Robert Prentice's Blog

La reine Marie José d’Italie demeure l’une des dames les plus emblématiques des familles royales d’Europe. Pourtant, beaucoup en savent peu sur sa vie, en particulier au-delà du glamour tel qu’il était dépeint autrefois. Comme cet article (ci-dessous) le révèle, il y avait bien plus à cette personne pragmatique, mais ayant un esprit démocratique.

En mai 1946, une grande dame aristocratique passait la journée à aider les sans-abri dans la région de Cassino. Cependant, lorsque un assistant l’a appelée ‘Votre Majesté’, l’individu a soudainement réalisé qu’elle était devenue Reine d’Italie. La dame en question était Marie-José, la fille du feu Roi Albert I des Belges et de sa femme Elisabeth. Mais comment cette situation avait-elle pu se produire?

Marie-José quand elle était enfant.

La princesse Marie-José est née à Ostende en août 1906. Elle était la benjamine des enfants du roi Albert Ier des Belges et de sa consort, née duchesse Élisabeth de Bavière. Par celle-ci, elle était petite-nièce de l’iconique impératrice Élisabeth d’Autriche (‘Sisi’). La princesse a d’abord été élevée au château de Laeken à Bruxelles, avec une maison de campagne à Ciergnon. Alors que les batailles de la Première Guerre mondiale se déroulaient en Europe continentale, elle a passé de nombreuses années de primaire en Angleterre où elle a fréquenté l’Ursuline Convent High School à Brentwood, Essex. Une influence particulière était Mademoiselle Hammersley, une femme anglaise raffinée qui s’occupait de sa protégée. En 1917, Mademoiselle Hammersley accompagnerait Marie-José en Italie où la princesse fréquenta l’Istituto Statale della Santissima Annunziata à Florence. Les cours étaient traditionnellement enseignés ici en italien, anglais et allemand.

Marie-José avant son mariage

Avec l’arrivée de la paix, la princesse Marie-José retournerait à Bruxelles où, en 1919, elle s’inscrivit à l’Institut Sacré-Cœur à Linthout sous la direction de la Mère Supérieure Jacquemin. Elle y resterait jusqu’à l’âge de dix-huit ans et bénéficierait d’une éducation catholique de bonne qualité.

Un visiteur au port d’Anvers en Belgique à l’automne 1922 était Umberto, le Prince de Piémont et héritier du trône d’Italie. Il est arrivé à Anvers à bord du navire Ferruccio pour représenter officiellement l’Italie à l’inauguration d’un nouveau canal. Il a été accueilli par Marie-José et ses frères. La princesse a ensuite été montrée sur le navire par Umberto (qu’elle avait rencontré plusieurs années auparavant en Italie) et a été impressionnée par son apparence bronzée, ses cheveux d’un noir jais et son élégant uniforme militaire blanc. Ce fut une brève rencontre, au cours de laquelle les visites du Prince de Piémont à Rhodes, Benghazi et Tripoli ont été discutées. Il devait y avoir une étincelle suffisante entre eux, car le septembre suivant, la famille royale belge a été invitée pour une visite d’un mois au château de Racconigi près de Turin. Bien que des devoirs militaires et officiels aient signifié qu’Umberto n’a fait qu’une seule brève apparition, cela a donné à Marie-José un aperçu de la vie au sein de la Maison de Savoie. Cette visite a également dû s’avérer fructueuse car l’année suivante, la mère d’Umberto, la reine Elena, a écrit pour dire à une amie en Belgique qu’elle continuait à espérer une union entre son fils et la princesse Marie-José.

Ainsi, en janvier 1930, à la suite d’une longue romance, la princesse avait épousé Umberto, le prince de Piémont, dans la chapelle historique Paolina du palais du Quirinal à Rome. Au départ, Marie-José et Umberto vivaient au palais royal de Turin. Cependant, contrairement à son mari plus respectueux (qui appelait toujours son père, le roi Victor Emmanuel, ‘Majesté’), la princesse belge était beaucoup plus une âme libre. Elle préférait organiser des soirées musicales passionnantes et travailler avec la Croix-Rouge plutôt que d’observer une étiquette de cour stricte. Dès le départ, Marie-José était également passionnée par l’étude de l’histoire de la Maison de Savoie, dans laquelle elle s’était mariée.

Le prince et la princesse de Piémont le jour de leur mariage

Cependant, un déménagement à Naples, en novembre 1931 (où Umberto avait été nommé Commandant de la 25e Infanterie), devait s’avérer fortuit. Le couple pouvait échapper aux confins du Palais Royal de la ville pour des week-ends de détente à la Villa Rosebery dans la banlieue balnéaire de Posillipo. Marie-José se sentait également plus émancipée parmi les Napolitains heureux et détendus : elle jouait au tennis trois fois par semaine à la Villa Communale et avait établi un Réfectoire Public pour nourrir les pauvres de la ville. Épanouie et amoureuse, elle décrivit plus tard cette époque comme ‘les meilleures années de notre mariage.’ L’apogée de sa joie fut la naissance d’une fille bien-aimée, Maria Pia, le 24 septembre 1934.

Pourtant, c’était aussi une période difficile. Le père de Marie-José, le roi Albert, est mort dans un accident d’escalade pendant sa grossesse et on lui a conseillé de ne pas voyager en Belgique pour les funérailles. Puis, en août 1935, sa chère belle-sœur suédoise, la reine Astrid, a été tuée dans un horrible accident de voiture en Suisse. Toujours en arrière-plan, il y avait aussi les machinations troublantes du gouvernement d’extrême droite de Mussolini, ou plus précisément son invasion de l’Éthiopie en octobre 1935. Bien que la Princesse ait de graves réserves sur les actions et les politiques d’Il Duce, elle s’est débrouillée en essayant d’être d’une utilité pratique. Marie-José a été formée comme infirmière et a suivi un cours en médecine tropicale. Son travail à l’hôpital lui vaudra bientôt le titre de ‘Soeur Marie-José.’ Lors d’une tournée des troupes italiennes en Afrique en 1936, la Princesse a été troublée par les mauvaises installations et le moral bas des troupes. Elle était également indignée par la machine de propagande de Mussolini, qui la décrivait de manière provocante, mais inexacte, comme l’ ‘Impératrice de Éthiopie ‘

Avec le passage du temps, Marie-José déplorait la proximité croissante d’Il Duce avec Hitler. Cela entraînerait finalement une confrontation, lorsque la Princesse décida que les bénéfices de ses concerts de collecte de fonds à Naples devraient être donnés à son ‘Fonds de travail de la Princesse de Piémont’ plutôt qu’au ‘Fonds national de travail’ du Fasciste. Un des principaux bénéficiaires de la générosité de son Fonds était ‘l’Association nationale pour le sud de l’Italie’, une région plus pauvre, qui était supervisée par l’éminent archéologue et anti-fasciste, Umberto Bianco. Le régime fasciste à Rome était furieux. Ils n’étaient pas non plus enchantés par l’association de Marie-José avec des ‘libéraux’ tels que l’archevêque de Naples, le cardinal Alessio Ascaresi et le philosophe Benedetto Croce, dont la maison fut perquisitionnée par des soldats fascistes.

Marie-José en tant que Princesse de Piémont

En février 1937, la princesse de Piémont a donné naissance à un fils, Vittorio Emanuele. Elle n’a pas été très heureuse d’apprendre que le Grand Conseil fasciste avait le pouvoir de délibérer sur la capacité d’un héritier à régner et a confronté Mussolini à ce sujet. Il a été déstabilisé par son approche directe, si différente de celle de son beau-père, le roi, que Marie-José considérait comme complaisant dans ses relations avec les fascistes. ‘Un monarque’, a reproché Marie-José à son mari Umberto, ‘doit être là pour tous ses peuples.’ Une rencontre avec Hitler à Naples n’a guère dissuadé son point de vue ‘démocratique’. En effet, en septembre 1938, la princesse a rencontré le héros de la Première Guerre mondiale, le maréchal Pietro Badoglio au château de Racconigi pour discuter d’un plan visant à évincer Mussolini et à persuader le roi Victor Emmanuel ‘discrédité’ d’abdiquer, ouvrant ainsi la voie à un gouvernement anti-fasciste. Cependant, l’accord de Munich du 29 septembre a court-circuité cette tentative.

Lorsque l’Italie a déclaré la guerre à la Grande-Bretagne et à la France, en juin 1940, Marie-José a informé une dame d’honneur que la monarchie en Italie était ‘finie’. Elle était déjà sous le choc des nouvelles de l’invasion de sa patrie, la Belgique, par les forces nazies le 10 mai. En effet, la princesse avait été ‘prévenue’ des intentions de l’Allemagne par un Pape Pie sympatique le 6 mai. Cependant, les tentatives de Marie-José pour alerter le gouvernement belge ont été contrecarrées par l’ambassadeur belge à Rome qui a rejeté l’avertissement comme une ‘rumeur ennemie’.

Quelles que soient ses émotions personnelles, la princesse se concentrait désormais sur l’aide aux personnes dans le besoin. Après la naissance de son troisième enfant, Maria Gabriella, elle passa l’été 1940 à travailler avec la Croix-Rouge sur le Front occidental et organisa même un train-hôpital pour transporter les blessés du Front. En septembre, Marie-José rendit visite à Bruxelles pour des discussions avec son frère, le roi Léopold III, qui avait décidé de vivre l’occupation allemande avec son peuple. Il demanda à sa sœur bien-aimée de rencontrer Hitler pour demander la rapatriement des prisonniers de guerre belges et solliciter des denrées alimentaires indispensables. Encore une fois, la princesse mit de côté ses sentiments individuels pour le bien de sa patrie et rendit visite au Führer à Berchtesgaden le 17 octobre. Il semblait désintéressé, bien que Marie-José persista avec détermination et lui parla des ‘nombreuses souffrances infligées au peuple belge.’ Elle encouragea également son frère à engager un dialogue avec Hitler sur les différentes questions.

Marie-José en uniforme de la Croix-Rouge.

Lorsque l’Italie a déclaré la guerre aux États-Unis, en décembre 1941, la princesse avait déjà conclu que sa patrie adoptive ne pourrait pas gagner la guerre. Elle a de nouveau tenté de contacter le Maréchal Badoglio pour lui faire comprendre la nécessité d’éliminer les fascistes et de mettre fin à la guerre. Les événements allaient soutenir son point de vue : à la fin de 1942, l’Italie souffrait de revers militaires en Libye et en Russie. Le Maréchal, cependant, attendait un signal du Roi ‘constitutionnel’ qui, à son tour, cherchait un signal du peuple!

Sans se laisser décourager, la Princesse poursuivit son travail dans les hôpitaux et parmi les sans-abri et les dépossédés, dont le nombre avait considérablement augmenté en raison des bombardements alliés. Marie-José était également touchée par les manifestations d’affection du peuple envers elle lors de ses visites dans ses réfectoires à Rome et Naples. Déjà enceinte de son quatrième enfant, Maria Beatrice, la Princesse cherchait parfois refuge dans des maisons locales lors des bombardements, où elle se voyait offrir du café et, à une occasion, un bouquet de fleurs du jardin.

En revanche, Mussolini semblait distrait et marqué par le souci. L’arrogance avait disparu alors que les défaites de l’Italie s’accumulaient. Lorsque les Alliés ont envahi la Sicile le 10 juillet 1943, le roi Victor Emmanuel, d’habitude indécis, a enfin décidé d’agir et, le 25 juillet, lorsque le Duce est venu à la Villa Savoia du roi pour une audience, il a été arrêté. Il est révélateur que le Duce ait crié : ‘C’est la Princesse de Piémont [le titre royal officiel de Marie-José] qui sera heureuse.’ Il est clair que Mussolini réalisait que cette princesse ‘démocratique’ de Belgique était l’une de ses plus grandes ennemies.

À la suite de la capitulation de l’Italie face aux Alliés le 8 septembre 1943, un officiel de la Maison Royale a rendu visite à Marie-José à son emplacement actuel au Château de Serre dans la vallée d’Aoste et a demandé qu’elle se rende en Suisse. C’était probablement pour sa propre sécurité, alors que les forces allemandes envahissaient désormais l’Italie et occupaient les zones centrales et nordiques. La Princesse et ses quatre enfants se sont d’abord installés à l’Hôtel Excelsior à Montreux, puis ont déménagé à l’Hôtel Montana, à Oberhofen. Son ennemi, Mussolini, avait entre-temps été ‘libéré’ par les Allemands et avait établi la ‘république marionnette’ de Salò. Le Roi et d’autres membres de la famille royale italienne sont restés à Naples, qui a été occupée par les Alliés le 11 octobre. L’Italie a déclaré la guerre à l’Allemagne le 13 octobre.

Bien que Marie-José souhaite désormais rejoindre les forces partisanes pour combattre les forces nazies dans le nord de l’Italie, elle a réalisé que si sa participation était découverte, il pourrait y avoir des représailles pour la population locale. Au lieu de cela, la princesse s’est contentée de faire passer des armes à la frontière suisse pour une utilisation de l’autre côté en Italie. C’était très risqué car elle était sous surveillance constante des autorités suisses et aussi des agents ennemis.

Le 23 janvier 1944, le diplomate italien Gallarati Scotti a rencontré Marie-José à Oberhofen. Il a discuté d’un plan pour installer la princesse comme régente pour son fils, Vittorio Emanuele, et espérer rapprocher la monarchie du peuple. Marie-José était, après tout, considérée comme une démocrate, sans liens avec Mussolini ou son régime fasciste de droite. Cependant, ceux qui étaient actuellement au pouvoir décidèrent que l’autorité royale future devrait plutôt reposer sur son mari Umberto, qui fut nommé Lieutenant-Général du Royaume en juin 1944, avec tous les pouvoirs royaux, suite à la libération de Rome par les Alliés. Ce n’est qu’à la fin avril 1945 que Marie-José retourna en Italie, traversant les Alpes à pied depuis la Suisse, escortée par deux guides de montagne. Des combattants de la résistance communiste lui firent ensuite escorte jusqu’au Château de Sarre. Émouvant, sa présence ultérieure à un Te Deum dans la cathédrale voisine d’Aoste fut accueillie par des applaudissements chaleureux de la part des autres fidèles.

En mai 1945, la princesse déménagea à Turin et ouvrit une cantine de la Croix-Rouge pour aider les sans-abris. Enfin, elle arriva à Rome, voyageant par avion depuis Turin, le 16 juin, pour une réunion tant attendue avec Umberto qu’elle n’avait pas vu depuis deux ans. Pourtant, elle était également hantée par la vue des ruines des villes autrefois vibrantes qu’elle survolait en route. En août, les enfants royaux (qui avaient séjourné à Glion où, à un moment, Maria Pia et Maria Gabriella avaient toutes deux succombé au typhus) rentrèrent également chez eux à Rome. Pendant ce temps, Umberto avait ouvert une aile du Quirinal pour accueillir les sans-abris, alors Marie-José vendit des bijoux pour aider à fournir des fonds nécessaires à l’ouverture d’une autre cantine, ainsi qu’un atelier pour que les femmes locales puissent confectionner des vêtements. Néanmoins, il y avait beaucoup de ceux qui s’opposaient à Umberto, estimant qu’il n’avait pas suffisamment résisté à Mussolini. Umberto décida alors qu’un référendum devrait être organisé sur l’avenir de la monarchie. Celui-ci devait avoir lieu en juin 1946.

En attendant, le roi Victor Emmanuel a abdiqué le 9 mai et est parti en exil à Alexandrie en Égypte. Umberto était désormais roi d’Italie et Marie-José était sa reine consort. Mais pour combien de temps ?

Ironiquement, au moment où l’auxiliaire mentionné ci-dessus, à Cassino, faisait référence à Marie-José en tant que ‘Sa Majesté’, la nouvelle Reine se préparait déjà mentalement à l’exil. Son pressentiment était juste, car après le référendum (au cours duquel elle vota dans une école locale, en soumettant un bulletin de vote blanc), Marie-José fut informée en privé que 54 % des électeurs avaient voté en faveur d’une république. Le Roi ordonna maintenant à sa femme de partir immédiatement pour le Portugal. Mais d’abord, elle s’assura de téléphoner aux responsables de toutes ses œuvres de charité, en soulignant que leur travail devait se poursuivre sous une république.

Le 5 juin, Marie-José et les enfants prirent l’avion de Rome à sa chère Naples et à la Villa Rosebery. Elle demanda à quiconque voulait l’entendre : ‘Pourquoi ne puis-je pas rester ici en tant que citoyenne ordinaire ?’ Cependant, le lendemain matin, elle et sa famille embarquèrent à bord du navire, à destination de Lisbonne. Alors qu’elle regardait la côte italienne disparaître au loin, l’ancienne reine réfléchit : ‘Pour la première fois, je suis libre de toute la fausse apparence et de l’hypocrisie qui m’ont entourée.’ Soudain, son ‘règne’ de moins d’un mois était terminé. Elle devint désormais connue pour la postérité sous le nom de La Regina di Maggio (La Reine de Mai).

Après la confirmation des résultats du référendum, Umberto a ensuite rejoint sa famille dans un domaine à Sintra, la Quinta de Bella Vista. Lui et Marie-José ont trouvé la vie ensemble difficile. Elle a plus tard exprimé sa plainte en disant que ‘Umberto était angoissé, accablé par une souffrance intérieure qu’il ne pouvait pas partager. Cela a commencé à me perturber et m’a mis mal à l’aise dans ma propre maison.’ La fille du couple, la Princesse Maria Pia, a souligné que ses parents étaient des caractères ‘très différents’. Umberto était ‘très sérieux et conscient de son rôle’ tandis que sa mère, ‘aimait rire et marcher seule dans la rue. [Mon père] n’aurait jamais fait cela.’

La reine Marie-José dans les années 1950

Les choses dans le mariage sont devenues tendues lorsque Marie-José a reçu une transfusion du mauvais groupe sanguin lors d’une opération de l’appendicite. Elle est tombée immédiatement dans le coma et, lorsqu’elle a repris conscience, il a été découvert que sa vue était gravement altérée en raison d’hémorragies rétiniennes. La Reine s’est rendue en Suisse pour suivre un traitement sous la direction de l’ophtalmologiste Adolphe Franceschetti. Cependant, les dommages se sont révélés permanents et étaient tels que si elle regardait vers le bas, elle ne voyait rien. Marie-José restait désormais éternellement méfiante face aux escaliers. Malheureusement, il s’avérait politiquement inapproprié pour Umberto de suivre sa femme en Suisse et Marie-José, déconcertée par l’apparente incapacité de son mari à réagir à sa situation, supposait qu’il désirait la solitude.

En temps voulu, la Reine acheta un petit château, Merlinge, près de Gy. Son fils Vittorio la rejoignit là-bas, tandis que ses autres enfants lui rendaient visite à intervalles réguliers depuis le Portugal. Elle parlait désormais rarement du passé mais avouait regretter la chaleur de Naples. Ses journées étaient consacrées à des recherches sur la Maison de Savoie, dont elle écrivit plusieurs livres. Un autre intérêt était la musique, ce qui l’amena à établir le Prix International de Composition Musicale Reine Marie-José. Les voyages étaient également une attraction et, accompagnée de sa mère, la Reine Elisabeth des Belges, Marie-José se rendit en Inde (où elle rencontra Nehru) et en Chine.

Dans les années 1980, l’âge rattrapait à la fois Marie-José et Umberto. Ce dernier est décédé en mars 1983, après une longue et douloureuse bataille contre le cancer. Lui et sa femme avaient toujours gardé contact et la Reine le visitait souvent à l’hôpital. Marie-José a continué à se battre, souvent avec douleur et utilisant une canne : En mars 1988, elle a effectué sa première visite en Italie depuis 1946, visitant Aoste pour assister à une conférence historique suivie d’une visite du Palais Royal de Turin et des Archives d’État. Lorsqu’on lui a demandé ce qu’elle pensait des monarchistes italiens, elle a habilement répondu : ‘Je suis une Reine, mais je ne suis pas une Monarchiste.’

À un âge avancé, Marie-José est tombée amoureuse du Mexique lors de ses visites à sa fille Maria Béatrice à Cuernavaca. Elle a ensuite acheté une villa là-bas avec une piscine, dans laquelle elle se baignait tous les jours. La Reine a accueilli une large gamme de visiteurs, y compris son neveu, le roi Albert II des Belges. Bien que le corps de Marie-José puisse maintenant la lâcher, son esprit n’était certainement pas affecté. Maria Béatrice se souvenait de l’esprit ‘jeune’ et de la ‘manière de penser moderne’ de sa mère.

En 1995, dans un esprit réfléchi, Marie-José entreprit une visite en Belgique. L’année suivante, elle décida de retourner vivre en Suisse, cette fois avec son fils, Vittorio Emanuele. Ce dernier organisa une fête en plein air pour célébrer le 90e anniversaire de sa mère le 4 août 1996, un anniversaire qu’elle partageait avec la reine mère du Royaume-Uni, Elizabeth, qui avait six ans de plus. En 1999, Marie-José visita Florence pour recevoir la liberté de la ville et l’année suivante, elle reçut une invitation pour assister aux célébrations du 100e anniversaire de la reine Elizabeth à Londres. Malheureusement, elle était trop fragile pour accepter.

Reine Marie-José dans un âge avancé

Sa Majesté la Reine Marie-José d’Italie, Princesse de Belgique, est décédée le 27 janvier 2001 à l’Hôpital du Canton de Genève, à l’âge vénérable de 94 ans. Elle avait reconnu des membres de sa famille jusqu’à la fin. Lors de ses funérailles à l’Abbaye de Hautcombe, le 2 février, son cercueil, drapé avec le drapeau belge et les armes de sa chère Maison de Savoie, a été porté par des membres de la famille et des royalties européennes. Son cher chœur Alpini a chanté quelques chansons favorites et l’hymne sarde, ‘Conservat Deu Su Re Sardu’ (chanté à son mariage) a résonné dans l’Abbaye. C’est un témoignage de la personne que, au fil des ans, la Reine est toujours rappelée avec grande affection.

Astrid and Leopold as royal bride and groom.

On 29 August 1935, some 90 years ago, a most tragic road accident occurred in Switzerland. The driver of the Packard 120 open-topped sports car was none other than King Leopold of the Belgians. Beside him in the passenger seat was his beautiful wife, Queen Astrid. As they journeyed together along the Lucerne to Zurich road, just before the village of Küssnacht, Leopold seemed to lose control of the car as it unexpectedly skidded on the narrow, winding road and rolled down a hill. Astrid was thrown from the vehicle and flung against a tree. She suffered fatal head injuries, including a fractured skull. Leopold was also injured and by the time he reached her, she was already dead (although other sources say she died in his arms).

The wreckage of the Packard 120 Car being recovered. A complete write-off. Original Photograph by Willy Rogg.

The news of her death immediately plunged Belgium into deep mourning. Crowds gathered around the newsstands to observe the latest newspaper reports: the front pages of both De Standaard and Le Soir were heavily edged in black as a mark of respect. There was a sense of incredulity that their beloved “Snow Queen” was suddenly no more. Thoughts also turned to her widower husband, Leopold and the couple’s three children, Joséphine-Charlotte, Baudouin and Albert, the latter who had been born only the previous summer. Meanwhile, in her home country of Sweden, the people were also stunned as they remembered this beautiful Swedish princess, with her toothy grin, who had been raised in an unspoilt fashion, in Stockholm, by her parents, Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland and his Danish-born wife Princess Ingeborg. In Oslo too, Astrid’s older sister, Märtha, the Crown Princess of Norway was also much affected by the news; as was the eldest of the three sisters, Princess Margaretha who had married into the Danish Royal House.

Princess Astrid of Sweden (far right) with her sisters and mother Princess Ingeborg.Queen Astrid with her older children, Joséphine-Charlotte and Baudouin

Astrid’s mortal remains were carried by train from Switzerland to Brussels, arriving there on 30 August. A lying-in-state took place at the Royal Palace which would last for three days (although the family actually lived at the Château du Stuyvenberg at Laeken). Meanwhile, Astrid’s parents arrived from Sweden; her mother Princess Ingeborg was photographed in deepest mourning staring forlornly at a bronze statue of her late daughter, now wreathed in flowers as a symbol of respect. Outside, the street lamps were covered in black mourning cloth, flags flew at half-mast and there was a ceremonial fly-past by the Belgian Air Force.

The funeral procession of Queen Astrid of the Belgians.

The funeral took place on 3 September. The courtyard of the Royal Palace was covered in wreaths and floral tributes. Astrid’s mother-in-law Queen Elisabeth, with Joséphine-Charlotte at her side, openly wept, as she watched her son Leopold, himself bandaged and injured, walk with his head bowed behind the funeral hearse accompanied by his father-in-law, Prince Carl of Sweden. This was pulled by eight horses, each sporting black plumes attached to their heads. The royal ladies followed behind in carriages. The funeral route was lined by tens of thousands of people, just as it had been nine years before when she arrived in Brussels for the religious marriage service to Leopold, then titled the Duke of Brabant. Indeed, even at this moment, the crowds must have reflected on their stylish Queen, who was always dressed in wonderful couture clothes by Lanvin, Molyneux and Mainbocher, invariably accessorised by her trademark Delly Poelman hats, adorned with ostrich feathers and rich velvet, the outfits completed by hand made court shoes. Fortunately, over the years, the Belgian photographer Robert Marchand had taken many images of Astrid both en famille and for official purposes.

In keeping with tradition, Queen Astrid was interred in the Royal Crypt in the Church of Notre-Dame de Laeken. This would become a place of pilgrimage even many decades later. It is a measure of the esteem and love in which Queen Astrid was held, that in November 2005, an exhibition of her life ” Astrid et nous: regards croisés”, took place to commemorate the centenary of her birth. This was organised by the l’Association Royale Le Musée de la Dynastie at the BELvue Museum in the Place des Palais. Such was the demand from the public, that the exhibition was extended for a further six weeks. It was filled with many personal mementos, including Astrid’s recipe books, written in French (but with the thumbnails annotated in her native Swedish) as well as postcards sent to family members for her travels overseas to the Far East and Africa.

Astrid’s legacy has lived on through her children and grandchildren. Both Baudouin and Albert would hold the titles of King of the Belgians. In due course her grandson, Albert’s eldest son, Philippe, would accede to the throne following the abdication of his father in July 2013 (for health reasons). In 1953, Joséphine-Charlotte married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who in 1964 succeeded his mother, Grand Duchess Charlotte, to become Grand Duke of Luxembourg. As at the time of writing, another of Astrid’s grandsons, Henri, is the present Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Forever Remembered: A Royal Icon.

Lors d’un matin sombre à l’aéroport international de Genève, un cercueil, recouvert d’un drapeau royal, a été chargé à l’arrière d’un avion de transport militaire roumain. Le cercueil contenait les restes mortels de Sa Majesté la Reine Mère Hélène de Roumanie, Princesse de Grèce et du Danemark et la Princesse grecque senior de sa génération. Hélène est la dernière (et probablement l’une des dernières) membres d’une famille royale d’un ancien pays du bloc de l’Est dont les restes ont été rapatriés.

Hélène Princesse héritière de Roumanie

Au moment de sa mort le 29 novembre 1982, la reine mère Hélène vivait dans un appartement à Lausanne. Étant donné que la Roumanie était alors dirigée par un dictateur communiste, Nicolae Ceaușescu, qui n’aurait certainement pas permis l’inhumation d’un membre de l’ancienne famille royale du pays dans son fief, une parcelle avait été achetée au cimetière de Boix-de-Vaux à Lausanne comme lieu de repos pour Hélène. Pourtant, elle ne devait pas être seule : le mari de la cousine d’Hélène, la princesse Olga, le prince Paul de Yougoslavie, y avait déjà été inhumé après sa mort en 1976 comme avaient été les restes mortels de son fils le prince Nicolas qui était mort dans un accident de voiture en Angleterre en 1954 (son corps avait été amené du cimetière près de la maison de feu sa tante, la princesse Marina, à Iver et réinhumée à Lausanne à la demande de la princesse Olga). En 1997, la princesse Olga a elle-même été enterrée au Bois-de-Vaux à la suite de sa mort à l’âge de 93 ans.

Cependant, suite à la ‘réhabilitation’ du prince Paul par la Haute Cour serbe en 2011, lui, Olga et les corps de Nicolas ont été exhumés et enterrés à nouveau, avec grande cérémonie, dans la crypte du Mausolée royal Karageorge à Oplenac en Serbie, le 6 octobre 2012.

Pendant ce temps, depuis la chute du régime Ceausescu en décembre 1989, la popularité de l’ancienne famille royale prenait de l’ampleur en Roumanie. Une grande partie de cela peut être attribuée à l’implication dévouée de la plus ancienne petite-fille de la reine-mère Hélène, Margareta (qui vivait désormais à Bucarest) et de sa Fondation Princesse Margareta de Roumanie. En effet, dès 2003, les restes mortels de l’ex-mari d’Hélène, le roi Carol II, avaient été rebaptisés dans sa patrie (de leur lieu de repos original dans le Panthéon de Bragance à Lisbonne) dans une chapelle latérale de la cathédrale de Curtea de Argeș dans les Carpates. Le 16 décembre 2017, son fils le roi Michel Ier a également été enterré à Curtea de Argeș, bien que dans un mausolée royal nouvellement construit, à côté des restes de sa défunte épouse, la reine Anne, qui est décédée en août 2016.

Reine Mère Hélène et Roi Michel de Roumanie

Pourtant, tout cela se passait alors que les restes mortels de la reine-mère Hélène languissaient encore à Lausanne. Cependant, début septembre 2019, il a été annoncé que le corps de Sa Majesté allait être rapatrié en Roumanie et réinhumée à Curtea de Argeș. Ce qui me ramène à l’aéroport international de Genève le matin du 18 octobre : Après avoir obtenu l’autorisation de vol nécessaire, l’avion militaire roumain a atterri à l’aéroport d’Otopeni, à Bucarest, où le cercueil de Sa Majesté a été reçu, juste après 11 heures, par une garde d’honneur composée de la 30e brigade de la garde, et soigneusement sorti de l’avion précédé d’une grande croix en bois portant l’inscription ‘Elena-Regina 1896-1982’. Regardaient la scène le Gardien de la Couronne de Roumanie (Margareta), son mari le prince Radu et deux d’autres petites-filles d’Hélène (les princesses Sophia et Maria). Étaient également présents une pléthore de politiciens et de représentants des dénominations religieuses roumaines et, particulièrement pertinent, de l’Église orthodoxe grecque.

La dépouille de la reine mère Hélène de retour en Roumanie

À la suite d’un bref service religieux, le cercueil de Sa Majesté a ensuite été transporté au Palais Elisabetha, où il a été exposé pendant un court moment dans la Salle du Roi. Le cortège funèbre s’est ensuite dirigé vers le nord, vers Curtea de Argeș, arrivant en fin d’après-midi pour être accueilli chaleureusement par une grande foule. Le cercueil – toujours drapé de l’étendard royal – a ensuite été placé sur un catafalque à la Vieille Cathédrale. Le public a ensuite été autorisé à présenter ses respects. Émouvant, le président de la Roumanie, Klaus Iohannis, a publié une déclaration décrivant la Reine Mère Hélène comme ‘un puissant symbole de dignité, d’honneur et de courage, et une figure spéciale de conduite morale dans le sombre vingtième siècle.’

Juste avant midi le 19 octobre, des membres de la famille royale roumaine et des représentants de maisons royales étrangères (le comte de Rosslyn représentait le prince de Galles, maintenant Le Roi Charles III) se sont réunis dans la vieille cathédrale pour le service religieux. Par la suite, le cercueil de la reine mère Hélène, contenant ses restes mortels, a été porté par des soldats jusqu’au nouveau mausolée royal à proximité. Sa Majesté est enterrée aux côtés de son fils bien-aimé, le roi Michel, et de la reine Anne. Les restes de son ancien mari, le roi Carol II, reposent également à proximité, ayant été transférés au nouveau mausolée royal au printemps.

King Gustav V of Sweden was an avowed Germanophile, as was many of his family. His late wife, the strong-willed Queen Victoria of Sweden, had after all been born a Princess of Baden and was both the granddaughter of Emperor Wilhelm I, as well as a cousin of Emperor Wilhelm II. Furthermore, the marriage was primarily a political alliance organised by Gustav’s father, King Oscar II, who was keen to forge strong ties with Germany. Victoria’s influence over her rather hesitant husband was considerable and was still evident in the years following her death in 1930. The latter’s cousin, Prince Maximilian von Baden, who died in 1929, was another influence. He had long emphasised to Gustav that Germany and Sweden had common interests against Russia. In 1915, during the Great War ‘Max’ even travelled to Drottningholm in an (ultimately futile) attempt to bring Sweden into the war on the German side. Another relative of the Swedish Queen, her second cousin Prince Victor of Wied was to serve as a counsellor in the German Legation in Stockholm between 1919-1922. In 1933, and by now a member of the National Socialist Workers’ Party, he returned to the Swedish capital in the powerful and influential post of German Minister. Wied-who was a friend of Hermann Göring-continued to foster relations between Sweden and Germany, not least through the King and members of the German and Swedish aristocracy, who were traditionally pro-German. It so happened that Göring’s Swedish first wife Carin, had been high-born. (Although she died in 1931, Carin would open up contacts on behalf of her husband which were still in use during World War 2.) It also helped that Gustav’s grandson (and heir-but-one to the Swedish throne) Gustav Adolf, had married the German Princess Sybilla of Coburg the previous year. Her English-born father, Charles Edward, the Duke of Coburg, was a staunch supporter of Hitler and the Nazi Regime and had contacts at the highest level in Berlin. He was also a friend of Victor of Wied. Unsurprisingly, in 1933, during a visit to Berlin, Gustav entertained the President of Germany and the newly-elected Chancellor, Adolf Hitler to lunch at the Swedish Legation. Meanwhile, in February 1939, the King paid another visit to Berlin, during which he conferred on Field Marshal Göring, a Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Sword, a distinguished Swedish military award.

King Gustav on a visit to Berlin with his grandson, Gustav Adolf. Field Marshal Göring in the centre.King Gustav and his German-born wife, Queen Victoria.

However, when World War II commenced in September 1939, the Swedish government of Per Albin Hansson adopted a neutral stance, a view endorsed by King Gustav. Nevertheless, this would prove a difficult position to maintain and was to come at a price. The first challenge was when Germany invaded Sweden’s neighbours of Norway and Denmark on 9 April 1940. Gustav received news of this by telephone, just after 5am, from his Foreign Minister, Christian Günther. The latter had been informed of the dual invasions in person at his home on Ymervägen in Djursholm, only a few minutes earlier, by the German Minister in Stockholm, Prince Victor of Wied. The latter had been at pains to reassure Günther that Sweden, unlike Norway and Denmark, would not be invaded (subject to certain conditions) and that he would soon be in a position to hand over an official communication from Berlin which would elaborate on the German government’s position. Wied was as good as his word and, by 9am, a collection of notables, including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Crown Prince, joined the King in his study at the Royal Palace to discuss Germany’s demands. It made uncomfortable reading: Firstly, Sweden was not allowed to mobilise its forces. Secondly, the Swedish navy must at all times not hinder German naval operations nor travel further than three miles from the Swedish coast. Neither was Sweden to impede German official telecommunications traffic. Of particular importance to the German war effort, deliveries of Swedish iron ore were to continue unhindered, with the mines to be protected against Allied sabotage attempts.

It would be fair to say that each person sitting round the table was fearful of the Nazi menace. They had no reason to doubt that if they did not agree to these terms, Hitler’s troops would soon be marching down the streets of Stockholm. Indeed, only the sceptical Crown Prince-who had previously been married to Britain’s Princess Margaret of Connaught and was currently married to the British-raised Louise Mountbatten (who outspokenly compared Nazism to Barbarism)-spoke out against acceptance of these conditions. Eventually, it was agreed to accept the German’s demands with one exception: Sweden would not agree to being prohibited from mobilising its forces. On April 19, King Gustav V wrote a personal letter to Hitler ‘affirming the intention of Sweden to maintain strictest neutrality and to resist the violation of Sweden’s frontiers by any powers.’ Hitler replied within days reaffirming Germany’s intention to respect Sweden’s neutrality unconditionally. But, as shall be seen, these words were merely diplomatic platitudes.

Gustaf V (centre) presides over a wartime Council of State meeting with Minister of Defence Per Edvin Sköld, Minister for Foreign Affairs Christian Günther, legal consultant Thorwald Bergquist and Minister of Justice Karl Gustaf Westman.

However, even as he signed his letter to Hitler, Gustav V was already dealing with several dilemmas. The first was when his niece, Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, seeking to avoid capture by German occupying forces, travelled from Elverum across the border into Sweden with her three children in the early hours of 10 April. None of the party had passports but eventually the border guards let them through. Unsure of the reception she would receive from her Swedish relations, the Crown Princess then proceeded to the Högfjällshotell in the ski resort of Sälen where she was joined by her mother, the Danish-born Princess Ingeborg, who was no fan of the Germans, who had recently invaded her homeland.

King Haakon (second left) and Crown Prince Olav (extreme left) run for cover as German Heinkel aircraft attack them in April 1940

No sooner had Gustav received word of Märtha ’s arrival when another crisis crossed his desk. An exhausted King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav, who had remained in Norway but refused to cooperate with the Nazis, were currently being hounded by a crack group of 120 German commandos bent on their capture or death. They had reached the Swedish border post near Flötningen, on 12 April. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Halvdan Koht, telephoned his Swedish counterpart, Christian Günther, seeking a guarantee that King Haakon might be allowed to cross over into Sweden and cross back safely after a night’s rest at a hostel. Günther discussed the matter with King Gustav. The reply was brisk and uncompromising: ‘The Swedish government does not want to provide guarantees regarding return travel in advance.’ It was also indicated that under international law, if the Norwegian King and his party crossed the border in military uniform, they would be interned. This response was to earn Gustav the lasting enmity of King Haakon.

Meanwhile, the situation with Crown Princess Märtha was also mishandled by King Gustav. Märtha was moved on from Sälen, as it was feared her presence so close to the Norwegian border might provoke the Germans, but as to doing exactly what remains unclear. “Uncle Gustav”, after initially welcoming Märtha and her family to his home at Drottningholm (where an adjutant warned that the war was not to be discussed at the dinner table) eventually offered her accommodation at nearby Ulriksdal Palace. Interestingly, the move to his palace coincided with King Haakon learning that the Germans had informed the Administrative Council, an interim body appointed by the Norwegian Supreme Court to deal with matters of civil administration in Norway, that he should abdicate the throne. Furthermore, during this period the Crown Princess (who received little direct news of King Haakon and her husband Olav) was subject to constant political pressure to return to Norway with her son Prince Harald and cooperate with the occupying power by acting as Regent, of what would effectively be a puppet throne, until her son reached his majority. A number of prominent Norwegians who visited Stockholm advocated for such a solution. This idea also had its supporters within Per Albin Hansson’s Swedish government. For instance, the Swedish Justice Minister (and one-time Foreign Minister), Karl Westman, wrote in his diary as early as 19 June, mentioning his attendance at a government meeting: ‘I reiterated my question about why the friends of the Norwegian dynasty do not put the Norwegian crown princess and [prince] Harald on a plane and send them… to Oslo.’ He was writing this at a time when many Swedes believed that Märtha’s presence threatened to undermine Sweden’s neutrality when Germany was on the ascendance: Only a few days earlier German forces had entered Paris unopposed and the French were on the point of signing the surrender at Compiègne. Meanwhile, some Norwegians even harboured the-not unrealistic-suspicion that Prince Harald could be kidnapped and taken to Oslo by force.

King Gustav, meanwhile, was concerned to learn of the German’s desire to have King Haakon abdicate or even to depose the monarchy in Norway. He now chose to become personally involved and in a telegram to Hitler observed, ‘I consider it my duty to personally emphasize to you, Herr Reich Chancellor, that such a measure would elicit serious disapproval among the broadest circles of the Swedish people and throughout the whole of Scandinavia. I wish therefore, before irrevocable decisions are made by you, to draw your attention through this telegram…to urge you, Mr. Chancellor, to proceed with all the moderation that can be considered possible in relation to Norway, its king and people.’ Did he now fear for his own throne?

Rumours now began to circulate of a cipher telegram having been sent on 21 June by King Gustav to King Haakon to advise him to abdicate in favour of his grandson as ‘a means of saving the Norwegian people from unnecessary difficulties’. This led to confusion and it appears that the contents of King Gustav’s earlier telegram to Hitler was somehow misconstrued or misreported for, on 22 June the British Minister in Stockholm indicated that King Gustav had telegraphed Hitler directly personally recommending the Regency option to him. Thus, London (and the Crown Princess) now believed that Gustav was the principal protagonist in this “Norwegian Regency” matter. Indeed, such was the fury in London that it caused Britain’s King George VI to sit down and write a very stern letter to the Swedish King. Fortunately, this was not forwarded by the British Legation in Stockholm to King Gustav, when it became clear that in his earlier telegram to Hitler the meddling Swedish king had instead urged the Reich Chancellor to show the utmost possible moderation in his dealings over Norway. Some commentators have taken the view that Gustav intervened simply because he believed that if the matter was not resolved soon Germany would abolish the monarchy in Norway. Ironically, Hitler would interpret Gustav’s involvement as a Norwegian-inspired attempt to put pressure on Germany.

The Crown Princess of Norway and her children Ragnhild, Harald and Astrid in August 1940 as they travel through Finland en route to Petsamo.

Märtha was clearly aware of the growing danger and sent a telegram to London warning her husband and father-in-law ( who had fled there, in early June, with members of the legitimate Norwegian government) that her Swedish family (i.e. King Gustav) and Hitler were conspiring to remove King Haakon and set up a Regency. Crown Prince Olav had never felt his family were safe in Sweden and in a letter from Buckingham Palace dated 22 June, he appraised his old friend President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the situation. The President soon came to Märtha’s rescue and offered her and her children the chance to relocate to the United States as his ‘personal guests.’ They departed Ulriksdal on 12 August and sailed from the Finnish port of Petsamo (now Petsjenga, Russia) aboard the USS American Legion on 15 August. Olav’s intervention, of course, thwarted the regency option. King Gustav seemed displeased by this latest development and telegraphed King Haakon, on 24 July, stating that he objected to the American trip as it might undermine the future of the Norwegian monarchy, a viewpoint Haakon quickly dismissed.

Not content with concerning himself with Norwegian matters, Gustav V turned his hand to acting as a peacemaker between Germany and the United Kingdom. He wrote personally to Britain’s King George VI, as well as to Hitler offering his services as an intermediary for peace. What the Fuhrer replied is unclear but George VI handed a note to the Swedish Ambassador in London on 12 August which courteously but firmly rejected Gustav’s offer, pointing out that ‘the intention of My Peoples to prosecute the war until their purposes have been achieved has been strengthened’ as a result of the felonious behaviour of the Germans in the war so far.

A Swedish soldier watches over German troops being transported through Sweden in World War 2.

Meanwhile, as the above sagas were being played out, King Gustav was also faced with an even more pressing problem within days of the occupation of Norway: A German request to transport food rations, medical staff and nursing supplies through Sweden by train to Narvik in northern Norway. This port was the primary outlet, particularly in winter, for transporting the Swedish ore by sea to Germany. The Swedish government agreed to this request on 17 April. It was a decision they would soon come to regret, as over time the Germans would push for further concessions including the transport of ‘furlough troops’ and ‘destroyer crews’. This was eventually expanded to ‘arms and troops’ by the end of June.

King Gustav and Per Albin Hansson 1941

However, the most debated was during the so-called midsummer crisis (Midsommarkrisen) in June 1941, when Germany-who had by now reached an accommodation with Finland and was planning an invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)-asked to transport a battle-equipped division of military personnel belonging to the Wehrmacht’s 163rd Infantry Division from Oslo and through Sweden to Haparanda, near the Finnish-Swedish border in Northern Sweden, for further transportation eastward. The Swedish cabinet was divided on the issue and was initially against granting the request, on the basis that it was a violation of Sweden’s neutrality. Heated discussions took place throughout 23 and 24 June. However, the government executed a volte-face when the Swedish Prime Minister, Per Albin Hansson, indicated that King Gustav had informed him that he could not take responsibility for a negative answer and would abdicate unless Germany’s application was granted. He also informed his brother Eugen (who notably distanced himself from the Nazi regime) that the consequences of saying no to the Germans would be serious. Although Swedish historians have continued to debate whether their monarch really threatened to abdicate, it should be noted that on June 25, the Prince of Wied had a long conversation with King Gustav. The German Minister was subsequently pleased to inform the Foreign Ministry in Berlin that Gustav had ‘expressed his satisfaction that the principal German request for the transit of one division had been accepted by the State Council and who indicated his personal support in the matter.’ Indeed, Gustav himself would later reveal ‘that it had been owing only to his personal intervention that the question of the transportation in the summer of troops through Sweden had been settled in accordance with [German] wishes.’

King Gustav V with his family during World War 2. Crown Princess Louise (left), the King, Princess Sybilla with daughter Birgitta, Crown Prince Gustav Adolf with granddaughter Margaretha.

The same afternoon, the first of the trains left Oslo, crossing the border into Sweden early on 26 June, and heading northwards through Sweden en route to Finland and the Eastern Front. As the train arrived at Krylbo, 15 kilometres northwest of Stockholm, the Prince of Wied was present to inspect a guard of honour in the company of his wife. The main transport commenced on 27 June with around four trains crossing into Sweden each day. In total 15,449 German troops were transported by 12 July. Meanwhile, according to Sweden’s Expressen newspaper, over the ensuing wartime years 2,140,000 German soldiers and 100,000 tons of weapons and equipment would be transported through “neutral” Sweden. It should also be noted that on 29 June 1941 cooperation agreements were made between the Swedish and German air forces; as well as between the Swedish and Germany naval forces. Gustav would later indicate to the German Minister that is had only been due to his ‘personal intervention’ that in September 1941, the German 2nd Division, had been permitted to sail through Swedish territorial waters with a Swedish naval escort, en route north to the Eastern Front. The grateful Germans continued to push for more, with Sweden’s adherence to the Tripartite Pact even being mentioned at one stage.

German-born Princess Sybilla visits a German Hospital Train as it passes through Sweden in November 1941.

This period sees Gustav and some of his family at their most fawning where Germany is concerned. In November 1941, a smiling Princess Sibylla, with a German army officer at her side, was spotted serving coffee and cake to a group of wounded German soldiers, travelling homeward from Norway, at the Krylbo railway station. It is inconceivable that this was done without the King’s permission; while in February 1942, Gustav would also permit a visit to Stockholm by Sibylla’s father, currently an Obergruppenführer in the German Sturmabteilung (SA). In addition, in October 1941, four months after the German invasion of Soviet Russia, Gustav attempted to send a personal letter to Hitler ‘about a matter that is close to my heart…’ i.e. Bolshevism and offering his ‘sincere thanks to you for deciding to strike at this plague..’ and congratulating the Fuhrer ‘on the results you have already achieved.’ However, the Swedish Prime Minister got wind of it and would not allow the letter to be sent. That the King was a devious operator is evidenced by what he did next: Gustav merely sent for the Prince of Wied on 28 October and read the contents of the letter out aloud to him. The Prince took notes and that very evening, the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin received a copy of the text from the German Embassy in Stockholm: ‘The King wished quite frankly to express his warm thanks to the Fuhrer for having decided to crush this [Bolshevik] plague. The King asked that his heartiest congratulations be conveyed to the Fuhrer on the great success already achieved. At the same time the King gave assurances that by far the greater part of his people shared his views in this matter. His efforts and his activities would always be aimed at converting the doubters to his views. The King also added that he was very anxious for the preservation of good relations between Germany and Sweden.’ Gustav also asked the Prince of Wied ‘to treat the foregoing communication in special confidence so that it would not become known in public. ‘ As a second cousin of Gustav’s late wife, the King still treated the Prince ‘like family’ and he was invited on summer retreats until 1943. It is no wonder that Winston Churchill now viewed Gustav as being, ‘absolutely in the German grip.’ Hitler responded to Gustav’s message, on 7 December, ‘with sincere pleasure’ and particularly mentions ‘the very personal comforting personal attitude of Your Majesty…’ in appreciating the ‘historic action’ which Germany had taken in the war against Bolshevism.

Gustav V and his government were also afraid of the Swedish press upsetting the Germans. Academics have reported that there was ‘very limited reporting’ on the Jewish question in 1940 and 1941 compared to the pre-war years. This self-censorship also extended to at least sixteen Swedish newspapers being prevented from reporting abuses in Norwegian prisons. Expressen cites a case which illustrates that the Swedish King took a personal interest in such matters. When the Gothenburg Trade and Shipping Magazine featured an article by Torgny Segerstedt (an avowed critic of Nazism and Sweden’s policy of appeasement to Hitler) which mentioned Nazi atrocities, Gustaf V summoned the magazine’s editor to the Royal Palace and urged him to stop writing negative articles about Hitler and his regime. Meanwhile, on one occasion, Hitler himself set the record straight, when in an interview with Stockholm Tidningen, in March 1944, he denied that he had made an approach to King Gustav, who had offered to mediate with Finland.

It is easy today to criticise the actions of King Gustav. However, he and his government were clearly under constant pressure for although Sweden remained unoccupied, it remained cut off from the West by German-held territory and was heavily dependent on Germany economically, including for her imports of necessities. Furthermore, the possibility of a German invasion of Sweden was ever-present. At times, the King’s intervention may even have prevented a German incursion, as when he wrote to assure Hitler that ‘Sweden will defend itself against all invaders, even against an English attack…’ This was in response to Hitler’s grumblings that Sweden would not protect itself against a British invasion thus threatening the supply of iron ore on which Germany so desperately relied. Certainly, in April 1942, Hitler decided to strengthen German forces in Norway by 70,000 men. The 25th Panzer Division was strategically stationed in Oslo and was Germany’s way of intimidating the Swedish government into continued cooperation. By contrast, with the weakening of the German military position in the latter part of 1943 onwards, Gustav’s fear of German reprisals seemed to diminish and he appeared a little more accommodating, although cynics would say that was merely repositioning himself in preparation for an Allied victory. In advance of the Heads of Government Meeting at Tehran in November 1943 some-such as the Russian Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov-were pressing for Sweden to abandon neutrality and fight with the Allies. However, the Swedish Minister in Moscow told the United States Ambassador to Soviet Russia, W. Averell Harriman, that while Sweden was ready to take ‘certain risks,’ his government was not ready to go very far and there was a regal reason :’He pointed out that it was the ambition of the King to lead his people through the war without the suffering that would come from participation.’ Meanwhile, around 7 million tons of iron ore were still being traded between Sweden and Germany in 1944.

As has been observed, Swedish wartime diplomacy sought to ward off German invasion by adopting a neutrality that sacrificed some of Sweden’s independence and made significant concessions to Germany, many backed by the King. Nonetheless, during this period, Gustav V has been credited with helping save Jews deported from Nazi-occupied countries such as Denmark by authorizing measures including the distribution of Swedish passports. Furthermore, in June 1944, at the urging of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and the Chief Rabbi in Sofia, Gustav sent a telegram to the Hungarian ‘Regent’, Miklós Horthy, protesting the deportation of Jews from Hungary. This examples a stronger stance than in 1933 when he apparently informed Hitler that the persecution of the Jews initiated by the Nazis would have a disastrous effect on Germany’s international reputation. The Chancellor should ‘proceed more gently.’

At the time of his 85th birthday in 1943 Gustav V made an interesting speech, which indicates his mindset during World War 2, “It is my firm opinion that a constitutional monarch under ordinary circumstances should not act as a leader in one direction or another except in exceptional cases. But during the current great world crisis, I have considered it my indisputable duty to try on several occasions to help the country out of the difficulties of the moment.” With these words, he acknowledges that he certainly had strayed in ‘one direction’ and that was certainly not in the direction of the Allies.

The author of this blog takes a keen interest on the fate of royalty during World War II. He narrates the wartime adventures of the Greek-born Princess Olga (onetime Consort of Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia) in Africa (and much else besides).

In the early hours of 9 April, Crown Princess Märtha and her husband Olav were awakened by a phone call from an aide, bringing the devastating news of an invasion by German military forces. With her mind in a whirl, Märtha immediately awakened her three children, instructing them to dress for a mountain hike. Ragnhild, the eldest, would later recall that ‘the clearest sign that something was wrong was that it was our parents themselves who woke us up.’ After eating a hasty breakfast, at around 6 a.m. Märtha , Olav and their three children (Ragnhild, Astrid and Harald) set out from their home, some twenty kilometres to the west of Oslo, for the Royal Palace in central Oslo, in a convoy of three cars. The Crown Prince was at the wheel of his own car, his wife and children beside him. Olav-who was driving at great speed-had already decided that if anyone tried to stop him, he would run them down.

On arrival at the Royal Palace, everything was in a state of flux. The royal family departed the royal residence at 7 a.m. travelling in the direction of the Østbane railway station in order to take a special train to Hamar to avoid capture. The members of the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, were also on board the train. The group was led and organised by the President, Carl Joachim Hambro. It had been at his suggestion that the royal family accompanied the parliamentary group. Just as the train passed through Lillestrøm, the town was bombed, although the focus was fortunately on the nearby airport at Kjeller. The entourage travelled onwards towards Hamar with German soldiers and aircraft in hot pursuit.

By the early evening, the royal party had settled at an estate at Sælid, a few kilometres outside of Hamar, where they were just sitting down to dinner when word was received from the local police chief of the impending arrival of several busloads of German paratroops. This was a group led by the German Air Attache in Oslo, Captain Spiller, who was intent on seizing the King and his ministers by force. They did not reckon on the efforts of the Norwegian Colonel Otto Ruge and his men, many of whom had only completed their basic training, who manned a roadblock. Their heaviest weapon was one machine gun. Fighting tenaciously, they succeeded in mortally wounding Hiller and the Germans withdrew. Meanwhile, the King and others of the royal group immediately set out by car towards Elverum, to rendezvous with members of the government who had fled there from Hamar. It was also at Elverum that the Storting gave the King and government the authority to govern the country for as long as the war lasted (“The Elverum Mandate”). However, with so much uncertainty prevailing, a decision was made to send Crown Princess Märtha and the royal children over the border into neutral Sweden, for reasons of safety. Among those accompanying them were Olav’s trusted aide, Major Nicolai Ramm Østgaard (who would almost immediately return to his duties with the Crown Prince), his wife Ragni and their ten-year-old son Einar. Also in the royal entourage was Signe Svendsen, Prince Harald’s nurse; as well as Ragnhild and Martha’s Swedish governess Maja Thorén. Another Swedish national, the Crown Princess’s maid, Edla Norberg completed the party. The royal convoy, consisting of three cars, crossed the border into Sweden from Trysil at 00:50 hours on 10 April.

German troops parade down Karl Johan’s Gate with the Royal Palace in the background.

The events surrounding the party’s crossing into Sweden are the subject of debate. There are two versions:. In Brita Rosenberg’s biography of Princess Astrid, the latter recounts that Swedish border guards did not want to raise the border barrier and only did so at the last minute when their Norwegian driver indicated that he would drive straight through unless they did so.

Einar Østgaard, in his 2005 book about Crown Princess Märtha, which makes use of his father’s notes and journals, takes issue with this account: ‘The claim that Crown Princess Märtha was denied access to Sweden was printed for the first time over forty years after crossing the border on the night of 10 April 1940.’ He is of the opinion that this version must be due to a misremembering. The author also cites his mother Ragni, who served as the Crown Princess’s Lady-in-Waiting, later describing an undramatic border crossing: ‘None of us had passports, but at the Swedish border station, Nikko (her husband, Nikolai Østgaard) was out explaining who it was, and there was no difficulty in getting past.’

Either way, the convoy continued to the winter resort of Sälen to stay at the well-known Högfjällshotellet, arriving at half past three in the morning. As it was a glorious sunny day and the royal children spent most of the time skiing on the nearby slopes, while their anxious mother remained at the hotel glued to the radio for news of events in neighbouring Norway. What she heard could hardly have lifted her spirits. On 10 April, the King had met with the German Minister Kurt Bräuer in the High School at Elverum. Bräuer set out the demands of his masters in Berlin: the legitimate Norwegian government must resign, and the King must appoint Vidkun Quisling of the right-wing Nasjonal Samling (National Unity) party as Norway’s Prime Minister and approve the formation of a pro-German government led by him. King Haakon subsequently presented these demands to officials of the legitimate Johan Nygaardsvold government during an extraordinary Council of State held in nearby Nybergsund (where they had relocated). The King made it clear that they must decide what course of action they wished to take, but added that he would not bow to these German demands and if the government decided to agree to them, he would abdicate. The government, in turn, fully backed the King. King Haakon’s “no” and the government’s approval thereof were formulated as a Royal Decree and signed by the King, the Prime Minister and Minister of State Bredo Rolsted. The Norwegian population were informed of the decision in a radio broadcast.

When the Germans learned of this decision (which was relayed by telephone to Bräuer at Eidsvoll by Foreign Minister Koht) , they were infuriated. The following day, Heinkel 111 bombers of the German Luftwaffe bombed both Elverum and Nybergsund, where the King and Crown Prince were sheltering, killing dozens of people. Crown Princess Märtha was subsequently relieved to learn from newly-arrived Norwegian guests at the hotel that, although shaken, both the King and Crown Prince Olav were uninjured. This news was corroborated by the hotel manager who had been in Nybergsund at the time of the attacks, in an attempt to obtain information on behalf of the Crown Princess. From first-hand reports carried in the Swedish press, it became clear that King Haakon was the key target. At one stage, he and his son Olav were forced to take shelter in a ditch to avoid being fired on by the low-flying Heinkel bombers.

Crown Prince Olav (to rear) and King Haakon literally run for their lives at Nybergsund 11 April 1940

An early visitor to Sälen was the Storting President Carl Joachim Hambro, who was en route to Stockholm. He recalls in his memoirs arriving in time for breakfast and apologising to the Crown Princess for ‘being so unkempt and not having had time to shave.’ Märtha, clearly having maintained her sense of humour merely laughed and replied, ‘Me neither.’ He brought with him a letter written by King Haakon at Nybergsund addressed to his sister (and Märtha’s mother) Princess Ingeborg. The latter arrived at the winter resort a few days later, visibly tired and looking somewhat older, according to Ragni Østgaard. Yet, Ingeborg was also ‘filled with a glowing hatred of the Germans’ for her homeland of Denmark had also recently been occupied. Märtha’s mother was also deeply concerned for the welfare of her brother, King Haakon (formerly Prince Carl of Denmark until his accession to the throne of Norway in 1905) and her son-in-law (and nephew) Olav.

Prince Harald photographed at Sälen

The Swedish authorities were by now growing increasingly nervous of the presence of Norwegian royalty in an area so close to the border. What if, they reasoned, the Germans accidentally bombed the hotel due to a “navigation error” or if a kidnapping attempt was made to seize the royal party? The Swedish county governor decided to act and asked the royal party leave the hotel. In order not to attract attention, on 18 April, the royals and their entourage departed in the middle of the night, and headed southwards by car (which almost upturned in a snow drift) towards Uppsala. Thanks to Princess Ingeborg making use of family connections, it was arranged that the royal party could take temporary residence at Count Carl Bernadotte of Wisborg’s home at Rasbo. They would remain there for ten days, before proceeding to Stockholm and Drottningholm Palace.

At Drottningholm, King Gustav proved to be welcoming host but made it clear, through an adjutant, that there would be no discussion of the war at the dinner table. This was interesting, as otherwise Gustav had taken a keen interest in developments throughout Europe, with maps spread out over a billiard table nearby. However, it was noticeable that there was none pertaining to Norway. This particular map had been removed, prior to the arrival of the Norwegian contingent, perhaps out of tact. The Crown Princess tried to distract herself with games of gin rummy and bridge. Meanwhile Norwegians in Sweden were told not to openly celebrate their National Day on 17 May.

So how did the Crown Princess now continue to obtain news of what was happening across the border? Märtha acquired a quality radio set and each evening she and Ragni Østgaard would listen to the late night news bulletin from London. Perhaps Märtha even managed to tune in to the National Day service broadcast from the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in London, as King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav managed to do in a holiday chalet in Northern Norway? She also had the services of the Norwegian diplomat Jen Bull, who acted as a liaison between Märtha and the Norwegian Legation in Stockholm. Bull had previously served (1925-1931) as a Counsellor in the Norwegian legation in Berlin, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office in Oslo in 1939.

In due course, the Crown Princess was informed that King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav had departed Norway (from Tromsø) on the evening of 7 June, following a cabinet meeting held in the Bishop’s Palace, in order to continue the fight from Norwegian democracy from London. The war in Norway aside, Crown Prince Olav’s chief concern was now for the safety of his children and wife in Sweden. He had written to President Franklin D Roosevelt from Trangen, Langvatnet, as early as 10 May, mentioning an offer which Roosevelt had made, in late April 1939, during the Crown Prince and Princess’ weekend stay at the President’s country home at Hyde Park, ‘to take care of the children’ if the war should reach Norwegian shores.

After observing the 82nd birthday celebrations for ‘Uncle Gustav’ the previous day at Drottningholm, on 17 June, the Crown Princess and her children moved to Ulriksdal Palace. This allowed for some more privacy, and the children were able to relax with games, picnics and boating on the inlet. Furthermore, young Harald took the opportunity to learn to swim under the instruction of Signe Svendsen. Nonetheless, there was always a watchful Swedish policeman in attendance. Interestingly, the move to Ulriksdal coincided with King Haakon learning that the Germans had informed the Administrative Council, an interim body appointed by the Norwegian Supreme Court to deal with matters of civil administration in Norway, that he should abdicate the throne. This move on the part of the German occupiers seems to have hit a raw nerve with King Gustav of Sweden who, most unusually, became involved, sending a telegram to Adolf Hitler stating that ‘I consider it my duty to personally emphasize to you, Herr Reich Chancellor, that such a measure would elicit serious disapproval among the broadest circles of the Swedish people and throughout the whole of Scandinavia. I wish therefore, before irrevocable decisions are made by you, to draw your attention through this telegram…to urge you, Mr. Chancellor, to proceed with all the moderation that can be considered possible in relation to Norway, its king and people.’ Did he now fear for his own throne?

The sitting room at Ulriksdal Palace much as it was in 1940.

In the interim, Berlin had appointed Josef Terboven as Reichskommissar in Norway. Despite the initial refusal of the Administrative Council to comply with the abdication request, negotiations were continuing with Terboven, who was currently focused on the formulation of a future political framework for use in Norway during the occupation. Furthermore, despite King Gustav’s aforementioned telegram, there was a genuine possibility that a powerful Germany, aided by sympathetic Norwegians, could, if necessary, use leverage against Sweden, both diplomatically, economically, and militarily, to arrange for Märtha to be returned to Norway with her son and a Regency formed until Harald came of age. A number of prominent Norwegians who visited Stockholm advocated for such a solution. This idea also had its supporters within Per Albin Hansson’s Swedish government. For instance, the Swedish Justice Minister (and one-time Foreign Minister), Karl Westman, wrote in his diary as early as 19 June, mentioning his attendance at a government meeting: ‘I reiterated my question about why the friends of the Norwegian dynasty do not put the Norwegian crown princess and [prince] Harald on a plane and send them… to Oslo.’ He was writing this at a time when many Swedes believed that Märtha’s presence threatened to undermine Sweden’s neutrality when Germany was on the ascendance: Only a few days earlier German forces had entered Paris unopposed and the French were on the point of signing the surrender at Compiègne. Time Magazine would subsequently report that Crown Princess Märtha had indeed been offered ‘a regency in the name of her son, Prince Harald.’ Meanwhile, some Norwegians even harboured the-not unrealistic-suspicion that Prince Harald could be kidnapped and taken to Oslo by force.

On 27 June, the Presidential Council of the Storting, under pressure from the occupiers and recognising the need to establish a provisional government, responded tentatively to Josef Terboven’s proposal to establish a Council of the Realm to act as a collaborative body with the occupiers. In order to progress matters, they now asked the King to abdicate, giving him until 12 July to ‘renounce his constitutional functions for himself and his house.’ However, King Haakon refused to comply and, on 8 July, announced his rejection of the abdication request via a BBC radio broadcast from London, as well as formally placing his response in writing. What would this mean for the future of Norway and the monarchy going forward?

In Stockholm, Märtha, under the impression that her Swedish family (i.e. King Gustav) and Hitler were conspiring to remove King Haakon and set up a Regency, was feeling the pressure and sent a telegram to London as early as 24 June warning her husband that attempts were being made to ‘induce her’ to return with her three children to Oslo. Indeed, rumours had been circulating of a cipher telegram having been sent on 21 June by King Gustav to King Haakon to advise him to abdicate in favour of his grandson as ‘a means of saving the Norwegian people from unnecessary difficulties’. It also appears that the contents of King Gustav’s earlier telegram to Hitler may have been misconstrued or misreported for, on 22 June the British Minister in Stockholm indicated that King Gustav had telegraphed Hitler directly personally recommending the Regency option to him. Thus, London (and the Crown Princess) now believed that Gustav was the principal protagonist in this matter. Indeed, such was the fury in London that it caused Britain’s King George VI to sit down and write a very stern letter to the Swedish King. Fortunately, this was not forwarded by the British Legation in Stockholm to King Gustav, when it became clear that the meddling Swedish king had instead urged Hitler to show the utmost possible moderation in his dealings over Norway. Some commentators have taken the view that Gustav intervened simply because he believed that if the matter was not resolved soon Germany would abolish the monarchy in Norway.

Despite the strong political pressure placed on her, according to Einar Østgaard’s book, Crown Princess Märtha did not particularly want to travel to the United States. However, King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav, fearing for Märtha and the children’s safety, seemed keen that this should happen. In late June, the Crown Prince had written again to President Roosevelt from Buckingham Palace pressing him to make good on his offer of sanctuary to his children, but this time he also included a request on behalf of his wife. Olav also made an approach to the US Secretary of State via the US Ambassador in London, Joseph Kennedy, entreating ‘if there is anything you can do in a hurry to get the [Crown] Princess out [of Sweden].’ On 12 July, the US Secretary of State sent a message to the US Minister in Stockholm saying that President Roosevelt was arranging for a naval transport vessel to be sent to Finland to evacuate the Crown Princess and her family, along with a group of ‘stranded’ US citizens.

On 17 July, the Norwegian Government-in-exile addressed a letter to the Storting Presidential Council, in which cautious appreciation of the work done by the Administrative Council was combined with a plain warning that ‘everything which is agreed or done at this time in respect of government in Norway must have the clear stamp of temporariness, if nothing is to be lost for the future of the country.’

On 18 July, Märtha received a telephone call from the Norwegian Minister in Washington, Wilhelm Thorleif von Munthe af Morgenstierne. He informed a somewhat nonplussed Crown Princess (who seems to have been in the dark about Crown Prince Olav’s recent correspondence with Roosevelt) that an American warship was being sent to Finland to transport her and her children to the United States. But would she go? On 20 July, Märtha received the US Minister to Norway, Mrs Florence Harriman, who was now ensconced temporarily at the United States Legation in Stockholm. Having had time to reflect on the efforts being made on her and her children’s behalf, both in London and Washington, the Crown Princess indicated to the American that she would be happy to accept President Roosevelt’s kind offer. Nevertheless, Märtha was keen to emphasise that she wanted to enter the United States ‘as quietly as possible’ and that she ‘would not be required to meet reporters or a reception committee’. Naively, the Crown Princess even expressed the hope that the date of her arrival should be kept confidential. King Gustav, on hearing of the “American plan”, telegraphed King Haakon, on 24 July, stating that he objected to the American trip as it might undermine the future of the Norwegian monarchy, a viewpoint Haakon, who deeply resented Gustav’s meddling, was quick to dismiss. Some sources also have Crown Princess Märtha and “Uncle Gustav” having a robust exchange of views on this matter in Stockholm.

However, events were already moving apace. On 22 July, Mrs Harriman had been informed by the US State Department that a naval transport, the USS American Legion, was about to leave for the Finnish port of Petsamo (now Petsjenga, Russia) and should reach there around 5 August. It was also made clear that there was ‘no possible way’ the Crown Princess’ arrival in the United States could be kept confidential. Indeed, just as Märtha was setting off from Ulriksdal Palace, on 12 August, the Norwegian Legation released a statement to the press, also broadcast over Radio Sweden, stating that the Crown Princess and her three children ‘will leave for the United States in the next few days to visit President Roosevelt’ who had issued ‘a personal invitation’ to the Norwegian royals.

That same day, the Norwegian party departed Stockholm’s Central Station. Both Märtha’s father, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg were distressed to take leave of their beloved daughter and grandchildren. Princess Ingeborg presented Märtha with a case of jewels, including the emerald tiara that had once belonged to Empress Joséphine, the wife of Napoléon Bonaparte. This was a form of financial insurance in difficult times. King Gustav also came to the station to see them off, despite his grave reservations. They were, after all, his relations too. The plan was for the Norwegian royal party to travel by train to Haparanda, on the Swedish/ Norwegian border, with the rest of the journey, through Finland, being undertaken by cars provided by the Finnish authorities. The local Haparanda newspaper Haparandabladet soon reported on the Crown Princess’s arrival there, prior to her setting off on the second stage of the journey northwards to Petsamo. This second stage was undertaken in a convoy of four vehicles and included stops and overnight stays in Rovaniemi and Inari (Enare). A Finnish military officer, Major Carl Gustaf Wahren, accompanied the royal entourage and was responsible for security. He very kindly allowed the amiable Swedish policeman Artur Pfeiffer, with whom the children had developed a good relationship since their arrival in Stockholm, to accompany the party on this Finnish leg of their journey. Petsamo was reached on 15 August.

The Crown Princess and her children in Finland en route to Petsamo, 13-15 August 1940

The Crown Princess and her children now joined the nine hundred passengers, mostly United States citizens, aboard the American Legion, bound for New York. Märtha appeared on the ship’s manifest as “Mrs Jones” and was given the use of the Captain’s cabin. Others in the royal party included the Crown Princess’s Chief of Staff, Peder Anker Wedel Jarlsberg; Lady-in-Waiting, Mrs Ragni Østgaard; the latter’s son Einar and Prince Harald’s nurse, Signe Svendsen. Touchingly, Harald was pictured clutching his beloved teddy bear. Yet, the Norwegian royal party were still very much in danger. Germany refused to guarantee the ship safe conduct and according to Time Magazine, in a ruthless last-minute display of audacity, had tried to delay the sailing with a dispute over the route. It was said that the Germans preferred a more northern passage where the American Legion could be waylaid by a submarine, and Martha and her son kidnapped.

Meanwhile, King Haakon broadcast to the Norwegian people on 26 August, informing them ‘to avoid everything which is inconsistent with our national dignity; remain Norwegian in mind and thought…’ A majority of the Storting members in Oslo eventually voted for the suspension of the monarchy rather than acceptance of the original German demand for the abdication or deposing of the Royal House and negotiations continued. However, Terboven, keen to stamp his authority, eventually abandoned plans for a Council of the Realm. On 25 September 1940, he proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy, the deposition of the Nygaardsvold government, and the dissolution of all political parties with the exception of the Nasjonal Samling. Furthermore, he also terminated the activities of the Administrative Council and set up a body of pro-German personalities and power rested, for the moment, with the Reichskommissariat.

Despite all the melodrama of the last few months, the Crown Princess and her entourage finally sailed into New York on 28 August. She and her three children would eventually settle in a largish brick house set in substantial grounds in Pook’s Hill, Maryland. Märtha would soon become part of President’s Roosevelt’s inner circle and was thus ideally placed to obtain first-hand knowledge of the comings and goings at the White House and in Washington’s political circles. She was also able to use her position to advance Norway’s cause in the United States.

The Crown Princess and her family arrive in New York 28 August 1940

In the early hours of 9 April, Crown Princess Mårtha and her husband Olav were awakened by a phone call from an aide, bringing the devastating news of an invasion by German military forces. With her mind in a whirl, Mårtha immediately awakened her three children, instructing them to dress for a mountain hike. Ragnhild, the eldest, would later recall that ‘the clearest sign that something was wrong was that it was our parents themselves who woke us up.’ After eating a hasty breakfast, at around 6 a.m. Mårtha, Olav and their three children (Ragnhild, Astrid and Harald) set out from their home, some twenty kilometres to the west of Oslo, for the Royal Palace in central Oslo, in a convoy of three cars. The Crown Prince was at the wheel of his own car, his wife and children beside him. Olav-who was driving at great speed-had already decided that if anyone tried to stop him, he would run them down.

On arrival at the Royal Palace, everything was in a state of flux. The royal family departed the royal residence at 7 a.m. travelling in the direction of the Østbane railway station in order to take a special train to Hamar to avoid capture. The members of the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, were also on board the train. The group was led and organised by the President, Carl Joachim Hambro. It had been at his suggestion that the royal family accompanied the parliamentary group. Just as the train passed through Lillestrøm, the town was bombed, although the focus was fortunately on the nearby airport at Kjeller. The entourage travelled onwards towards Hamar with German soldiers and aircraft in hot pursuit.

By the early evening, the royal party had settled at an estate at Sælid, a few kilometres outside of Hamar, where they were just sitting down to dinner when word was received from the local police chief of the impending arrival of several busloads of German troops. The little group immediately set out by car towards Elverum, to rendezvous with members of the government who had fled there from Hamar. It was also at Elverum that the Storting gave the King and government the authority to govern the country for as long as the war lasted (“The Elverum Mandate”). However, with so much uncertainty prevailing, a decision was made to send Crown Princess Märtha and the royal children over the border into neutral Sweden, for reasons of safety. Among those accompanying them were Olav’s trusted aide, Major Nicolai Ramm Østgaard (who would almost immediately return to his duties with the Crown Prince), his wife Ragni and their ten-year-old son Einar. Also in the royal entourage was Signe Svendsen, Prince Harald’s nurse; as well as Ragnhild and Martha’s Swedish governess Maja Thorén. Another Swedish national, the Crown Princess’s maid, Edla Norberg completed the party. The royal convoy, consisting of three cars, crossed the border into Sweden from Trysil at 00:50 hours on 10 April.

German troops parade down Karl Johan’s Gate with the Royal Palace in the background.

The events surrounding the party’s crossing into Sweden are the subject of debate. There are two versions:. In Brita Rosenberg’s biography of Princess Astrid, the latter recounts that Swedish border guards did not want to raise the border barrier and only did so at the last minute when their Norwegian driver indicated that he would drive straight through unless they did so.

Einar Østgaard, in his 2005 book about Crown Princess Mårtha, which makes use of his father’s notes and journals, takes issue with this account: ‘The claim that Crown Princess Mårtha was denied access to Sweden was printed for the first time over forty years after crossing the border on the night of 10 April 1940.’ He is of the opinion that this version must be due to a misremembering. The author also cites his mother Ragni, who served as the Crown Princess’s Lady-in-Waiting, later describing an undramatic border crossing: ‘None of us had passports, but at the Swedish border station, Nikko (her husband, Nikolai Østgaard) was out explaining who it was, and there was no difficulty in getting past.’

Either way, the convoy continued to the winter resort of Sälen to stay at the well-known Högfjällshotellet, arriving at half past three in the morning. As it was a glorious sunny day and the royal children spent most of the time skiing on the nearby slopes, while their anxious mother remained at the hotel glued to the radio for news of events in neighbouring Norway. What she heard could hardly have lifted her spirits. On 10 April, the King had met with the German Minister Kurt Bräuer in the High School at Elverum. Bräuer set out the demands of his masters in Berlin: the legitimate Norwegian government must resign, and the King must appoint Vidkun Quisling of the right-wing Nasjonal Samling (National Unity) party as Norway’s Prime Minister and approve the formation of a pro-German government led by him. King Haakon subsequently presented these demands to officials of the legitimate Johan Nygaardsvold government during an extraordinary Council of State held in nearby Nybergsund (where they had relocated). The King made it clear that they must decide what course of action they wished to take, but added that he would not bow to these German demands and if the government decided to agree to them, he would abdicate. The government, in turn, fully backed the King. King Haakon’s “no” and the government’s approval were formulated as a Royal Decree and signed by the King, the Prime Minister and Minister of State Bredo Rolsted.

When the Germans learned of this decision, they were infuriated. The following day, Heinkel 111 bombers of the German Luftwaffe bombed both Elverum and Nybergsund, where the King and Crown Prince were sheltering, killing dozens of people. Crown Princess Mårtha was subsequently relieved to learn from newly-arrived Norwegian guests at the hotel that, although shaken, both the King and Crown Prince Olav were uninjured. This news was corroborated by the hotel manager who had been in Nybergsund at the time of the attacks, in an attempt to obtain information on behalf of the Crown Princess. From first-hand reports carried in the Swedish press, it became clear that King Haakon was the key target. At one stage, he and his son Olav were forced to take shelter in a ditch to avoid being fired on by the low-flying Heinkel bombers.

Crown Prince Olav (to rear) and King Haakon literally run for their lives at Nybergsund 11 April 1940

An early visitor to Sälen was the Storting President Carl Joachim Hambro, who was en route to Stockholm. He recalls in his memoirs arriving in time for breakfast and apologising to the Crown Princess for ‘being so unkempt and not having had time to shave.’ Mårtha, clearly having maintained her sense of humour merely laughed and replied, ‘Me neither.’ He brought with him a letter written by King Haakon at Nybergsund addressed to his sister (and Mårtha’s mother) Princess Ingeborg. The latter arrived at the winter resort a few days later, visibly tired and looking somewhat older, according to Ragni Østgaard. Yet, Ingeborg was also ‘filled with a glowing hatred of the Germans’ for her homeland of Denmark had also recently been occupied. Märtha’s mother was also deeply concerned for the welfare of her brother, King Haakon (formerly Prince Carl of Denmark until his accession to the throne of Norway in 1905) and her son-in-law (and nephew) Olav.

Prince Harald photographed at Sälen

The Swedish authorities were by now growing increasingly nervous of the presence of Norwegian royalty in an area so close to the border. What if, they reasoned, the Germans accidentally bombed the hotel due to a “navigation error” or if a kidnapping attempt was made to seize the royal party? The Swedish county governor decided to act and asked the royal party leave the hotel. In order not to attract attention, on 18 April, the royals and their entourage departed in the middle of the night, and headed southwards by car (which almost upturned in a snow drift) towards Uppsala. Thanks to Princess Ingeborg making use of family connections, it was arranged that the royal party could take temporary residence at Count Carl Bernadotte of Wisborg’s home at Rasbo. They would remain there for ten days, before proceeding to Stockholm and Drottningholm Palace.

At Drottningholm, King Gustav proved to be welcoming host but made it clear, through an adjutant, that there would be no discussion of the war at the dinner table. This was interesting, as otherwise Gustav had taken a keen interest in developments throughout Europe, with maps spread out over a billiard table nearby. However, it was noticeable that there was none pertaining to Norway. This particular map had been removed, prior to the arrival of the Norwegian contingent, perhaps out of tact. The Crown Princess tried to distract herself with games of gin rummy and bridge. Meanwhile Norwegians in Sweden were told not to openly celebrate their National Day on 17 May.

So how did the Crown Princess now continue to obtain news of what was happening across the border? Mårtha acquired a quality radio set and each evening she and Ragni Østgaard would listen to the late night news bulletin from London. Perhaps Märtha even managed to tune in to the National Day service broadcast from the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in London, as King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav managed to do in a holiday chalet in Northern Norway? She also had the services of the Norwegian diplomat Jen Bull, who acted as a liaison between Mårtha and the Norwegian Legation in Stockholm. Bull had previously served (1925-1931) as a Counsellor in the Norwegian legation in Berlin, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office in Oslo in 1939.

In due course, the Crown Princess was informed that King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav had departed Norway (from Tromsø) on the evening of 7 June, following a cabinet meeting held in the Bishop’s Palace, in order to continue the fight from Norwegian democracy from London. The war in Norway aside, Crown Prince Olav’s chief concern was now for the safety of his children and wife in Sweden. He had written to President Franklin D Roosevelt from Trangen, Langvatnet, as early as 10 May, mentioning an offer which Roosevelt had made, in late April 1939, during the Crown Prince and Princess’ weekend stay at the President’s country home at Hyde Park, ‘to take care of the children’ if the war should reach Norwegian shores.

After observing the 82nd birthday celebrations for ‘Uncle Gustav’ the previous day at Drottningholm, on 17 June, the Crown Princess and her children moved to Ulriksdal Palace. This allowed for some more privacy, and the children were able to relax with games, picnics and boating on the inlet. Furthermore, young Harald took the opportunity to learn to swim under the instruction of Signe Svendsen. Nonetheless, there was always a watchful Swedish policeman in attendance. Interestingly, the move to Ulriksdal coincided with King Haakon learning that the Germans had informed the Administrative Council, an interim body appointed by the Norwegian Supreme Court to deal with matters of civil administration in Norway, that he should abdicate the throne. This move on the part of the German occupiers seems to have hit a raw nerve with King Gustav of Sweden who, most unusually, became involved, sending a telegram to Adolf Hitler stating that ‘I consider it my duty to personally emphasize to you, Herr Reich Chancellor, that such a measure would elicit serious disapproval among the broadest circles of the Swedish people and throughout the whole of Scandinavia. I wish therefore, before irrevocable decisions are made by you, to draw your attention through this telegram…to urge you, Mr. Chancellor, to proceed with all the moderation that can be considered possible in relation to Norway, its king and people.’ Did he now fear for his own throne?

The sitting room at Ulriksdal Palace much as it was in 1940.

In the interim, Berlin had appointed Josef Terboven as Reichskommissar in Norway. Despite the initial refusal of the Administrative Council to comply with the abdication request, negotiations were continuing with Terboven, who was currently focused on the formulation of a future political framework for use in Norway during the occupation. Furthermore, despite King Gustav’s aforementioned telegram, there was a genuine possibility that a powerful Germany, aided by sympathetic Norwegians, could, if necessary, use leverage against Sweden, both diplomatically, economically, and militarily, to arrange for Mårtha to be returned to Norway with her son and a Regency formed until Harald came of age. A number of prominent Norwegians who visited Stockholm advocated for such a solution. This idea also had its supporters within Per Albin Hansson’s Swedish government. For instance, the Swedish Justice Minister (and one-time Foreign Minister), Karl Westman, wrote in his diary as early as 19 June, mentioning his attendance at a government meeting: ‘I reiterated my question about why the friends of the Norwegian dynasty do not put the Norwegian crown princess and [prince] Harald on a plane and send them… to Oslo.’ He was writing this at a time when many Swedes believed that Mårtha’s presence threatened to undermine Sweden’s neutrality when Germany was on the ascendance: Only a few days earlier German forces had entered Paris unopposed and the French were on the point of signing the surrender at Compiègne. Time Magazine would subsequently report that Crown Princess Mårtha had indeed been offered ‘a regency in the name of her son, Prince Harald.’ Meanwhile, some Norwegians even harboured the-not unrealistic-suspicion that Prince Harald could be kidnapped and taken to Oslo by force.

On 27 June, the Presidential Council of the Storting, under pressure from the occupiers and recognising the need to establish a provisional government, responded tentatively to Josef Terboven’s proposal to establish a Council of the Realm to act as a collaborative body with the occupiers. In order to progress matters, they now asked the King to abdicate, giving him until 12 July to ‘renounce his constitutional functions for himself and his house.’ However, King Haakon refused to comply and, on 8 July, announced his rejection of the abdication request via a BBC radio broadcast from London, as well as formally placing his response in writing. What would this mean for the future of Norway and the monarchy going forward?

In Stockholm, Mårtha, under the impression that her Swedish family (i.e. King Gustav) and Hitler were conspiring to remove King Haakon and set up a Regency, was feeling the pressure and sent a telegram to London as early as 24 June warning her husband that attempts were being made to ‘induce her’ to return with her three children to Oslo. Indeed, rumours had been circulating of a cipher telegram having been sent on 21 June by King Gustav to King Haakon to advise him to abdicate in favour of his grandson as ‘a means of saving the Norwegian people from unnecessary difficulties’. It also appears that the contents of King Gustav’s earlier telegram to Hitler may have been misconstrued or misreported for, on 22 June the British Minister in Stockholm indicated that King Gustav had telegraphed Hitler directly personally recommending the Regency option to him. Thus, London (and the Crown Princess) now believed that Gustav was the principal protagonist in this matter. Indeed, such was the fury in London that it caused Britain’s King George VI to sit down and write a very stern letter to the Swedish King. Fortunately, this was not forwarded by the British Legation in Stockholm to King Gustav, when it became clear that the meddling Swedish king had instead urged Hitler to show the utmost possible moderation in his dealings over Norway. Some commentators have taken the view that Gustav intervened simply because he believed that if the matter was not resolved soon Germany would abolish the monarchy in Norway.

Despite the strong political pressure placed on her, according to Einar Østgaard’s book, Crown Princess Mårtha did not particularly want to travel to the United States. However, King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav, fearing for Mårtha and the children’s safety, seemed keen that this should happen. In late June, the Crown Prince had written again to President Roosevelt from Buckingham Palace pressing him to make good on his offer of sanctuary to his children, but this time he also included a request on behalf of his wife. Olav also made an approach to the US Secretary of State via the US Ambassador in London, Joseph Kennedy, entreating ‘if there is anything you can do in a hurry to get the [Crown] Princess out [of Sweden].’ On 12 July, the US Secretary of State sent a message to the US Minister in Stockholm saying that President Roosevelt was arranging for a naval transport vessel to be sent to Finland to evacuate the Crown Princess and her family, along with a group of ‘stranded’ US citizens.

On 17 July, the Norwegian Government in exile addressed a letter to the Storting Presidential Council, in which cautious appreciation of the work done by the Administrative Council was combined with a plain warning that ‘everything which is agreed or done at this time in respect of government in Norway must have the clear stamp of temporariness, if nothing is to be lost for the future of the country.’

On 18 July, Märtha received a telephone call from the Norwegian Minister in Washington, Wilhelm Thorleif von Munthe af Morgenstierne. He informed a somewhat nonplussed Crown Princess (who seems to have been in the dark about Crown Prince Olav’s recent correspondence with Roosevelt) that an American warship was being sent to Finland to transport her and her children to the United States. But would she go? On 20 July, Märtha received the US Minister to Norway, Mrs Florence Harriman, who was now ensconced temporarily at the United States Legation in Stockholm. Having had time to reflect on the efforts being made on her and her children’s behalf, both in London and Washington, the Crown Princess indicated to the American that she would be happy to accept President Roosevelt’s kind offer. Nevertheless, Märtha was keen to emphasise that she wanted to enter the United States ‘as quietly as possible’ and that she ‘would not be required to meet reporters or a reception committee’. Naively, the Crown Princess even expressed the hope that the date of her arrival should be kept confidential. King Gustav, on hearing of the “American plan”, telegraphed King Haakon, on 24 July, stating that he objected to the American trip as it might undermine the future of the Norwegian monarchy, a viewpoint Haakon, who deeply resented Gustav’s meddling, was quick to dismiss. Some sources also have Crown Princess Märtha and “Uncle Gustav” having a robust exchange of views on this matter in Stockholm.

However, events were already moving apace. On 22 July, Mrs Harriman had been informed by the US State Department that a naval transport, the USS American Legion, was about to leave for the Finnish port of Petsamo (now Petsjenga, Russia) and should reach there around 5 August. It was also made clear that there was ‘no possible way’ the Crown Princess’ arrival in the United States could be kept confidential. Indeed, just as Märtha was setting off from Ulriksdal Palace, on 12 August, the Norwegian Legation released a statement to the press, also broadcast over Radio Sweden, stating that the Crown Princess and her three children ‘will leave for the United States in the next few days to visit President Roosevelt’ who had issued ‘a personal invitation’ to the Norwegian royals.

That same day, the Norwegian party departed Stockholm’s Central Station. Both Märtha father, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg were distressed to take leave of their beloved daughter and grandchildren. Princess Ingeborg presented Märtha with a case of jewels, including the emerald tiara that had once belonged to Empress Joséphine, the wife of Napoléon Bonaparte. This was a form of financial insurance in difficult times. King Gustav also came to the station to see them off, despite his grave reservations. They were, after all, his relations too. The plan was for the Norwegian royal party to travel by train to Haparanda, on the Swedish/ Norwegian border, with the rest of the journey, through Finland, being undertaken by cars provided by the Finnish authorities. The local Haparanda newspaper Haparandabladet soon reported on the Crown Princess’s arrival there, prior to her setting off on the second stage of the journey northwards to Petsamo. This second stage was undertaken in a convoy of four vehicles and included stops and overnight stays in Rovaniemi and Inari (Enare). A Finnish military officer, Major Carl Gustaf Wahren, accompanied the royal entourage and was responsible for security. He very kindly allowed the amiable Swedish policeman Artur Pfeiffer, with whom the children had developed a good relationship since their arrival in Stockholm, to accompany the party on this Finnish leg of their journey. Petsamo was reached on 15 August.

The Crown Princess and her children in Finland en route to Petsamo, 13-15 August 1940

The Crown Princess and her children now joined the nine hundred passengers, mostly United States citizens, aboard the American Legion, bound for New York. Märtha appeared on the ship’s manifest as “Mrs Jones” and was given the use of the Captain’s cabin. Others in the royal party included the Crown Princess’s Chief of Staff, Peder Anker Wedel Jarlsberg; Lady-in-Waiting, Mrs Ragni Østgaard; the latter’s son Einar and Prince Harald’s nurse, Signe Svendsen. Touchingly, Harald was pictured clutching his beloved teddy bear. Yet, the Norwegian royal party were still very much in danger. Germany refused to guarantee the ship safe conduct and according to Time Magazine, in a ruthless last-minute display of audacity, had tried to delay the sailing with a dispute over the route. It was said that the Germans preferred a more northern passage where the American Legion could be waylaid by a submarine, and Martha and her son kidnapped.

Meanwhile, King Haakon broadcast to the Norwegian people on 26 August, informing them ‘to avoid everything which is inconsistent with our national dignity; remain Norwegian in mind and thought…’ A majority of the Storting members in Oslo eventually voted for the suspension of the monarchy rather than acceptance of the original German demand for the abdication or deposing of the Royal House and negotiations continued. However, Terboven, keen to stamp his authority, eventually abandoned plans for a Council of the Realm and power rested, for the moment, with the Reichskommissariat.

Despite all the melodrama of the last few months, the Crown Princess and her entourage finally sailed into New York on 28 August. She and her three children would eventually settle in a largish brick house set in substantial grounds in Pook’s Hill, Maryland. Märtha would soon become part of President’s Roosevelt’s inner circle and was thus ideally placed to obtain first-hand knowledge of the comings and goings at the White House and in Washington’s political circles. She was also able to use her position to advance Norway’s cause in the United States.

The Crown Princess and her family arrive in New York 28 August 1940

In Mid-April 1945, King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav remained in exile in England, where they had sought refuge following the German occupation of Norway in 1940. However, with the collapse of the Third Reich now imminent, Olav thought it expedient to inform his wife, Crown Princess Märtha who, with their three children, Ragnhild, Astrid and Harald, had taken refuge in the United States, that they must be prepared to travel from their wartime home in Washington D.C. to Europe at short notice.

Crown Princess Märtha and her children Harald, Astrid and Ragnhild at their wartime home Pooks Hill, near Washington D.C.

According to one source, the Crown Princess learned of the German surrender in May from the Norwegian Consul-General of Norway, Christensen, following her arrival by train in New York. However, Princess Astrid would recall it differently, stating that it was she who first heard the news of the German capitulation in Europe over the radio at the family’s residence, causing her to shout out, ‘We are free. We are free!’ Her mother, the Crown Princess, was nearby and asked if any specific mention had been made of Norway. Unfortunately, Astrid had been so caught up in the excitement of the moment, that she had rushed out of the room without hearing the final details of the broadcast! Fortunately, the Norwegian Foreign Minister Trygve Lie, who was also in Washington, called to confirm the good news. He was due to fly to Britain and asked the Crown Princess if she wanted to come too, so that she might have the chance to meet Crown Prince Olav, before he departed for Norway. Naturally she agreed. But of necessity, the reunion, which took place in Edinburgh, on 11 May, was short but sweet!

Ragnhild, Astrid and Harald set out for England on 20 May. In the United States, following the initial burst of publicity upon their arrival from Europe in August 1940, the children had not been subjected to the same intrusiveness as would have been the case in Norway. Princess Astrid recalls that ‘Over there we were just Ragnhild, Astrid and Harald. There wasn’t much talk about princes and princesses.’ Nonetheless, there was great excitement that the journey back to Europe would be by air, rather than by sea, quite a novel thing at the time. As a precaution, Ragnhild and Astrid flew in one plane accompanied by the Court Marshal, Baron Wedel Jarlsberg; while Harald travelled separately with the Crown Princess’s Lady-in-Waiting, Ragni Østgaard and her son Einer. The aeroplanes were of course far from luxurious, having mostly been used for the transport of military personnel.

While the princesses were keen to return to their homeland, Harald (who was aged only three when he arrived in the US) was confused, as he would recall some sixty years later: ‘Everyone was talking about how we were going home now. I was the only one who was going to do the opposite; I was going to leave my home. I didn’t remember anything from Norway; I didn’t know of any other home other than Pooks Hill.’

After a stopover at Gander in Newfoundland, the royal transports landed in Scotland the following afternoon. Before the day’s end, the royal children were travelling southwards by train for an emotional reunion with King Haakon (‘Farfar’), at his current home, Foliejon Park in Berkshire. They had not met for five years. Inevitably, as Harald had only been three when they parted company on 9 April 1940, he remembered little, if anything, of the venerable gentleman with the Danish accent. However, there was to be no meeting, for the moment, with Crown Prince Olav, who had arrived home in Oslo on 13 May, to a warm welcome from cheering crowds.

After a few weeks in England, the Norwegian Royal Family departed London’s King’s Cross Station, on the evening of 4 June, aboard the night sleeper train to Edinburgh. King Haakon (accompanied by the Crown Princess) had earlier lunched with his nephew, King George VI, and his wife Queen Elizabeth, at Buckingham Palace to thank them for their hospitality over the years. Haakon also recorded a message of thanks to the British people from the BBC headquarters, Broadcasting House.

King Haakon emaks HMS Norfolk near Edinburgh 5 June 1945

In the early afternoon of 5 June, amid considerable ceremony, the royal party boarded the British cruiser and flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, HMS Norfolk, at Rosyth Dockyard. The Norwegian Royal Standard-a rampant gold lion on a red background-was hoisted from the mainmast as soon as the King set foot on the gangplank; while the Royal Marine band played the Norwegian National Anthem. Vice-Admiral Rhoderick McGrigor was waiting to greet the King and the other members of the Royal Party. HMS Norfolk was escorted throughout the crossing by HMS Devonshire, the vessel which had transported King Haakon, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government over to exile in Britain almost five years earlier. Other ships in the convoy included the Royal Navy O-class destroyers HMS Offa, HMS Onslow and HMS Orwell, as well as the Royal Norwegian Navy S-Class destroyer, HNoMS Stord.

The following day, 6 June, the weather was bad, with a strong breeze and heavy rain. King Haakon spent the whole day on the command bridge and suddenly, at around six o’clock, land was sighted: Lista, the southern most tip of Norway. Prince Harald ran to where his mother and his sisters were sitting, and received a confirming answer when he shouted ‘Is it Norway, Mother?’ Princess Astrid remembers that ‘Grandfather was anxious and wondered what the homecoming would be like. How would the people receive him?’

King Haakon takes the salute with his son Crown Prince Olav. Behind are Crown Princess Märtha, Princess Ragnhild and Prince Harald. Princess Astrid is obscured behind her father.

King Haakon landed in Oslo, at 12 midday on 7 June, exactly five years to the day since he departed Tromsø for exile in Britain to carry on the fight against Germany. This was also the 40th anniversary of the famous vote in the Storting [Parliament] which dissolved the union between Norway and Sweden. Crown Prince Olav came aboard HMS Norfolk at Spro and must have been somewhat startled at the sight of his three children dressed in oversize duffle coats (borrowed from the crew) against the biting winds. Indeed, Princess Astrid remembered that the weather was so bad at times that those on board could not see the land. However, soon small craft were spotted, decorated with foliage and flags, coming almost alongside in greeting as the vessel progressed up the Oslofjord. The duffle coats were soon swapped for “Sunday Best” clothing for the welcome home festivities in Oslo. Three hundred thousand people (other sources state 500,000) were said to have lined the Oslofjord. Ships in the harbour blew their whistles and let-off star shells.

Once the ship had reached its destination, the sun broke through the clouds and the King and his family disembarked and were transported by launch to the Honnørbryggen quayside, near to Akerhus Fortress, to shake hands with the official welcoming party, which included Paal Berg, leader of the resistance movement, as well as General Thorne, who had formally held sovereignty of Norway following the German surrender. The latter is said to have greeted the King with the words, ‘Sir, I return to you your Kingdom.’ The King straightened his back and strode purposefully down the red carpet to a waiting pavilion decked out with flags bearing the royal insignia. His Majesty inspected a Guard of Honour formed from, among others, newly arrived British and American military contingents. The Oslo City Hall provided a fitting backdrop. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess and their children (who were noticeably mesmerised by the fuss) followed on close behind. Thousands shouted out ‘God Save the King.’ A band played the National Anthem. Later, all-night parties were held along the Oslofjord. King Haakon, was ‘deeply moved by the warm welcome of all the people.’ It was clear that years of oppression had given the Norwegians a desire to express themselves.

In a speech King Haakon explained to the assembled crowds, ‘The day we decided we had to leave the country was a grim and sombre day. We understood that if we remained here, we would be captured and, as prisoners, would no longer represent a free Norway. It was on that basis that we deemed it necessary to continue the struggle for Norway’s freedom abroad.’

‘The years were long. I do not deny that, and many times it may have looked very dark for many of you’

‘That we should return on the anniversary of the day when Norwegians regained their freedom and independence is for me a sign that we shall succeed in carrying out our future tasks to the benefit of our country.’ King Haakon added.

He concluded, ‘But in this time of rejoicing, we must not forget that we have a great and difficult task ahead of us to achieve what we wish to build here in our land: a free and benevolent society for the good people of Norway.’

Princess Astrid further recalls that ‘When we drove up to the Palace, it was heart-warming to see the Royal Court staff members, who had been there when we left, standing in the open windows of the Palace to welcome us home. All of our friends, whom we had not seen in five long years, were also standing there. They had been brought to the Palace to greet us, and that was very emotional.’

King Haakon and Crown Princess Märtha drive through the streets of Oslo on 7 June. Note the presence of bodyguards and outriders.

That evening, the royal family appeared on the Royal Palace balcony before a crowd estimated at 100,000. The royal family did not retire until 12.30am, following a wonderful firework display which featured a stylised monogram H7 (for Haakon VII). Prince Harald would also later recall running from room to room of the vast palace, even encountering a room full of chambermaids enjoying their repast.

The following night, a gala performance took place at the National Theatre, at the close of which a leading actor recited Nordahl Grieg’s poem ‘The King’- a patriotic tribute inspired by the experiences which the people and the monarch had shared during the campaign in 1940. This was clandestinely brought into circulation throughout Norway not long before the author lost his life in a bombing raid over Berlin with the R.A.A.F in December 1943.

The task of dismantling the German presence in Norway was now underway, as was the need to form of a new government and deal with the minority who had thrown in their lot with the Germans. On a more personal level, both the Royal Palace and Skaugum, the home of the Crown Princely couple, had suffered from the ravages of war. The former was described as ‘a shambles’, with the late Queen Maud’s sitting room having been used as an office by the traitor, Quisling. The Royal Chapel and Great Banqueting Hall had been turned into storage rooms. Meanwhile, the contents of Skaugum were either damaged or subsequently located at a storage facility. The house had, throughout the occupation, been the residence of the Nazi Reich Commissioner, Josef Terboven. He had recently committed suicide by blowing himself up in a bunker in the grounds. It would take several months to put these residences into a serviceable condition. Although originally the family had stayed the first couple of nights at the Palace, they soon relocated to the royal summer home on the Bygdøy peninsula (which had also been taken over by the Germans), where they would remain until the autumn.

Another trial initially, especially for Prince Harald, was adjusting to life at a Norwegian school, for he spoke and understood English far better than Norwegian at this time. Nonetheless, he would now become the first Hereditary Prince to attend a regular public school.

King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav would work side-by-side during the post-war years in their quest to help rebuild a country ravaged by war. The Crown Princess once again took up her charitable duties as the first lady of Norway. A strong foundation was thus formed for the future of the royal family.

Return to royal duties: The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway visit Trondheim in October 1945

On 13 May 1945, Crown Prince Olav arrived in Norway aboard the British cruiser ”Apollo”, the cheers of a crowd of several hundred thousand people ringing in his ears as he stepped ashore at Honnørbryggen in Oslo. Olav was anxious to speak to the general public assembled:

‘Five years ago, we left the country, but we knew that in the end, justice would prevail over evil. There was never any doubt that Norway would one day be free again.’

One biographer observed ‘Crown Prince Olav’s return and triumphal procession through the jubilant sea of ​​people has been described as ‘a shining moment that no one who experienced it would ever forget. It is what the poets call “a starry moment in the life of the nation.”‘

The Crown Prince was then transported atop the back seat of the open-topped AI registration Buick royal limousine (so recently used by the Germans) through the streets of Oslo with the resistance fighter Max Manus acting as his bodyguard, rifle in hand-just in case! Manus looked particularly anxious as they progressed up the Karl Johan thoroughfare, and he had good reason to be, for not all of the Germans in the city had yet been disarmed. Indeed, word of Olav’s return had been kept secret until only a few hours earlier for security reasons.

Crown Prince Olav drives through Oslo with his armed bodyguard watching for German sharpshooters!

To add to the sense of uncertainty, only a few days earlier the Reichskommissar Josef Terboven, who had recently been relieved of his post by General Franz Böhme, had committed suicide at the Crown Prince’s Skaugum estate (which he had occupied during the occupation) by detonating 50 kilos of dynamite. He would not be alone.

For the Crown Prince personally, it was one of the strongest experiences of his life. He felt an intense boundless joy, a joy he got to share with an entire people. ‘That day I felt privileged and rich. I understood how lucky we had been and how much I had to be thankful for.’

Scenes in Karl Johan Gate on 8 May as the people of Oslo celebrate VE Day.

So much happened in these eventful May days. Indeed, the period was recently described by Aftenposten by historian Guri Hjeltnes ‘Lifting the lid off a pressure cooker.’ The local population were initially warned that ‘The enemy has now capitulated [in fact they had not yet formally surrendered], and soon we will be completely masters of the country. But remember: capitulation is not the same as peace. The enemy still has weapons.’

The traitor Quisling was arrested and imprisoned on his arrival at the main police station in Oslo. Norwegian police-who had been trained in Sweden during the war-had only arrived in the capital as recently as 10 May, armed with lists of potential traitors collated from information gathered from Norwegian refugees. Germany had forces in Norway during World War 2 estimated at between 300,000 and 350,000; while other sources state that at their peak, in the autumn of 1943, 380,000 had occupied the country.

On 11 May, Terje Rollem of Milorg [abbreviation of militær organisasjon], the Norwegian resistance movement, received the formal surrender of the German forces at Akershus Fortress. Norwegian home forces partly kept watch together with German soldiers in the first period after the capitulation, with German officers allowed to carry their pistols. These officers were now tasked with keeping order and discipline within their units. They were subsequently interred in camps.

As part of the Crown Prince’s party were the Norwegian Armed Forces High Command and a government delegation of five ministers led by Oscar Trop. Also arriving on that day was the British General, Andrew Thorne, who would be responsible for the Allied dismantling of the occupation rule, although he was answerable to General Eisenhower. British and American soldiers (initially only a few thousand but rising to thirty thousand) joined with Norwegian forces to achieve this. Storting President Hambro and Prime Minister Nygaardsvold accompanied by the rest of the Norwegian government-in-exile, who had been based in London, returned to Oslo on 31 May aboard the ship “Andes”.

British troops arrive in Oslo to be greeted by grateful locals. They were vastly outnumbered by the former occupying forces, many of whom remained armed.

On 14 May, Crown Prince Olav received the resignation of the Home Front government, which in had only been in place for around a week, at the Royal Palace; while on 17 May, Norway’s National Day was celebrated for the first time in six years, with huge crowds gathering throughout Oslo city centre (including the Royal Palace and the City Hall). Meanwhile, a week later, some 400 students who had been sent to camps in Germany arrived home.

Crown Prince Olav presides over the Children’s Parade at the Royal Palace on National Day 17 May 1945

One who never forgot the Crown Princes’s return had been a fisherman who was out in his boat at Sonsodden, when he suddenly discovered, much to his surprise that he was right in the path of three large warships which were advancing towards him. He put the engine in neutral and drifted up alongside the ships. One cruiser, the Apollo was displaying the royal flag on the stern mast. On the low aft deck the fisherman spotted someone he soon recognised as Crown Prince Olav. The man took off his hat and exclaimed, ‘Welcome home, Crown Prince!’ A smiling Olav replied, ‘Thank you very much.’

As they emerged onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace on 8 May (Victory in Europe Day, foreshortened to VE Day) to receive a tumultuous accolade from the British people, the King and Queen had every reason to reflect on a job well done. Together they had shared the trials and hardships of their subjects: Buckingham Palace alone was attacked on six occasions by enemy bombers; the chapel destroyed and the Queen’s private apartments wrecked by a bomb hit. Furthermore, there was hardly a window left in the cavernous building where repairs were largely piecemeal until the relevant building materials became available again.

Winston Churchill joins the King and Queen and the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret on VE Day

As VE day was a Tuesday, the King had lunched as usual with Churchill at the Palace and they ‘congratulated each other on the end of the European War.’ The King further confided to his diary, ‘No more fear of being bombed at home & no more living in air-raid shelters.’ It is worth remembering that as recently as 27 March, London had received a hit from a V2 rocket. These lethal machines caused around 2700 deaths in that city alone.

The King, in particular, was also still deeply affected by the death of President Roosevelt only a few weeks previously, noting ‘ I had hoped that the Roosevelts would have paid us a visit here this summer, but it cannot be.’ Both the King and Queen had attended a Memorial Service in St Paul’s Cathedral on 17 April.

The real countdown to VE Day began on 4 May, when the King and Queen received the ‘wonderful news’ via telephone from Winston Churchill himself, that all enemy forces in the Netherlands, North-West Germany and Denmark had surrendered. The following afternoon the King was informed that General Eisenhower was expecting to receive a delegation of German top brass and soon hoped to arrange the final surrender of all German land forces. The Allied Supreme Commander anticipated he would be in a position to report to the three Allied governments by Sunday evening, 6 May, that hostilities were over. The King and Queen therefore returned to London on that day from Windsor in anticipation of Victory in Europe being officially celebrated the following day, 7 May; this was also the date the King anticipated giving his Victory speech over the radio. The sight of loud speakers and floodlights being put into place along the Mall did little to dissuade the royal couple from believing that peace was only hours away. Their Majesties were, meanwhile, buoyed up by the news that the King’s nephew George Harewood and the Queen’s nephew John Elphinstone had been ‘safely picked up’ from their German prisoner-of-war camp by the US 7th Army and were now in Paris, awaiting a flight to London.

However, the VE Day arrangements did not quite go to plan, as the Germans were stalling signing the surrender documents in an attempt to allow as many as possible of their people to flee west to escape the Russians. Finally, at 2.41 am on the morning of 7 May the first instrument of unconditional surrender of all the German forces was signed in a schoolhouse in Rheims by Admiral Doenitz (the successor to Hitler who had committed suicide on 30 April). The cessation of hostilities was agreed for 8 May. As the public waited throughout 7 May for an official announcement, a fair size crowd amassed in front of the Palace in the vain hope of seeing the King and Queen. Following an evening cabinet meeting, it was announced over the radio at 9pm that Mr Churchill would broadcast to the nation at 3.00 pm the following day, 8 May. This was to be celebrated as VE Day.

The King and Queen and the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret on the Palace balcony.

Following the Prime Ministers’ broadcast on 8 May, crowds started to gather on the streets of London, Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace being particular points of focus. The King had kept busy, holding an investiture earlier in the day. It was only following Churchill’s broadcast that the King and his family first appeared on the balcony. Meanwhile, short services were taking place hourly in Westminster Abbey. The ovation accorded the King and Queen during that first appearance on the Palace balcony with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, was tremendous. All were visibly moved.

The King makes his VE day speech 8 May 1945

At 9 pm it was the turn of the King to take to the airwaves. He had worked hard on this speech for some time, with the help of his Private Secretary, Sir Alan Lascelles and further input from Winston Churchill. He spoke of the fallen: ‘Those who will not come back, their constancy and courage in battle, their sacrifice and endurance in the face of a merciless enemy’; and of those who would return-‘the great host of the living who have brought us victory’; and asked his listeners ‘on this day of just triumph and proud sorrow’ to return to their work again ..’and to make the world such a world as they [who died for us] would have desired, for their children and for ours.’

The King and the Queen continued to be called onto the balcony by the crowds outside the Palace and would later note that ‘we went out 8 times altogether during the afternoon and evening. We were given a great reception.’ In between the various balcony appearances, the King had held audiences with the War Cabinet and the Chiefs of Staff. His Majesty was at his most ebullient when he told them, ‘You have brought this country-I may say you have brought the whole world-out of deadly peril into complete victory.’ It was after midnight when the King and Queen made their final appearance together on the balcony, the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret having been permitted by the King to leave the Palace and enjoy the atmosphere on the surrounding area of St James Street and Piccadilly. They both cheered their parents on the balcony from outside the railings of the Palace, having previously sent in word, through an aide, that they were patiently waiting there.

Nonetheless, the King was far from complacent, noting in his diary, ‘But there is still Japan to be defeated and the restoration of our country to be dealt with, which will give us many headaches & hard work in the coming years.’ Furthermore, the royal couple were both tired and exhausted from five-and-a-half years of constant strain during which the King had left Britain on five occasions to make trips to his troops in the field, including a never-to-be-forgotten day trip to the besieged, bombed, battered but brave island of Malta which was awarded the George Cross ‘For Valour’. In Britain, together or separately, they had visited hundreds of factories, toured bomb sites, visited air stations and naval docks and narrowly escaped being killed by a V2 rocket!

Yet still there was to be no respite for them. On both 9 and 10 May the King and Queen undertook State Drives through the North East and South East of London. The crowds remained thick on the ground; thus, over several evenings, Their Majesties were again summoned onto the balcony of the Palace. On 13 May, the King and Queen were joined by Queen Mary (who came up from her wartime home at Badminton) and their daughters at a National Service of Thanksgiving held in St Paul’s Cathedral during which the Archbishop of Canterbury urged ‘united discipline and hard endeavour’ to help overcome post-war problems. Many of the foreign royalties still remaining in London also attended, having lunched beforehand with King and Queen at the Palace. Their Majesties then travelled overnight to Scotland for a similar service at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh on 16 May.

The King and Queen return to Buckingham Palace following the Thanksgiving Service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

After earlierreceiving ‘loyal addresses’ from both Houses of Parliament, the King made his response in the Royal Gallery on 17 May, during which he happily acknowledged the fortitude and courage of the British people in wartime. However, his focus was also very much on his ‘helpmeet’, the Queen. He observed, ‘I have done my best to discharge my royal duty as the constitutional sovereign of a free people, and in this task I have been unceasingly helped by the Queen, whose deep and active sympathy for all my subjects in pain or peril and whose intense resolve for victory has comforted my heart never more than in our darkest hours.’ The King’s Private Secretary, Sir Alan Lascelles, thought the event ‘a great triumph’ for the Sovereign. Churchill led those attending in ‘three cheers’ as the King departed.

On 24 May, an Empire Day Garden Party for 1,750 returned military men and Red Cross volunteers was held on the lawns of the Palace. Thereafter, the King and Queen travelled to Balmoral for a short break, returning to London at the beginning of June. His Majesty reflected in his diary that, ‘We have been overwhelmed by the kind things people have said over our part in the War. We have only tried to do our duty during these 51/2 years.’

The work continues: The King and Queen and Princess Elizabeth visit Belfast in July 1945.

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The death of Her Royal Highness Princess Birgitta of Sweden was announced in a communiqué from H.E. the Marshal of the Realm on 4 December.

Published around the same time was a statement by her brother the King of Sweden:

“It is with great sadness that I have today received the news that my sister, Princess Birgitta, has passed away. My sister was a colourful and straightforward person who will be deeply missed by me and my family. Together with my entire family, I am today sending my condolences to Princess Birgitta’s children and grandchildren.”

Princess Birgitta Ingeborg Alice was born on 19 January 1937 at Haga Palace and was the second eldest child of Hereditary Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and his German-born wife, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Birgitta and her three sisters ( Margaretha, Désirée and Christina were referred to as the Haga Princesses (in Swedish Hagasessorna), as they were brought up at this royal residence during the early years of their life. In due course, the sisters were joined by a brother, Carl Gustav in April 1946. Life at the Haga Palace was relatively relaxed by royal standards with the children happily riding their bicycles or playing with their pet animals, including a pony called Eva. Princess Birgitta’s early memories also included the second world war period, when the windows were blacked out and butter was rationed.

Princess Birgitta (second left) with her mother Sybilla and siblings.

Holidays were spent at Sofiero Castle followed by a period of swimming and sunbathing along the light, sandy beaches at Falstelbro. Then a more formal fortnight with their great-grandfather, King Gustav V, a widower, at Solliden, situated on the island of Öland in south-eastern Sweden. The Haga Princesses had a scaled-down house there (rather more impressive than a simple Wendy House) where they were photographed washing up in the kitchen.

A rare photograph of Princess Birgitta (with fish) with her father, Prince Gustav Adolf and sisters Margaretha and Désirée.

The death of Birgitta’s father in 1947 in a flying accident at Katstrup Airport, Copenhagen en route home from a hunting expedition in the Netherlands, was a bitter blow to the idyllic life the family had enjoyed at Haga Palace. Princess Sybilla, who never spoke of her grief to her children, remained a devoted mother to her brood and Birgitta’s grandfather, the then Crown Prince Gustav Adolf (from 1950 King Gustav VI Adolf) was an indulgent grandfather to his late son’s children. Birgitta and her siblings were also close to their beloved nanny, Ingrid Björnberg, known as “Nenne”. Nevertheless, contemporary commentators have noted that Birgitta-like many others who have lost a parent at a young age-missed her father’s presence throughout her long life.

The Princess was educated privately at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in a classroom with six girls who were all the children of acquaintances of the royal family. At the age of 14, Birgitta enrolled at Stockholm’s École Française (Franska Skola) in Döbelnsgatan and later attended a finishing school in Switzerland. The Princess showed a great deal of interest in physical recreation, particularly skiing (she started lessons, aged 16, at a ski school at Storlien in northern Sweden) tennis, golf and fencing, the latter being a sport at which she represented her country at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Indeed, in many ways Birgitta was partly following in the footsteps of her late father, who was himself a champion fencer and had also participated in the Olympic Games (as member of the Swedish Equestrian team in Berlin in 1936).

In 1956, Princess Birgitta spent two years training as a physical education teacher at the Central School of Gymnastics [Gymnastiska Centralinstitute]. She later taught for a short period at Broms School, a private educational establishment in central Stockholm, which was at one stage attended by her brother. She was also sometimes spotted on the Swiss ski slopes at Grindelwald, skiing being another sport she enjoyed greatly.

(Left to right) Princesses Margaretha, Désirée and Birgitta circa 1958

On occasion the Princess was asked to undertake engagements on behalf of the Swedish Royal House. In the summer of 1958 she attended the opening ceremony for the FIFA World Cup at the Rasunda Stadium at Solna. In November 1960, Birgitta visited the United States accompanied by her younger sister Princess Désirée to represent their grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf at the 50th anniversary celebrations of The American-Scandinavian Foundation in Chicago.

In the autumn of 1959, Birgitta travelled to Munich in Germany in order to study German. . There she met the German prince and art historian Johann Georg von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, known to his friends as “Hansi” at a cocktail party. Following a short courtship, the couple became engaged in December 1960. They subsequently underwent a civil marriage ceremony on 25 May 1961 in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the Mayor of Stockholm officiating. This was followed, a few days later, by a Roman Catholic wedding service at Sigmaringen Castle in Germany. Interestingly, the Princess did not become a Roman Catholic convert, retaining her Lutheran faith. A biographer of Princess Sybilla, Roger Lundgren, has stated that she had, in fact, made an application to join the Roman Catholic Church but this was rejected by the Church with words questioning her spirituality in the matter.

Princess Birgitta Civil Marriage Ceremony, Stockholm

Birgitta and her husband settled in a modern house in Munich and would go on to have three children together, Carl Christian, Désirée and Hubertus. She was visited there by her mother, grandfather and other family members. The Princess also continued her work with gymnastics and released an LP “Spänsta med Birgitta” in 1967, an exercise program with an accompanying explanatory book. The death, from cancer, of Princess Sybilla in 1972 (at the age of 64 and only days after appearing at the King’s 90th birthday celebrations) was a bitter blow, but with a husband and young family to attend to, life had to go on. In 1979, she was named as godmother to Carl Philip, the only son of her brother the King (and briefly Crown Prince of Sweden until the laws of succession were changed retrospectively in 1980) The Princess had long had an interest in fashion, and for a period, she worked as a model. Furthermore, having in her teenage years taken a course in sewing and dress cutting at the Märtha School in Stockholm, she decided to open a boutique in Munich in the 1980’s.

Princess Birgitta with her husband, mother and three children circa 1970.Princess Birgitta at home in Mallorca

Birgitta separated from her husband in 1990. In an interview with Expressen in 2019, the Princess said that she and the Prince enjoyed different interests and that it was best that they lived their lives separately. (The couple never divorced and remained on good terms, sometimes attending royal events together in Stockholm. The Prince died in 2016.) Birgitta eventually moved to Mallorca where she purchased an apartment, built up a loyal network of friends and became very much focused on playing golf. She eventually set up a tournament, Princess Birgitta Trophy which was played at the Santa Ponsa Golf Club of which she was a long-time member. She has also been described as ‘key member’ of the Santa Ponsa Country Club where she was seen on almost a daily basis practising her putting skills and golf swing. But it would be wrong to assume that her life was only one of pleasure for the golf tournament was in aid of charity. The Princess had long been an advocate for the rights of children, co-founding the HELP Foundation to assist vulnerable young people around the world. Speaking on the Swedish Radio programme P1 radio in 2009, she emphasised that her philanthropic efforts were focused on children ‘because they are our future.’ Birgitta was keen to maintain links to her homeland and was a leading supporter of the Swedish community in Mallorca, often attending the Santa Lucia celebrations at Palma Cathedral. She was also involved with the Royal Sweden Hong Kong Society, which promoted trade and projects between Sweden and Hong Kong. She succeeded her uncle, Prince Bertil, as a Patron of the British-based Royal Swedish Golfing Society, which provides facilities for golfers in London and the Home Counties who have close links to Sweden. With her interest in art, she was guest of honour at the opening of the Academy of Art in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in 2017 and in 2019 she visited Gothenburg to given interviews to promote the work of the Jonte Foundation (Jontefonden), a Swedish charity which works with children either who are awaiting or have just undergone an organ transplant.

In 1997, Princess Birgitta, who over the years had come to be regarded as the most colourful of the King’s sisters wrote her memoir “My Own Way” in collaboration with writer Fred König. A large part of the proceeds from this memoir went to HELP. In an interview at the time with Svenska Dagbladet’s Karin Thunberg, speaking of her pre-marriage period living in Sweden, the Princess admitted ‘The older I became, the greater my need to get out [of the royal atmosphere]. My best time in Sweden, absolutely, was the two years at GCI [Central School of Gymnastics] where I got to be with “ordinary” people. And was treated just like one of them.’ Here she also found the love of her youth, the ice hockey legend Sven Tumba, with whom she remained good friends until his death in 2011. Yet, in the 2009 PI radio interview Birgitta also revealed that she had actually always wanted to be a masseur, but the Royal Court did not approve, feeling it was inappropriate for a princess to under such a training course which would later entail massaging people in a hospital environment .

She was of the opinion that her brother was ‘doing a good job’ of being King. She visited Sweden fairly regularly, particularly for family confirmations and weddings such as that of Crown Princess Victoria in 2010, Princess Madeleine in 2013 and Prince Carl Philip in 2015. Birgitta also attended family birthdays including the 70th birthday celebrations for her brother, the King, in 2016. Birgitta spent the early part of the COVID crisis in 2020 lodging with the King and Queen and members of the extended family at Stenhammar Castle, which the royal couple usually used as a weekend retreat. It had been around this time that the Princess suffered from heart problems. As recently as December 2022, Swedish Television broadcast an hour-long documentary and interview with the Princess, Sessan-A Royal Fairtytale, in which she spoke to film maker Jens Lind in detail about her life, with the aid of archive material she had never previously seen including childhood, her father’s tragic death, her dream of winning an Olympic Gold Medal, the marriage that made her a “double princess” and the future of the monarchy.

In recent times, the Princess had been much cheered to learn that her godson Carl Philip and his wife his wife Sofia were expecting their fourth child this coming February. For Birgitta, family invariably came first, despite the geographical distance and as she told Expressen in 2014, she had always maintained a deep love for her homeland of Sweden. Birgitta also telephoned her sisters regularly, but often fretted over their health problems.

Princess Birgitta on the golf course!

As she reached the ripe age of 87 in January 2024, the Princess enjoyed a quiet celebration, with some Swedish friends joining her for dinner in Mallorca. She admitted that the reason for such a low-key event was that ‘Times are so bad in the world and there is so much misery.’ She had also recently had problems with an arm which had swelled up like a balloon and had required to be operated on, although, by April, she had been doing well under the circumstances, explaining to : ‘I’m fine, the sun is shining and that’s all I need. The arm is also good.’

Princess Birgitta and her sister Princess Margaretha during the wedding celebrations for Prince Carl Philip. In the background is Princess Désirée

The Princesses’ death came as a great shock to her friends in Majorca. One in particular, Alexandra Charles, had only spoken to her a week beforehand. The Princess then suffered a bad fall, and was taken to hospital. She hoped that she might be allowed home but her condition then deteriorated. One of her sons visited her in the hospital the night before she died.

Family members are, of course, in deep shock too. Queen Silvia, who appeared at an engagement at St Botvid’s Upper Secondary School in Hallunda shortly after Birgitta’s death was announced, spoke of her sister-in-law to the press: “It came so unexpectedly – yes, as a shock. I talked to her the day before yesterday! But she fell so badly… And then it ended. It is a great sorrow.” Queen Silvia continued: “She was a very colourful person. And straightforward, she always said what she thought. There were never any frills. And she was funny! We had so much fun together.” The Swedish Queen smiled too when she was reminded that Princess Birgitta had been among those present at a family dinner in Munich during the 1972 Olympics at the start of her romance with the future King of Sweden.

In a touching tribute to his sister, who throughout the years remained a Princess of Sweden, the King ordered the flags at Drottningholm Palace and Haga Palace to be flown at half mast on the 5th December.

Princess Birgitta’s mortal remains will be flown back to Sweden and she will be laid to rest at the Royal Cemetery in Haga Park, close by her childhood home of Haga Palace and in keeping with the wishes of the Princess. It is understood only family members will attend. Princess Birgitta is survived by her children, grandchildren and all of her siblings.