Prince Bertil (1912-1997)
Prince Bertil - The Motor Prince
His Royal Highness Bertil Gustaf Oscar Carl Eugen, Prince of Sweden, Duke of Halland, was born on 28 February 1912 in Stockholm as fourth child of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Crown Princess Margaretha.
Prince Bertil received his upper secondary school education at the boarding school Lundsberg in Värmland, a school with a long tradition of educating royals. After school he continued to the Defence, where he was a navy cadet for many years. Prince Bertil was active in the military ever since a young age; he was even the Swedish Marine Attaché in London for many years during the 1940’s, and later received the military ranks of major general and rear admiral in general and the Air Force, and captain in the Navy. He was also Honorary Colonel of a brigade in his duchy of Halland.
Prince Bertil was a hard working and eager representative for his country, his position as a royal always came first – and his loyalty to the King and country was always impeccable. He was an eager representative for the Swedish trade- and industry, and through his year he headed many official Swedish delegations on trips abroad – and sometimes he even sat at the table during negotiations for large contracts for big Swedish companies. Sports were a great passion for the Prince, and his passion for motorcycles and cars gave him the nickname “motor Prince”. During some years he often competed in motor sports under pseudonym names, and won quite a few prizes too. Boule was another sport Prince Bertil loved, and he was one of the first to really introduce it in Sweden. His passion and work for sports lead him to many leadership positions in Swedish sports, he was Chairman of the Swedish Sports Confederation (1947-1992), the Swedish Olympic Committee (1947-1997), the Royal Automobile Club, the Swedish Shooting Federation, the Swedish Car Sports Federation (1945-1961), the Swedish Golf Federation (1946-1947) and the Swedish Military Sports Federation.
Prince Bertil’s love for sports made him an eager spectator at most of the major sports events, and he always made sure to express his joy to the Swedes that won medals. One classic example is from the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, when swimmer Gunnar Larsson won 400 metres medley – immediately after the victory Prince Bertil ran down to the pool and shook our new champion and frankly said “Dam* it Gunnar, thanks!” and Gunnar replied “thank you yourself”.
After Crown Prince Carl Gustaf’s father passed away, Prince Bertil became a father figure for him, and they remained close throughout his life. The crucial role Prince Bertil had played before the birth of the Crown Prince, when he could’ve been the next King, was something he carried with a great sense of duty – and the country was very thankful to him for sacrificing so much of himself to uphold it. Even after new legislations was passed, that laid down that the only ones who would be in the Line of Succession would be the offspring of the King – the Parliament passed a special amendment that placed Prince Bertil after the King’s children in the Line of Succession – as a special thanks to his devotion to the country. During his whole life, Prince Bertil therefore acted as temporary regent for King Carl XVI Gustaf, and also his own father before that.
Lilian Davies, now Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, was Prince Bertil’s great love in life. They met during the war in the 1940’s in London when he was the Swedish Marine Attaché there – but due to political reasons, she was a commoner and married to an actor for some time, and Prince Bertil was a crucial person in Sweden as a stand-in for the current King as the Crown Prince was so young – they were not allowed to marry. Eventually Lilian secretly moved in with Prince Bertil in his house on Djurgården in Stockholm. It was not until many years later that Prince Bertil was allowed to marry Lilian, after King Carl XVI’s accession to the throne and the Line of Succession was secured. On 7 December 1976 they were wed in the Palace Chapel at the Drottningholm Palace.
On 5 January 1997, Sweden’s beloved Prince Bertil passed away in their home Villa Solbacken at Djurgården, holding Lilian's hand to the last moment.
Prince Bertil - Pictures Part 1:
