Figure 1.-- Here is Princess Ingrid in her bridal gown with a huge train. She is posing with her flower girls and ring bearer in 1935. |
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Swedish Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta was born (1910). She was the third child and only daughter of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Ingrid's mother died in 1920 while pregnant with her sixth child. King Gustaf married Lady Louise Mountbatten (1923). Louise was a Ingrid's cousin. Ingrid met the British Prince of Wales (1928). There were rumors about a romance, but nothing developed. It was Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark who courted Ingrid. They married (1935). They were related through different family lines. The Germans during World War II invaded and occupied Denmark (1940). She gained great respect with her husband passively resisting the German occupation forces during World War II. Princess Ingrid became the Queen of Denmark when her husband assended to the Danish throne as Frederick IX (1947). Queen Ingrid died (2000). She was interred next to her husband outside Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen.
The Swedish royal famoly was the House of Bernadotte. Princess Ingrid was the third child and only daughter of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. Her father was the eldest son of King Gustaf V of Sweden by his wife, Princess Victoria of Baden. Ingrid's mother was Gustaf's first wife, British Princess Margaret of Connaught. Princess Margaret was a daughter of Queen Victoria's third son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn by his wife Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. This mean that Ingrid had tes to both the British and Prussian/Herman royal family. Princess Margaret tragically died while pregnant with her sixth child (1920). Her father married Lady Louise Mountbatten )1923)/ Louise was a second cousin of Ingrid's. King Gustaf and Queen Louise had a stillborn daughter, their only issue.
Swedish Princess Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta was born at the Royal Palace in Stockholm (1910). She was baptised in Slottskyrkan (the Royal Chapel) in Stockholm. Her godparents were a veritable list of the preminent royalty of Europe. They included her paternal grandparents, King Gustav V and Queen Victoria; her paternal great-grandmother, The Dowager Queen; her maternal grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn; her paternal great-grandmother, The Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden; The Grand Duchess of Baden; The Dowager Duchess of Dalarna; The Empress of Russia; Princess Alexander of Teck; Prince Adalbert of Prussia; and The Prince of Wales. Princess Ingrid was raised at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. She and her siblings spent carfree time at her parents' summer country residence, Sofiero Castle in Scania. Here the children could be children away from the formalities of court life. There Ingrid and her four brothers spent most of their summers there. Growing uo with four boisterous brothers of course had a major impct on Ingrid's personality. Ingrid lost her mother at an early age. Her mother died when Ingrid was only 10 years old (1930). She died from meningitis while in the eighth month of her sixth pregnancy. She greatly enjoyed sports, especially horse-riding, skiing and tennis. She insisted on getting a driver's licence as early as possible.
Ingrid and her brithers were raised with a strong sense of duty. Their parents were serious, especially their father. She was well educated.
King Gustaf had married Lady Louise Mountbatten (1923). That brought more ties with Britain. Louise was a Ingrid's cousin. Ingrid met the very eligible Edeard British Prince of Wales--the heir apparent to the British crown (1928). There were family ties. Ingrid's mother, Margaret of Connaught, and the then-Prince of Wales' father, King George V, were first cousins as they were both grandchildren of Queen Victoria. King George at the time was presuuring Edward to settle down and mary. There were rumors about a romance, but nothing developed. We are not sure why, but suspect she was not as fawning as Mrs. Simplson proved to be. It was Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark who courted Ingrid. They married (1935). They were related through different family lines, including the Russian dynastic ties. The wedding was a major media event.
Crown Princess Ingrid appeared on the radio soon after the marriage and read a poem. The press also gave considerable attention to thi. The Crown Prince and Ptincess becme popular figures. As a Crown Princess, one of her expected duries was to serve as Official Patron of the Girl Guides (1936). But she had to first take and pass, the tests required of all applicants. She quickly learned Danish whichbof course is related toSwedish. Ingrid proved to be what might now be called a feminist without the harsher edges. She was a strong advocat for gender equality.
After the onset of the War, but before the occupation, she became the leader of the Danske Kvinders Beredskab (Danish Women's war-effort society). The Germans during World War II invaded and occupied Denmark (1940). Ingrid gained great respect with her husband passively resisting the German occupation forces. For both practical and racil reasons, the German occuption was relatively correct, but not without incidents. This allowed the Germans to fully exploit Denmarks agricultureal and industrial resources. As Denmark had aordic population, th population was destined to be evenually incorporated into areat Reich after the Wat, rather than to be destroyed like the Slavic population to the east as part of Gneralplan Ost. The Danish Royal Family won emense popularity as a symbol of resistance and patriotism. Of course thiswa only possible because Danes were not a target of German racial animus, but it still took considerable courage. Pricess Ingrid demonsreated solidarity with the Danish people. She was commonly seen on her bicycle or with her baby carriage on the streets of Copenhagen. It was thinly veiled, but open definance to the Germans. Her grandfather, King Gustav of Sweden, worried about the risks she was taking. He ordered her to be more discreet 'for the sake of the dynasty' and its safety. At the time, Hitler and the NZIs dominated most of Europe. King Gutav thought that Sweden would have to live with the NAZIs and feared a German invasion pf Sweden. Princess Ingrid wasm however, not cowed, but actually uoset and refused to follow her grndfather's instructions. She was supported by her husband. One open display of defiance shown by Ingrid was her positioning of the flags of Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom in the window of the nursery at Amalienborg, the royal residence in the center of Copenhagen. They were rhe flags of her ancestry, but the message to the Germansas clear. It was the only place in occupied Europe that thge Union Jack was openly displayed.
Gustaf abd InGrud had three daughters. The oldest was Margrethe II, the present Queen of Denmark, born during World War II (1940). Their second child was Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Their third child was Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, the wife of King Constantine II. Ingid was also an aunt of the present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf.
Their eldest daughter, Margrethe Alexandrine Torhildur Ingrid, was born on April 16, 1940, during the dark days following the German invasion. The birth of the little princess acquired a symbolic value as a ray of hope in a time of darkness. Since 1972 Queen Margrethe II has reigned the country. First of all she is taking care of her official duties as the Queen. She married the Frenchman Henri de Laborde in 1967 and has two sons. But at the same time Queen Margrethe is a very modern queen: She is a painter, ascenographer, a writer, a speaker, a translator and a debater of social issues.
Princess Benedikte was born during the World War II German occupation. She had no idea that her mursery becme a bibe of contention with the Germans. Everyone in Copenhagen knew. She married Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1968.
Princess Anne-Marie married King Constantine II Oldenburg of Greece in 1964. The king was exiled in 1967 and later deposed.
Princess Ingrid became the Queen of Denmark after the War when her husband assended to the Danish throne as Frederick IX (1947). She was not a quiet queen, but a modernizing force. She proceeded to reform the traditions of Danish court life. She abolished a range of old-fashioned, formal customs at court. Her goal was to created a more relaxed atmosphere at official receptions and other royal events. She had a special interest in both gardening and art. She conducted a makjor renovation of the the Gr�sten Slot. She researched the historical record to determine the Palace's original appearance.
King Frederick died (1972). The King and Queen Ingrid had helped create a modern monarchy. After swearing to respect the Danish constitution, the Government appointed her Rigsforstander (Regent) and representative of the Monarch whenever her daughter (and subsequently her grandsons) were out of the country. She fulfilled this function on several occassion. This was a real honor and reflected her enormous prestige in Denmark. Since the implemnenbtation of the Danish Constitution (1871), only the Crown Prince had been allowed to act as Regent. Queen Ingrid became the
patron of many Danish social groups. These were positions that as she grew older, she gradually turned over to her daughter Princess Benedikte. Tgey included: R�de Kors, �ldre Sagen, Red Barnet, L�gum Klosters Refugium, and Fonden for Tr�er og Milj�. She also founded new groups: Kong Frederik og Dronning Ingrids fond til humanit�re og kulturelle form�l, Ingridfondet for South Jutland, Det kgl. Gr�nlandsfond, and Dronning Ingrids Romerske Fond til st�tte af kulturelle og videnskabelige form�l. Her participatiuon was not just a formality.
Queen Ingrid died (2000). She was interred next to her husband outside Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen.
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