The Swedish Royal Court has announced the death of Princess Désirée of Sweden, Baroness Silfverschiöld, who has passed away at Koberg Castle in Västergötland at the age of 87! The elder sister of the Swedish King was married to a Swedish Baron.
King Carl XVI Gustaf has said:
It is with great sadness that I have received the information that my sister, Princess Désirée, has passed away.
Many are the warm family memories created at the Silfverschiöld family home in Västergötland – a place in Sweden that came to mean a lot to my sister.
My family and I today express our condolences to Princess Désirée’s children and their families.
The third daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, she was the older sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and grew up at Haga Palace, and was educated at home, starting royal duties even before her 18th birthday.
Désirée was one of the four “sesses at Haga”, as they were called. She grew up at Haga Palace with her four siblings Princess Margaretha, Princess Birgitta, Princess Christina and Crown Prince Carl (XVI) Gustaf. Princess Désirée was named after the consort of Karl XIV Johan.
Childhood was a wonderful time with lots of play and closeness to nature and animals. Their nanny Ingrid “Nenne” Björnberg came to have a great importance for the prince’s children, and she was a great support for them when their father Gustaf Adolf tragically died in a plane crash at Kastrup in 1947.
Princess Désirée’s first schooling was given privately at the Royal Palace in a small class of girls her age. When Haga Palace was to be renovated, the family temporarily moved into the Royal Palace in the Old Town, but then decided to stay there.
Princess Désirée attended ballet school and took piano lessons with her sister Princess Birgitta. In 1950, Princess Désirée started at the French School in Stockholm. For two months in 1955, she attended a school in Château d’Oeux in Switzerland. In 1958, she completed a course in infant care at the Sällskapet Barnavård. She graduated in 1960 from the Social Pedagogical Seminary as a preschool teacher, or kindergarten teacher as the title was then. During her studies at the Social Pedagogical Seminary, she did an internship at the Kungsklippan playhouse and the Crown Princess Lovisa Children’s Hospital. The principal noted that Princess Désirée had the ability to inspire children in their games, that she was empathetic and very popular. After her education, she did an internship at the Tomteboda Blind Institute.
Princess Désirée began a two-year textile course at Konstfack in 1962, where she learned things like pattern sketching, free embroidery, and tapestry weaving. Her creativity developed already in elementary school, where her favorite subjects were drawing and needlework.
Désirée enjoyed skiing and slalom skiing, sports interests that had existed since childhood when it was something the family enjoyed doing.
In 1963, Princess Désirée married Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld. The couple had three children and resided at Castle Koberg and Gasevadholm Castle until his death in 2017.
In connection with the engagement, it was also announced that after the marriage, the princess would bear the title “Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld”. Princess Desirée and Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld were married in the Great Church in Stockholm on 5 June 1964.
After the marriage, the Silfverschiöld couple moved into the Silfverschiöld family estate of Koberg in Västergötland. The Silfverschiöld couple shared several great interests, such as horseback riding, skiing and clay pigeon shooting. They had children Carl (1965), Christina (1966) and Hélène (1968).
Princess Désirée wanted to devote her time to her family, whom she valued highly, but sometimes participated in inaugurations and award ceremonies. For example, in 1985, she presented the Hasselblad Prize to photographer Irving Penn. Princess Désirée was an artistic, popular and child-loving person. As she herself put it:
“I’m lucky. I’m really grateful that I’m healthy. And then there’s the joy in the children and grandchildren. I love my grandchildren and I think they like their grandmother too.”
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