Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland

Swedish Royalty
House of Vasa
Gustav I
Parents Erik Johansson Cecilia Månsdotter Children Eric XIV John III Catherine Cecilia Magnus Anna Sophia Elizabeth Charles IX
Eric XIV
Children Sigrid Gustav
John III
Children Sigismund Anna John
Sigismund
Children Władysław IV John II Casimir John Albert Charles Ferdinand Alexander Charles Anna Catherine Constance
Charles IX
Children Catherine Gustavus Adolphus Maria Elizabeth Christina Charles Philip Grandson Charles X Gustav
Gustavus Adolphus
Children Christina
Christina
v t e

Prince Charles Philip of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland, (Swedish: Carl Filip; Reval 22 April 1601 – Narva, 25 January 1622) was a Swedish prince, Duke of Södermanland, Närke and Värmland. Charles Philip was the second surviving son of King Charles IX of Sweden and his second spouse, Duchess Christina of Holstein-Gottorp.

Biography

He was born at Reval Castle during his parents' visit to

Sigismund and donned Sweden's crown himself, assuring the nation that his branch of the Vasas would remain Protestant.

Along with his elder brother, Crown Prince

.

In 1611, during the

, he returned to Sweden.

As duke of Södermanland, the appanage held by his father before becoming king, Carl Philip was expected to eventually take up residence in its capital town, Nyköping. But during his minority, the duchy was administered by his mother and Carl Philip remained at the royal court in Stockholm. In 1617, he visited Denmark, Germany and France. He later joined the army, and accompanied his brother in 1621 as he waged war on Livonia. He distinguished himself during the siege of Narva in 1622, but succumbed to an illness there and died. It has been shown^[1] that his brother deeply mourned him.

At the time of his death in 1622, Charles Philip was the last

re-introduced the title for a royal prince in 1772, it was a mere honorary title, carrying no provincial authority.

Family

On 5 May 1620 the nineteen-year-old Charles Philip married, Elizabeth Ribbing (1596–1662). Although a noblewoman (her father, Seved Svensson Ribbing, had been Sweden's first Riksskattmästare, and her mother, Anna Gyllenstierna, belonged to one of the realm's leading families), she was not of royal birth so the wedding ceremony was conducted in secret. This rendered futile any attempt to forcibly separate the couple, as had been done when the duke's elder brother was compelled to abandon his great love, Ebba Brahe, whose noble birth had likewise been deemed insufficient to allow Gustavus Adolphus to marry her. But it also meant that Elisabet would never share her new husband's royal rank, the marriage being deemed morgongåvobrev.

The secret was kept until Charles Philip died soon after, fighting by his brother's side on 25 January 1622 at

, later that year (1622–1682). Queen Dowager Christina took mother and child into her household and acknowledged the marriage.

Although remaining untitled, the girl was accepted into the nobility, and eventually became mistress of the Queen Mother's Household (Hovmästarinna) as well as her grandmother's companion under the name "Elizabeth Gyllenhielm", that surname having become traditional for children of Vasa kings and princes born outside of dynastic marriage.

Elizabeth Gyllenhielm was heiress to the castle and manor of Tynnelsö in Södermanland and lady-in-waiting of two Swedish queens consort, Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp.

She was first married at the palace in Stockholm on 13 November 1645 to the nobleman, Axel Turesson Natt och Dag (1621–47), Queen Christina's

, having become Baron of Ijo (Friherre till Ijo).

Secondly, Elizabeth wed Baron Baltasar Marskalk, Master of the Royal Household.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carl Philip of Sweden (1601).