother. Known collectively as the "Haga Princesses" after their childhood home, Princesses Margaretha, Birgitta, Desiree and Christina grew up in a close and loving family. Legally, as women, they were barred from inheriting the throne. So, when the third girl, Desiree, was born on June 2, 1938, there was likely some disappointment that she was not a boy at last. Nevertheless, Desiree, like her sisters became very popular in Sweden and beyond.

The birth of baby brother Carl Gustav in 1946 relieved the looming succession crisis and gave his big sisters an object of adoration. The family's joy, however, was eclipsed just eight months later when their father was killed in a plane crash while returning from a personal visit to The Netherlands. Desiree was eight years old. Their mother, the former Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg, was left to bring up the five children on her own. The princesses were mostly educated at home in small classes with girls of the same age before enrolling at Franska Skolan in Stockholm where classes were taught in French.

Princess Desiree (far right) with her siblings and parents

By Ateljé Jaeger via Wikimedia Commons

Desiree showed an early love of the arts, taking both ballet and piano lessons. She particularly enjoyed drawing and needlework, and later enrolled in a degree program in textiles at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts, and Design to learn more about embroidery and weaving. Like most Scandinavians, she enjoyed outdoor sports, excelling at skiing. She studied French in Switzerland. But, Desiree's love for children guided her career choices. After completing a course in infant care, she worked as a preschool teacher and completed internships at a playhouse, a children's hospital and a school for blind children. She was a natural with the youngsters who liked her very much.

At the same time, Desiree had become one of the popular princesses of the 1950s. Her sisters' and her every move was documented in the press. A fact that enabled their grandfather, King Gustav VI Adolf, to expand Swedish interests around the world. Once, while on a goodwill visit to the United States, Desiree drew particular interest because of her attention to a child. When a young four-year-old girl asked the princess for a kiss, Desiree blushingly obliged.

Kisses were likely on Desiree's mind back home, too. While public rumors circulated that Desiree might marry Constantine of Greece (who actually later married her first cousin, Princess Anne Marie of Denmark), Desiree had found love closer to home. She has fallen for Greger "Teddy" Lewenhaupt, an older brother of one her brother's friends. The two were perhaps moving toward an engagement when Teddy was killed in a skiing accident in 1960. The 22-year-old princess had lost someone she loved to tragedy once again.

Her heartbreak began to heal in the next year when she caught the attention of her friend Irma's brother, Niclas Silfverschiold. Four years older than Desiree, Niclas had already completed studies at an agricultural college, served as an officer in the Swedish Army and had taken over the headship of his family and their properties upon his father's death in 1955. He held both Koberg Castle in Vastergotland and Gasevadholm Castle in Halland. The couple were married June 5, 1964 in a royal wedding at Storkyrkan in Stockholm. Desiree wore the same wedding dress her older sister, Margaretha, had worn the year before. She also wore the same tiara, the Swedish Cameo Tiara, that has come to be known as the traditional bridal tiara in the Swedish Royal Family. Its most recent wedding appearance was on Desiree's niece and goddaughter, Crown Princess Victoria, at her own wedding in 2010.

Because Niclas was merely a baron and not a prince, Desiree surrendered her royal status to marry him. She was however granted the courtesy of being called "Princess Desiree, Baroness Silfverschiold" for the rest of her life. After their marriage, the couple focused on family life and running the Silfverschiold estates. Desiree rarely took on public duties for the next six decades, although she did appear at large family events and sometimes attended Nobel Prize events, dressed in gala attire with other members of her family.

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Desiree's focus, however, was on motherhood. She and Niclas welcome three children in quick succession. Carl was born nine months after their wedding; Christina 18 months after him; and Helene 24 months after her. While the public might still have thrilled at any news or sightings of her, Desiree was very clear on what was important to her. Once, when her grandfather was still king, he asked what jewelry she would like for her birthday. Desiree requested a tractor instead because "Niclas needs it for farming."

Princess Desiree & Baron Niclas Silfverschiold

By Frankie Fouganthin via Wikimedia Commons

When Sweden finally introduced a law to allow women to inherit the throne, Desiree and her sisters were still barred because the succession was limited only to the descendants of their brother, King Carl XVI Gustaf. Desiree likely was unbothered by this decision. As she said in an interview in 2008, "I now see myself only as a mother and wife and do not attach much importantce to my princessship." She went on to explain, "In principle, I think it is wrong to rely on origins and kinship."

Baron Niclas Silfverschiold passed away at age 82 in 2017. Princess Desiree died at home, surrounded by family, on January 21, 2026 at the age of 87. She is the second Haga Princess to pass; Princess Birgitta died in December 2024, also at the age of 87.

Princess Desiree is survived by her three children and five grandchildren.

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More about Desiree
Heartbreak for the Swedish Royal Family on Tatler
The King of Sweden's Sister, Princess Desiree, Dies on Royal Central
Princess Desiree, Baroness Silfverschiold on The Royal Watcher
Princess Desiree Did Not Want to Rely on Her Royal Title on Sweden Herald
Princess Desiree Has Passed Away on Swedish Royal Court (Official Page)
Princess Desiree of Sweden, Baroness Silfverschiold on Unofficial Royalty
Princess Desiree of Sweden Dies at Age of 87 on Town & Country
Princess Desiree of Sweden, A Haga Princess on History of Royal Women
Princess Desiree of Sweden Has Died on The Royal Watcher