Sigvard Bernadotte

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sigvard Bernadotte
Solna
, Sweden
Spouse
Erica Maria Patzek
​
​
(m. 1934; div. 1943)​
Sonja Helene Robbert
​
​
(m. 1943; div. 1961)​
​
​
(m. 1961)​
Margaret of Connaught

Sigvard Oscar Fredrik, Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (7 June 1907 – 4 February 2002) born as, and until 1934 known as, Prince Sigvard of Sweden, Duke of Uppland, was a member of the

industrial designer
by profession.

He was the second son of

1809 Instrument of Government and the 1810 Act of Succession, and, in addition, he lost his princely and ducal titles as decided by the King in Council.[1] As per the king's wishes, he was then to be called only Mr. Sigvard Bernadotte in Sweden. In 1951, he was granted Luxembourgian titles of nobility, the interpretation of which remained a point of contention with the Royal Court for the rest of his life, Bernadotte having formally declared in 1983 that his title was Prince Sigvard Bernadotte
.

Bernadotte was a paternal uncle of

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
.

Professional life

An industrial designer, Bernadotte was known for designing everything from luxurious silver objects for Georg Jensen[2] to everyday-use household items in plastic.

Among his iconic designs were the Red Clara opener; EKA Swede 38 folding knife;

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; the Bernadotte jug, and the Facit Private typewriter.[4] He also designed glasses frames.[5]

He worked as an

MGM in Culver City, California and served as a technical advisor on the 1937 film The Prisoner of Zenda
.

He appeared briefly in the 1968 Italian mondo film Sweden: Heaven and Hell. His work in industrial design at Bernadotte Design AB is featured, along with select items from his portfolio.

Marriages

He married Erica Maria Regina Rosalie Patzek (1911–2007) on 8 March 1934. She was the daughter of German businessman Anton Patzek and his wife Maria Anna Lála. The wedding took place in Caxton Hall in London and the witnesses were the bride's brother Georg Patzek and a lawyer Mr Gordon. Sigvard lost all royal privileges following the wedding and started his silver design business. They were divorced on 14 October 1943.

Bernadotte remarried a Danish woman Sonja Helene Robbert (1909–2004) on 26 October 1943 and they were divorced on 6 June 1961. They had one son: Michael (b. 21 August 1944) who married Christine Wellhofer on 6 February 1976, and they in turn have one daughter: Kajsa Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg who is married to Christoph Dieterle and has two daughters: Sophia Bernadotte of Wisborg and Linnea Bernadotte of Wisborg.

Lastly, Bernadotte married Swedish actress Marianne Lindberg Tchang on 30 July 1961.

Title

Bernadotte was born Prince of Sweden and Duke of Uppland, but having made an

line of succession. He was also forbidden to use his birth titles[6] and left to be called Mr. Bernadotte. His cousin Lennart Bernadotte, who two years earlier had experienced the same thing (as the first Swede in history), considered himself, and even more so Sigvard, subjected to very cruel treatment for several decades by the Royal Court of Sweden due to their marriages.[7]

On 2 July 1951, for himself, his wife and his marital descendants, Bernadotte was admitted by

Grand Duchess Charlotte (head of state at the time) into the nobility of Luxembourg with the title Count of Wisborg.[8] and in that conferral was also called Sigvard Oscar Frederik Prince Bernadotte.[9]

After more than 30 years of argument and controversy in Sweden over his rank and titles, problems which worsened when his father died in 1973, and fed up after having been demonstratively snubbed by the Royal Court of Sweden during a state visit by Queen

Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå on 28 May of that year that he was to be known as Prince Sigvard Bernadotte from then on.[10]

Over the years since then, based on precedent established in 1888 for his great-uncle

King Carl XVI Gustaf has been criticized for never obliging and for his consequent estrangement from his uncle.[14]

Bernadotte went to the European Court of Human Rights in an effort to have the Government of Sweden acknowledge his princely title there, but in 2004, after his death, the ECHR declared the application inadmissible.[15]

The wording on his gravestone, at the Royal Cemetery, which is owned by the king, does make it clear that he was "born Prince of Sweden".[16]

From 1994 to 2002, he was the oldest living great-grandchild of

Carl Johan
on 29 June 2011.

Honours and arms

Orders and decorations

Arms

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. ISBN 91-544-2081-4
    p. 54 ff
  2. ^ "Exihibitions Sigvard Bernadotte at Nationalmuseum". www.hollsten.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Patent USD227071 - Winifred e - Google Patents". Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  4. ^ "sassabrassa » Sigvard Bernadotte". Sassabrassa.se. 2013-06-16. Archived from the original on 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  5. ^ "Sigvard Bernadotte – det kungliga årets hetaste glasögondesigner!". Svensk Damtidning. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. ISBN 91-544-2081-4
    p. 54-55
  7. ISBN 91-0-056122-3
    p. 77
  8. ^
    ISBN 9789163350382
    .
  9. ^ Mémorial du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg [1], Government of Luxembourg, 13 August 1951, entry dated 18 July 1951, p. 1135
  10. ISBN 91-1-863442-7
    pp. 161 & 175-179: entire paragraph
  11. ^ Article by Anita Bergmark in Svenska Dagbladet 2002-05-02
  12. ^ Article by Petter Ovander in Aftonbladet 2001-05-14 quoting three attorneys
  13. ISBN 9789100111120
    p. 108, specifically naming that title as what Sigvard wanted acknowledged
  14. ^ Article Archived 2017-08-10 at the Wayback Machine by Scott Ritcher in The Local 2009-12-23
  15. ^ [2][dead link]
  16. ^ "Sigvard Bernadotte". Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  17. ^
    SELIBR 3682754
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sigvard Bernadotte.
Sigvard Bernadotte
Born: 7 June 1907 Died: 4 February 2002
Swedish royalty
Preceded by Duke of Uppland Succeeded by
none
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