Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (Ingeborg Charlotte Caroline Frederikke Louise; 2 August 1878 – 12 March 1958), was a Princess of Sweden by marriage to

Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Västergötland (27 February 1861 – 24 October 1951) was a Swedish prince. Through his daughters, for whom he arranged excellent dynastic marriages, he is an ancestor of several members of European ro ...

. She was the daughter of

Frederick VIII of Denmark Frederick VIII ( da, Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl; 3 June 1843 – 14 May 1912) was King of Denmark from 29 January 1906 until his death in 1912. The eldest son of King Christian IX, nicknamed the ''Father-in-law of Europe'', Frederi ...

, and the maternal grandmother of

Harald V of Norway Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the l ...

, Baudouin and

Albert II of Belgium , house = Belgium , father = Leopold III of Belgium , mother = Astrid of Sweden , birth_date = , birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium , death_date = , death_place = , signature = Albert II of Belgium Signat ...

, the matrilineal great grandmother of

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri (french: Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume, ; born 16 April 1955) is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He has reigned since 7 October 2000. Henri, the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, is a ...

, the paternal grandaunt of

Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

, and the great-grandaunt by marriage of

Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

Early life

Princess Ingeborg was born on 2 August 1878 at her parents' country residence, the

Charlottenlund Palace Charlottenlund Palace ( da, Charlottenlund Slot) is a former royal summer residence in Charlottenlund, some north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The palace was named after Princess Charlotte Amalie, who was responsible for the construction of th ...

north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King Christian IX. She was the second daughter and fifth child of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, and his wife Princess Louise of Sweden. Her father was the eldest son of King Christian IX of Denmark and

Louise of Hesse-Kassel da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie , succession = Queen consort of Denmark , image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg , reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 , spouse = , issue = , house = ...

, and her mother was the only daughter of King Charles XV of Sweden and Norway and

Louise of the Netherlands Louise of the Netherlands (Wilhelmina Frederika Alexandrine Anna Louise; 5 August 1828 – 30 March 1871) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 July 1859 until her death in 1871 as the wife of King Charles XV & IV. Youth Princess Louise was bo ...

. She was baptised with the names ''Ingeborg Charlotte Caroline Frederikke Louise'', and was known as Princess Ingeborg. As a granddaughter of Christian IX, the "Father-in-Law of Europe", she was a first cousin of King George V of the United Kingdom, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and

King Constantine I of Greece Constantine I ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ, ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army ...

. Princess Ingeborg was raised with her siblings at the royal household in Copenhagen, and grew up between her parents' city residence, the Frederick VIII's Palace, an 18th-century

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

which forms part of the

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

complex in central

, and their country residence, the

, located by the coastline of the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

north of the city. In contrast to the usual practise of the period, where royal children were brought up by

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...

es, the children were raised by Crown Princess Louise herself.

Marriage

In May 1897, Princess Ingeborg was engaged to Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland. Prince Carl was the third son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sophia of Nassau. They were, therefore, first cousins once-removed. They married on 27 August 1897 in the chapel at

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

in Copenhagen and spent their honeymoon in Germany. The couple had four children: #

Princess Margaretha of Sweden Princess Margaretha of Sweden (Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg; 25 June 1899 – 4 January 1977) was a member of the Swedish Royal Family by birth and the Danish Royal Family by marriage. She was the elder sister of Crown Princess Märtha of No ...

, later Princess Axel of Denmark (1899–1977). # Princess Märtha of Sweden, later Crown Princess of Norway (1901–1954). # Princess Astrid of Sweden, later Queen of the Belgians (1905–1935). # Prince Carl Bernadotte, known as ''Carl Jr.'', later ''Prince Bernadotte'', a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

title (1911–2003). In 1947, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary, her spouse admitted that their marriage had been completely arranged by their respective fathers, and Ingeborg herself added: "I married a complete stranger!"Lars Elgklou: Familjen Bernadotte. En kunglig släktkrönika (The Bernadotte family. A royal family chronicle) (in Swedish)

Public role

The marriage was popular because she was the granddaughter of the popular king Charles XV of Sweden and IV of Norway, and she was a personal success in Sweden. It was said of her, that of all foreign princesses married into the Swedish royal house, she was perhaps the one best suited to be Queen consort of Sweden, and for the first ten years in Sweden, she almost was: from 1897 until 1907, Queen Sophia seldom attended public events and

Crown Princess Victoria Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expect ...

spent most of her time abroad for health reasons, Princess Ingeborg was thereby given more public duties, unofficially performing much of the role associated with the queen consort at the Swedish court.Ingeborg C C F L, urn:sbl:11950, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Ragnar Amenius), hämtad 27 February 2015. She is perceived as having performed her representational duties with a combination of dignity and easygoing friendliness, and as attracting a social circle with her wit. Her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria, however, did not approve of her informality and once remarked: "One does not enter the chamber of the Crown Princess of Sweden without knocking, even if one is Princess Ingeborg." Ingeborg was interested in sports, especially

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

, and at the automobile exhibition of Stockholm in 1903, she and the Crown Prince, Gustav, made a spontaneous demonstration trip in a car from

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skån ...

. In 1908, she accompanied her husband's nephew Prince William to his wedding with her paternal first cousin once removed Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna in Russia.

Family life

She lived a harmonious family life, and the family was known as "The happy family". The children were given a simple upbringing, and expected to learn household tasks: they were, for example, given a real stove in their play cottage, on which they cooked real food. She and Carl lived an informal and intimate family life with their children. Ingeborg was admired for her handling of the economic difficulties experienced when a bank they invested in crashed in 1922 and they had to sell their home. She was portrayed as a symbol of a wife and mother in many magazines and was for many years the most popular member of the royal house. In 1905, the Norwegian government discussed making them king and queen of Norway, but Carl declined the offer. Instead, her brother was elected monarch of Norway. Ingeborg's kinship to the Scandinavian dynasties helped bring the three royal houses together again after tension created due to Norway's 1905 secession. Politically, Ingeborg had democratic and liberal sympathies and disliked the conservatives, views she expressed during the governmental crisis in 1918. She detested the conservative Hammarskjöld cabinet and the 1914 policy, criticized the conservative press and viewed the resignation of the Liberal-Social Democratic cabinet of 1918 as a disaster, reportedly commented it with the words: "It must not happen! No no no!" During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1940–45, she demonstrated publicly against Nazi Germany by blocking the window of her house which faced the German embassy in Stockholm. Princess Ingeborg has the distinction of being the grandmother of three European monarchs: King

, King

Baudouin of Belgium Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his de ...

and King

; and the great-grandmother of two:

and King

Philippe of Belgium Philippe or Filip ( nl, Filip Leopold Lodewijk Maria ; french: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie ; born 15 April 1960) is King of the Belgians. He is the eldest child of Albert II of Belgium, King Albert II and Queen Paola. He succeeded his father upo ...

. She is also grandaunt of Queen

and great-grandaunt of King

Honours

National

* : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

* : Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of King Christian IX, 1st Classupload.wikimedia.org
Ingeborg wearing the family decorations of her grandfather, father and brother
/ref>41.tumblr.com
Ingeborg wearing the family decorations of her grandfather, father, brother and father-in-law
/ref> * : Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of King Frederick VIII, 1st Class * : Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of King Christian X, 1st Class * : Dame of the Royal Family Decoration of King Frederick IX, 1st Class * : Member of the Royal Family Decoration of King Oscar II, 2nd Class

Foreign

* Turkish Imperial Family: Dame Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of CharityBaşbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (İ.TAL. 169-13 1316-Za-099)

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *
Ingeborg C C F L, urn:sbl:11950, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Ragnar Amenius), hämtad 2015-02-27.