For the present-day Princess Margaretha, refer to Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler.

Princess Margaretha Princess Axel of Denmark Margaretha in the year of her marriage, 1919 Born (1899-06-25)25 June 1899 Stora Parkudden, Djurgården, Stockholm, Sweden Died 4 January 1977(1977-01-04) (aged 77) Tranemosegård, Fakse, Zealand Denmark Spouse Prince Axel of Denmark Issue Prince George Valdemar Count Flemming Valdemar of Rosenborg Full name Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg House Bernadotte Father Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland Mother Princess Ingeborg of Denmark

Swedish Royalty House of Bernadotte Charles XIV John Children Oscar I Oscar I Children Charles XV Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland Oscar II Princess Eugenie Prince August, Duke of Dalarna Charles XV Children Lovisa, Queen of Denmark Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland Oscar II Children Gustaf V Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke Grandchildren Margaretha, Princess Axel of Denmark Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway Astrid, Queen of Belgium Prince Carl, Duke of Östergötland Gustaf V Children Gustaf VI Adolf Prince Vilhelm, Duke of Södermanland Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland Grandchildren Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland Gustaf VI Adolf Children Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland Ingrid, Queen of Denmark Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna Grandchildren Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler Birgitta, Princess Johann Georg of Hohenzollern Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf Children Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland Grandchildren Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland Prince Nicolas, Duke of Ångermanland

Princess Margaretha of Sweden (Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg; 25 June 1899 – 4 January 1977) was a member of the Swedish Royal Family and a Princess of Denmark by marriage.

Early life[edit]

The eldest child of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, she was born Princess Margaretha of Sweden and Norway (later just "of Sweden", due to the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905) in Stockholm.

In 1916 Margaretha's confirmation attracted enthusiastic press coverage; the event was said to mark the beginning of a new age for the Swedish royal house, which had lacked princesses for so long.

Marriage and family[edit]

On 22 May 1919, at the Storkyrkan, Stockholm, she was married to Prince Axel of Denmark, her first cousin once removed. The marriage was a love match; her mother remarked that the couple were so much in love that they could not be left alone in a furnished room.^[1] Her wedding was celebrated with great festivities in Stockholm.

She had two children:

• Prince George Valdemar Karl Axel of Denmark (1920–1986)
• Prince Flemming Valdemar Carl Axel (1922–2002)

She was a maternal aunt of King Harald V of Norway and Kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium; and paternal grandaunt of King Philippe of Belgium.

Royal duties[edit]

Margaretha adjusted herself well in Denmark, which she had often visited on family occasions during her upbringing. She lived a private life devoted to her family on the estate Bernstorffshøj in Gentofte and generally avoided publicity, and kept in close contact with her relations abroad. She was interested in social issues in Sweden, and became the patron of several charity organisations in Denmark, and was the chairperson of Gentofte Børnevenner.

She was a leading guest at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.^[2]

After the death of her sister, the Norwegian Crown Princess Märtha in 1954, she became a great support for her sister's children in Norway; she was the godmother of princess Märtha Louise of Norway.

Her spouse died in 1964. As a widow, she was often back in Sweden, where she would join other members of the Swedish royal house in representative duties at official ceremonies — most notably, the Nobel Prize.

She died in Kongsted, near Fakse, Denmark, in 1977.

Legacy[edit]

The popular Swedish layer cake princess cake was named for Margaretha and her two sisters when they were children.

Titles and arms[edit]

• 1899-1905: Her Royal Highness Princess Margaretha of Sweden and Norway
• 1905-1919: Her Royal Highness Princess Margaretha of Sweden
• 1919-1944: Her Royal Highness Princess Axel of Denmark and Iceland
• 1944-1977: Her Royal Highness Princess Axel of Denmark

Marital arms of Princess Margaretha of Sweden and Denmark

Arms as displayed in Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

• "Margaretha". Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon (in Swedish). Retrieved 2014-03-06. 

Danish princesses by marriage The generations are numbered from the implementation of hereditary monarchy by Frederick III in 1660. 1st generation Landgravine Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel Lady Anne of Great Britain 2nd generation Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 3rd generation Margravine Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 4th generation Princess Louise of Great Britain 5th generation Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 6th generation Landgravine Marie of Hesse-Kassel Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg Princess Caroline of Denmark^ 7th generation Duchess Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark^ 8th generation Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway Princess Marie of Orléans 9th generation Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princess Maud of Wales Princess Helena Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Princess Sophia of Prussia* Princess Marie Bonaparte* Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia* Princess Alice of Battenberg* Nancy Leeds* Princess Françoise of Orléans* Princess Margaretha of Sweden 10th generation Princess Ingrid of Sweden Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark^ Princess Elisabeth of Romania* Aspasia Manos* Princess Frederica of Hanover* Anne Bowes-Lyon 11th generation Princess Anne Marie of Denmark*^ 12th generation Mary Donaldson Alexandra Manley** Marie Cavallier Marie-Chantal Miller* Tatiana Blatnik* *also a princess of Greece by marriage ^also a Danish princess by birth **title lost due to divorce and subsequent remarriage