Private funeral for Gunnila Bernadotte on 29 September

Swedish media report that according to the royal court, the funeral of Countess Gunnila Bernadotte af Wisborg, who was an aunt by marriage to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, will take place in Stockholm on Thursday 29 September, which is the 28th anniversary of hers and the late Count Carl Johan Bernadotte's wedding.
The exact location has not yet been disclosed and the service will be private. The date has been chosen to allow most members of the royal family to attend. Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia have consequently postponed their official visit to the Princess's hometown Älvdalen, which was planned for the 29th, until the next day.
There is so far no information about her final resting place, but I suppose the fact that the funeral will take place in Stockholm points to her being buried with Carl Johan Bernadotte in the Royal Burial Ground at Haga rather than with her first husband Carl-Herman Bussler and their two eldest daughters at Bärbo Cemetery in Nyköping. The fact that space has been left open for another name on Carl Johan Bernadotte's tombstone also points to her having chosen Haga.

POSTSCRIPT: The agenda on the royal website now says that the funeral will take place in the Palace Church and will be attended by King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia.

Seraphim honours for Prince Johann Georg

At noon today, the funeral of Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, who died on 2 March, took place in the Church of Our Saviour at the Hedingen Monastery in Sigmaringen, his family sepulchre. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden were among the mourners at their brother-in-law’s funeral. Among the guests were also Prince Carl Philip, Princess Désirée and Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, Princess Christina, Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, Margrave Maxmilian and Margravine Valerie of Baden, and Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
As I happen to be in Stockholm, I had the chance to watch the ceremonial observed on the day of the funeral of a Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, Sweden’s highest honour. At 11.55 a.m., his Seraphim coat of arms was carried from the Royal Palace to the former royal burial church at Riddarholmen, escorted by grenadiers.
In the former church, the coat of arm was placed on a table at the entrance to the chancel together with two candles, a bouquet of flowers and a photo of the late Prince. An official of the Order Chancellery gave a short speech (in German) recording the vita of Prince Johann Georg, two pieces of music were performed by an army band and the bells tolled for an hour.
Prince Johann Georg was made a Knight of the Seraphim by King Gustaf VI Adolf on 23 May 1961, two days before his civil marriage to the King’s granddaughter, Princess Birgitta. Although the princely branch of the House of Hohenzollern had not been sovereign since 1849, King Gustaf Adolf chose to treat his granddaughter’s marriage on the same level as if she had married a prince of a reigning house, i.e. making the groom and his nearest male relatives Knights of the Seraphim.
After the order was founded in 1748, there were for a long time very few Swedish princesses. Princess Sophia Albertina, the daughter of King Adolf Fredrik, and Princess Eugénie, the daughter of King Oscar I, remained unmarried, and it was indeed only in 1869 that a princess married, namely Lovisa, the daughter of King Carl XV.
Lovisa married Crown Prince Frederik (VIII) of Denmark, who had already received the Order of the Seraphim in 1862. His father, King Christian IX, was also already a knight since 1848 and his younger brother, King Georgios I of the Hellenes, since the previous year, but King Carl gave the order to his uncle, Prince Hans of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
The next Swedish Princess to marry was Margaretha, who wed Prince Axel of Denmark in May 1919. The groom received the order on the occasion of the engagement, while his father Prince Valdemar had received it in 1875 and his elder brother Prince Aage in 1913.
When Margaretha’s youngest sister, Princess Astrid, became engaged to Prince Léopold, the heir to the Belgian throne in September 1926, he received the Seraphim, while his brother Prince Charles received it two days before the civil wedding on 4 November 1926. Their father, King Albert I of the Belgians, had been made a knight in 1910, but received the collar two days before the civil wedding.
When Princess Märtha married Crown Prince Olav of Norway in March 1929, there was however no presentation of orders. The groom himself had received it when attending the wedding of Princess Astrid and Prince Léopold, while his father, King Haakon VII, had received it back in 1893, when he was still Prince Carl of Denmark and called on his great-uncle Oscar II.
Crown Prince Frederik (IX) of Denmark, who married Princess Ingrid in 1935, was also already a knight (since 1917), while his father had received the Seraphim in 1888 and his younger brother Knud also as a guest at the 1926 wedding. The groom’s maternal uncle, ex-Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was however made a Knight of the Seraphim three days before the wedding.
When Prince Johann Georg married Princess Birgitta, King Gustaf VI Adolf gave the Seraphim not only to him but also to his older brother, Hereditary Prince Friedrich Wilhelm. Their father, Prince (Fürst) Friedrich, had received the Order in 1936, but was given the collar on the same days as his two eldest sons were made knights.s

Prince Johann Georg to be buried on Saturday

According to an announcement appearing in today's edition of Süddeutsche Zeitung, the requiem mass and funeral of the art historian Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern will take place in the Church of Our Saviour at the Hedingen Monastery on the outskirts of his hometown Sigmaringen at noon on Saturday. The church is the family sepulchre of the princely House of Hohenzollern.
Prince Johann Georg was married to Princess Birgitta of Sweden, and the Swedish royal court has announced that King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Princess Désirée and Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, and Princess Christina will attend their brother-in-law's funeral. Princess Margaretha, who is unable to attend, will be represented by her daughter, Baroness Sybilla von Dincklage.
On the occasion of their wedding in 1961, Prince Johann Georg was made a Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, Sweden's highest honour, by King Gustaf VI Adolf. As tradition dictates, the funeral of a Knight of the Seraphim will be observed in Stockholm by the tolling of the bells of the Riddarholmen Church between noon and 1 p.m. At 11.55 a.m., his Seraphim coat of arms will be carried from the Royal Palace to the church.

Funeral of Johan Martin Ferner

The funeral of Princess Astrid's husband, the businessman Johan Martin Ferner, took place in Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo at 1 p.m. today. The chapel held a special place in the hearts of the Ferner family as it was where all the five children were christened and Princess Astrid played a central part in raising funds for its rebuilding after it was arsoned by Satanists in 1992.
The adult members of the Norwegian royal family were out in force, including Princess Ragnhild's widower, Erling S. Lorentzen. As expected, no members of foreign royal families attended, but there was at least a wreath from Luxembourg. Several members of the Ferner family, although not Princess Astrid, wore folk costumes, which is very unusual at funerals. Sigurd Osberg, a retired bishop who has sat on the board of Crown Princess Märtha's Memorial Fund, of which Princess Astrid is chairwoman, officiated together with the parish priest, Jan-Erik Heffermehl.
The coffin was carried out of the chapel to the tunes of "Amazing Grace". As a last greeting to her husband of 54 years, Princess Astrid curtseyed deeply as the hearse departed.
Johan Martin Ferner will apparently be cremated, but it is not yet known where his ashes will be interred. The most likely option is perhaps the cemetery of the local parish church, Ris, while another, less likely, option is the cemetery in Asker, next to the royal estate Skaugum, where Princess Ragnhild is buried. The royal mausoleum at Akershus Castle is unlikely, although there is now an empty wall niche, which might perhaps have been able to take two urns, after the alleged skull of King Sigurd the Crusader turned out not to be genuine and was consequently removed.

Johan Martin Ferner's funeral to take place on 2 February

The funeral of the businessman Johan Martin Ferner, Princess Astrid's husband, who died on Saturday, will as expected take place in Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo on Monday 2 February at 1 p.m. As befits the low profile of this most anonymous member of the royal family, the funeral will be a private one, without media presence.
I would not expect members of foreign royal families to attend, except perhaps a representative of the Swedish royal family, to whom Princess Astrid was always close. Those Belgians, Luxembourgian and Danish relatives the Ferners were close to are now all dead, with the exception of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who at the age of 94 is unlikely to travel to Norway.
Holmenkollen Chapel is part of the Ferners' local parish Ris. It is also close to the royal winter residence, the Royal Lodge, and has long held a special place in Princess Astrid's heart. It was where all their children were baptised and she was deeply upset when the wooden chapel was arsoned by Satanists in 1992, less than two months before Elisabeth Ferner's wedding was due to take place there. The Princess played a key role in raising more than 10 million NOK for its reconstruction. It was completed in 1996, just in time for Alexander Ferner's wedding to take place there.

Last rites for King Abdullah - and appointment of new heirs

In keeping with Muslim tradition, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who died in the early hours of Friday, was buried already on the same day. After funeral prayers at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque, the King was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in the El-Ud public cemetery in Riyadh.
The King of Bahrain, the Emirs of Kuwait and Qatar, the Presidents of Turkey and Sudan and the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Pakistan attended the funeral, while other foreign dignitaries will arrive in Riyadh on Saturday to pay their condolences to the new King, Salman. Among those expected are the Kings of Sweden and Spain, Prince Charles and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, the Crown Princes of Denmark and Norway and US Vice President Joe Biden.
There were two interesting developments to the Saudi succession, one particularly significant, on Friday. Firstly, King Salman appointed his half-brother Muqrin Crown Prince. Muqrin, the youngest surviving son of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud), was appointed Deputy Crown Prince by King Abdullah in March last year. The choice was somewhat surprising as there is an older half-brother, Ahmed, and Muqrin is not the son of a Saudi mother, and some had wondered if King Salman upon his succession would appoint Ahmed Crown Prince. This did not happen, and King Salman also appointed the Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed, the son of the late Crown Prince Nayef, Deputy Crown Prince, signifying that after the deaths of Salman, who is 79, and Muqrin, who is 69, the Saudi succession will at last move from the approximately 45 sons of Ibn Saud to the third generation of the House of Saud.

Foreign guests for Queen Fabiola's funeral

At 10 a.m. tomorrow the funeral of Queen Fabiola of the Belgians, who died last Friday, will take place in the Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule in Brussels.
The late Queen had herself wished for a simple funeral in the local parish church in Laeken and did not want to lie in state, therefore asking for "a coffin so ugly that they will not dare show it to the public", but this was apparently deemed incompatible with the dignity of the monarchy and her body has now laid in state at the Royal Palace since it was taken there on Tuesday.
All the members of the Belgian royal family are of course expected to attend, with the exception of Princess Marie-Christine, who has been estranged from the rest of the family for decades and did not even attend the funerals of her parents, and a number of foreign dignitaries will also be present. The Luxembourgian delegation will include the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Grand Duke Jean and the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess. The Queen of Denmark and the King and Queen of Sweden will be there, and so will the King of Norway, who rarely leaves the country on Fridays, when he presides in the State Council, but has now appointed the Crown Prince Regent in his stead. King Harald will be accompanied by his sister, Princess Astrid; both being first cousins of the late King Baudouin, to whom they were close.
The Netherlands and Spain will be represented by their former monarchs, Princess Beatrix and King Juan Carlos, respectively, the latter accompanied by Queen Sofía.
The Empress of Japan is flying in from Tokyo, which is only the second time that she leaves Japan without the Emperor, while Thailand will send Princess Sirindhorn. The British royal family, a short train journey away from Brussels, will according to the Belgian media not deign to attend, but be represented by the British ambassador to Belgium.

Queen Fabiola's funeral, lying-in-state and inheritance

The funeral of Queen Fabiola of the Belgians, who died on Friday night, will take place in the Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule in Brussels at 10 a.m. on Friday 12 December, the Belgian court has announced. Queen Fabiola will be buried next to her husband, King Baudouin, who died in 1993, in the crypt of the Church of Our Lady in Laeken on the outskirts of Brussels.
On Monday morning the late Queen's coffin will be taken from her home, Stuyvenberg House, where she died, to the chapel of the nearby Laeken Palace, her home from the time of her marriage in 1960 until 1999. On Tuesday afternoon her remains will be brought to the Royal Palace in the city centre, where she will lie in state until the funeral. The public will be allowed to file past to pay their respects between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday and between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The royal court has also announced that Queen Fabiola has left all her possessions to the Hulpfonds van de Koningin, a charity she set up at the time of her wedding in 1960. The members of the royal family will therefore inherit nothing, which will probably disappoint those who had hoped to see her jewellery pass to Queen Mathilde.
The funeral will probably see a large number of representatives of foreign royal families, both reigning and deposed. As for the Norwegian royal family the timing means that the King may not be able to attend, as the Council of State is held at 11 a.m. on Fridays, although it is possible that he could leave the Crown Prince to preside as Regent. Princess Astrid, who was close to her cousin King Baudouin, may also attend - although she for unknown reasons missed the funeral of her aunt-by-marriage and dear friend Princess Kristine Bernadotte in Sweden on 15 November she was well enough to travel to Trondheim for an official engagement twelve days later.

Princess Kristine Bernadotte laid to rest

Flags flew at half mast at Drottningholm Palace outside Stockholm and at the Royal Lodge in Oslo today as Princess Kristine Bernadotte, who died suddenly on 4 November at the age of 82, was laid to rest. A private funeral service, conducted by the royal chaplain Michael Bjerkhagen, was held in Drottningholm Palace Church west of Stockholm before the late Princess was buried next to her husband, Prince Carl Bernadotte, and parents-in-law, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, in the Royal Burial Ground at Haga north of Stockholm.
The mourners were led by the Princess's brother, Jan E. Rivelsrud, and his family. Also present were her stepdaughter, Madeleine Kogevinas, the King and Queen of Sweden, the King and Queen of Norway, the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel of Sweden, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Ari Behn.
Princess Astrid of Norway, who was very close to her aunt-by-marriage, sadly seems to have been unable to attend, but two of her children, Alexander Ferner and Elisabeth Ferner, can be seen in photos published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet's report (external link).

Princess Kristine Bernadotte to be buried on Saturday

The funeral of Princess Kristine Bernadotte, who died suddenly on 4 November at the age of 82, will take place on Saturday in Drottningholm Palace Church outside Stockholm. After the service the Princess will be laid to rest in the Royal Burial Ground at Haga in the same grave as her husband, Prince Carl Bernadotte, and her parents-in-law, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg.
The King and Queen of Sweden, the King and Queen of Norway, the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel of Sweden, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her husband Ari Behn will be present.

Tearful farewell to Countess Anne Dorte of Rosenborg

Rain poured down and tears flowed outside Lyngby Church in Kongens Lyngby outside Copenhagen today as the coffin of Countess Anne Dorte of Rosenborg, the widow of the former Prince Christian of Denmark, was driven away after her funeral today. The Countess died on 2 January, aged 66, after a long battle with cancer of the throat, an illness which also claimed the life of her husband seven months ago.
Her three daughters and sons-in-law and seven grandchildren led the mourners. They were joined by, among others, the Queen and Prince Consort, the Countess’s sister-in-law, Princess Elisabeth, and her brother-in-law, Count Ingolf of Rosenborg with his wife Sussie.
The eulogy was given by one of the sons-in-law, Mikael Rosanes, while the eldest grandchild, Anastasia af Rosenborg, sang James Blunt’s “You are beautiful”. The Countess’s coffin was carried out of the church to the strains of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender”. The closest family placed red roses on the coffin before it was driven off to the crematorium. Countess Anne Dorte will eventually be laid to rest next to her husband in the cemeterey outside Lyngby Church.

Dutch Prince Friso laid to rest

The younger brother of the King of the Netherlands, Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, who died on Monday at the age of 44 after having been in a coma for eighteen months following a skiing accident, was buried in a private ceremony today.
The funeral took place in the small Stulp Church in the village Lage Vuursche in the municipality of Baarn, near Utrecht, at 3 p.m. and was attended by some 100 mourners. The priest Carel ter Linden, who is close to the Dutch royal family, officiated, while King Willem-Alexander read from the bible and their younger brother, Prince Constantijn, gave an address. Following the service the two brothers and four friends carried the simple black coffin to its grave in the churchyard.
The mourners were led by Prince Friso’s wife, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, their daughters, countesses Luana and Zaria of Orange-Nassau, and his mother, Princess (former Queen) Beatrix of the Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were joined by their three daughters, princesses Catharina-Amalia, Alexia and Ariane, while Prince Constantijn brought his wife, Princess Laurentien, and their children, Countess Eloise, Count Claus-Casimir and Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau. The King of Norway, who was Prince Friso’s godfather, was the only foreign royal present. The King, who is known for his big heart, was seen comforting Princess Laurentien as they left the cemetery after the burial.
Among other relatives present were Prince Friso’s three maternal aunts, princesses Irene, Christina and Margriet and the latter’s husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, and several of his cousins: Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Marilène, Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Annette, Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Anita, Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau van Vollenhoven and his wife Aimée, Juliana Guillermo, Bernardo Guillermo, Nicolas Guillermo, Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma and her husband Tjalling ter Cate, Duke Carlos of Parma and his wife Annemarie, and Prince Jaime of Bourbon-Parma with his fiancée Viktória Cservenyák, who announced their engagement on the very day Prince Friso died.

King to attend Prince Friso’s funeral

The royal court has confirmed that the King will attend the private funeral of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, which will be held in the Stulp Church in the village Lage Vuursche at 3 p.m. on Friday. The Prince, who died on Monday after having been in a coma for one and a half year after a skiing accident, was the King’s godson. The King and Queen were among the few foreign royals who attended the wedding of Prince Friso and Mabel Wisse Smit in the Old Church in Delft on 24 April 2004.

Private funeral for Prince Friso on Friday

The funeral of Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, the younger brother of the King of the Netherlands who died yesterday at the age of 44, will take place privately in the Stulp Church in the small village Lage Vuursche in the municipality of Baarn on the coming Friday. Carel A. ter Linden, a priest who is close to the royal family, will officiate.
Following the funeral service in the church, the Prince will be buried in the local cemetery, rather than in the New Church in Delft, where members of the royal family have traditionally been laid to rest in the vault. The village is close to Drakesteyn Palace, where the Prince lived during his early childhood and to which his mother, the former Queen Beatrix, is due to return to in the near future.
Although the Prince was no longer a member of the royal house the government has decided that flags shall be flown at half mast on public buildings throughout the realm on the day of the funeral.
A public memorial service will be held at a later date.

Funeral held for Count Christian of Rosenborg

At 11 a.m. today Queen Margrethe II of Denmark was among the mourners at the funeral of her first cousin, Count Christian of Rosenborg (by birth Prince of Denmark), who died on 21 May. The funeral was held in Lyngby Church in Kongens Lyngby, just outside Copenhagen and near Sorgenfri Palace, where Count Christian was born in 1942 and where he at the time of his death lived in an adjacent building.
The late Count had himself chosen the priest Julie Goldschmidt to officiate at his funeral and the eulogy was given by his son-in-law Mikael Rosanes. The coffin was draped in a Danish flag with the collar and star of the Order of the Elephant and his other decorations placed on a cushion.
The Count’s widow, Countess Anne Dorte, who is herself very ill with cancer, was able to attend, supported by their three daughters, Josephine, Camilla and Feodora, their sons-in-law and most of their grandchildren.
Queen Margrethe was accompanied by the Prince Consort. Princess Marie and Princess Benedikte also attended, as did Count Christian’s brother and sister-in-law, Count Ingolf and Countess Sussie of Rosenborg, and his sister, Princess Elisabeth. Princess Astrid of Norway was the only foreign royal to attend (she also attended the funeral of Count Christian’s mother, Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde, together with Queen Sonja in 1995).
Although he in an interview as recently as last year expressed a wish to be buried at the cemetery at Søllerød, Count Christian of Rosenborg was in fact laid to rest in Lyngby Cemetery.

Count Christian to be buried on Wednesday

It has been announced by the Danish royal court that the funeral of Count Christian of Rosenborg, by birth Prince of Denmark, who died on Tuesday at the age of seventy, will take place at Lyngby Church in Kongens Lyngby (outside Copenhagen) on Wednesday 29 May at 11 a.m.
At this time it is not yet known if Queen Margrethe or other senior members of the royal family will attend.
Count Christian was born at Sorgenfri Palace in Lyngby, which was the favourite summer residence of his grandparents, King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine, and later the home of his parents, Hereditary Prince Knud and Hereditary Princess Caroline-Mathilde. Since 1991 Count Christian and his wife Anne Dorte lived in the Ladies’ Pavilion adjacent to the palace, so Kongens Lyngby might rightly be considered the place where he belongs.
I do, however, wonder if it is correct, as one online newspaper reports, that Count Christian will be buried at the cemetery in Lyngby, as he has earlier stated his wish to be buried at the cemetery in Søllerød.

Sweden’s beloved Princess Lilian laid to rest

On a beautiful winter day, thousands came out onto the streets of Stockholm to pay their respects as the much-loved Princess Lilian, who died on Sunday at the age of 97, was laid to rest.
The funeral took place in the Palace Church, where the Princess had been lying in state since Friday evening. The oak coffin, designed by Court Architect Ove Hidemark, was draped in the royal standard and rested on a catafalque covered in a dark blue ball with golden crowns. It was surmounted by Princess Eugénie’s crown and a bouquet of lilies of the valley, Princess Lilian’s favourite flowers. The Order of Seraphim, of which Princess Lilian had been a member since 1995, lie on a table to the left, while the coffin’s head end was flanked by that order’s banner and a British flag, lent by the British Embassy to symbolise the Princess’s British origins. The coffin was surrounded by a number of floral tributes.
The Chief Court Chaplain, Lars-Göran Lönnermark, officiated, assisted by the vicar of the Court Parish, Michael Bjerkhagen, and the Rev. Nicholas Howe of the Anglican church in Stockholm. (Although Welsh by birth, Princess Lilian was baptised in the Church of England, but later joined the Church of Sweden). The Chief Court Chaplain gave a brief eulogy, while the other prelates read from the bible, ending with the words of love being greatest of all, which seemed fitting as love was what defined Princess Lilian’s life and caused her to wait 33 years for her prince.
Works by Handel, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams and Roman were performed by a soloist, the chair and the organist, while the psalms sung were the Swedish version of “Amazing Grace”, “Härlig är jorden” and “Abide with me”, the latter in English. Princess Lilian’s British origins were also underlined by the choir performing “Jerusalem” and the service ending with “Auld Lang Syne” played on a bagpipe.
Following the eulogy, the Marshal of the Realm (i.e. Lord Chamberlain), Svante Lindqvist, solemnly removed the crown from the coffin, symbolising that all are equal in death. The Chief Court Chaplain thereafter sprinkled earth from the garden of Princess Lilian’s home, Villa Solbacken, which was followed by a 21-gun salute from the battery at nearby Skeppsholmen.
To the right in the choir sat, in the first row, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, and Princess Madeleine and her fiancé Christopher O’Neill, who will marry in the same church on 8 June.
Behind them in the second row were Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitta, Princess Désirée, Princess Christina and her husband Tord Magnuson, Princess Astrid of Norway, Countess Gunnila Bernadotte af Wisborg (widow of the late former Prince Carl Johan), Countess Marianne Bernadotte af Wisborg (widow of the late former Prince Sigvard), Dagmar von Arbin (granddaughter of the late Prince Oscar Bernadotte), her brother Count Oscar Bernadotte af Wisborg with his partner Margot Ekelund (the latter not mentioned in the official guest list, for some reason), their sister Catharina Nilert and their cousin Count Bertil Bernadotte af Wisborg with his wife Jill.
In the third row were Princess Christina’s three sons, Gustaf, Oscar and Victor Magnuson (without their partners), Princess Désirée’s daughter, Baroness Hélène Silfverschiöld, who was Princess Lilian’s goddaughter and her bridesmaid in 1976, accompanied by Fredrik Diterle, Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg (daughter of the late former Prince Lennart), Prince Carl Philip’s girlfriend Sofia Hellqvist, Countess Monica Bonde af Björnö (daughter of the late former Prince Carl Johan), Count Claes Bernadotte af Wisborg (another grandson of Prince Oscar Bernadotte) and his wife Birgitta, and Patrick Sommerlath, a nephew of Queen Silvia.
Princess Lilian’s nearest relative (except her two half-sisters, with whom she had no contact), her cousin Jean Beaumond, was not able to attend. The only of her relatives to attend was one Barbara Davis, but apparently she was not seated with the royal relatives. Opposite the family sat, among others, the Speaker of Parliament, Per Westerberg, and the Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt. Also among the mourners in the half-full church was courtiers, staff, official representatives such as the Archbishop and the County Governor of Hallandia (of which county Princess Lilian was duchess), the three nurses who had taken care of her during her last years, friends and representatives of organisations with which the Princess was affiliated.
The bells of the Cathedral of Stockholm tolled as six officers carried Princess Lilian’s coffin out of the Palace Church at the end of the funeral service. It was then taken in a hearse, followed by the family in some fifteen other cars, at a very slow speed through the centre of Stockholm and out to the Haga Park, where, in a private ceremony, Princess Lilian was interred at the Royal Burial Ground by the side of Prince Bertil, the man whose love eventually made the poor girl from Wales the grand old lady of the Swedish monarchy.

Queen Margrethe to attend Princess Lilian’s funeral; funeral to be broadcast

The Danish court has announced that Queen Margrethe will attend the funeral of her aunt, Princess Lilian of Sweden, in the Palace Church in Stockholm on Saturday. At last it has also been decided that the funeral will be broadcast. SVT2’s broadcast will start at 12.40 p.m., while the funeral will start at 1 p.m. (not 11 a.m. as stated on the Danish royal website). The commentators will be the author John Chrispinsson and Roger Lundgren, editor-in-chief of Kungliga Magasinet.
Tomorrow Princess Lilian will lie in state in the Palace Church, where the public will be admitted from noon to 3 p.m. Her coffin, draped in the royal standard, arrived at the Royal Palace at 6.30 p.m. today, where the royal family, including Princess Christina and Tord Magnuson, gathered to pay their respects.
Princess Madeleine’s fiancé, Christopher O’Neill, has meanwhile arrived from New York to attend the funeral. (The tabloid Expressen’s notoriously unreliable royal correspondent Johan T. Lindwall yesterday ran his usual drama story of how O’Neill will not be allowed to be seated with his fiancée as they are not married, but as everyone with the slightest knowledge of court etiquette knows, fiancés are always seated with their betrothed at royal events).
Following the funeral service Princess Lilian will be buried by the side of her husband, Prince Bertil, in the Royal Burial Ground at Haga. The coffin will be driven in a closed hearse, followed by some fifteen other cars carrying family members. The cortege will go by way of Slottsbacken, Skeppsbron and Slottskajen, over Norrbro to Gustaf Adolfs torg, and then by way of Regeringsgatan, Hamngatan, Sveavägen, Norra Stationsgatan and Norrtul to the southern gates to the Haga Park. Soldiers will line the route from the Palace to Gustaf Adolfs torg.

Princess Astrid to attend Princess Lilian’s funeral

The Norwegian royal family will be represented by Princess Astrid at the funeral of Princess Lilian of Sweden in the Palace Church in Stockholm on Saturday. The King and Princess Lilian were fond of each other, but the King will attend a skiing event that day (it is not the first time he makes sporting events a priority above family funerals).
The court of Copenhagen has not yet announced who will represent the Danish royal family, but given that Princess Lilian was the aunt (by marriage) of Queen Margrethe I would not be surprised to see Queen Margrethe herself and/or her sisters.
As this is a considered a smaller event than Prince Bertil’s funeral in 1997 I would expect that only those foreign royals with a personal connection to the late Princess will attend, which might mean only the Scandinavian royal families (although Prince Philip of Britain was fond of her).
At the funeral of Prince Bertil, Norway was represented by the King and his two sisters with their husbands, Denmark by Queen Ingrid, Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik, Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard, Britain by Prince Philip, Belgium by Queen Paola, the Netherlands by Princess Margriet, Luxembourg by Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte and Spain by Princess Cristina, if I recall correctly. The President of Iceland and a former President of Finland were also in attendance, which will probably not be the case this time.

Princess Lilian to be buried on Saturday

The royal court of Stockholm has announced that the funeral of Princess Lilian, who died yesterday, will take place in the Palace Church at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Princess will be laid to rest next to her husband, Prince Bertil, in the Royal Burial Ground in the Haga Park, just outside Stockholm.
Princess Lilian’s lying-in-state will be very brief, lasting only from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday it will be possible to sign books of condolences in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.