Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotlandia
| Prince Oscar Bernadotte | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Count of Wisborg prev. Duke of Gotland |
|||||
 |
|||||
| Born |
15 November 1859 Palace of the Hereditary Prince, , Sweden |
||||
| Died | 4 October 1953 (aged 93) , Sweden |
||||
| Spouse | Ebba Munck af Fulkila | ||||
| Issue | Countess Maria Bernadotte of Wisborg Count Carl Oscar Bernadotte of Wisborg Countess Ebba Sophia Bernadotte of Wisborg Countess Elsa Bernadotte of Wisborg Count Folke Bernadotte of Wisborg |
||||
|
|||||
| House | Bernadotte | ||||
| Father | Oscar II | ||||
| Mother | Sofia of Nassau | ||||
| Full name | |
|---|---|
| Oscar Carl August |
Prince Oscar Carl August Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (15 November 1859 – 4 October 1953) was a Swedish religious activist, the second son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sofia of Nassau. Born Prince of Sweden and Norway, after the Norwegian secession from Sweden he was Prince Oscar Duke of Gotland, but in marrying contrary to Swedish constitutional requirements gave up those titles, becoming instead Luxembourgish nobility as Prince Bernadotte and Count of Wisborg.
Prince Oscar, before his marriage, served in the Swedish Navy, where he was enlisted for 25 years and attained the rank of Vice Admiral. In his youth he visited the United States several times beginning in 1876 and sailed around the world 1883-1885 on the Vanadis.
Bernadotte was very active in social organizations, especially religious ones, such as the YMCA of Sweden and Friends of Mission to the Laps, both of which he chaired for many years. As the only member of Swedish royalty known to be born again, he founded the Södertälje Conferences, as inspired by the Keswick Convention, in 1898 and was an engaging inter-denominational Christian lay preacher of wide repute.
Through Oscar's marriage in Bournemouth on 15 March 1888 to Swedish noblewoman Ebba Munck af Fulkila, lady-in-waiting to the Crown Princess, without the consent of his father, the King, he gave up his right of succession to the Swedish throne and his royal title.
Ebba was a lady-in-waiting of the crown princess, Victoria of Baden, who in 1885 visited her brother-in-law in Amsterdam, where he was to undergo a medical examination. Ebba and Oscar visited the Norwegian sailor church during their stay in Amsterdam and fell in love: Ebba was religious and influenced Oscar in this regard. When Oscar told his family that he wished to marry Ebba, they were scandalized and he was forced to take a two years consideration period, and Ebba was dismissed as a lady-in-waiting. In 1887, Oscar told his family that he had not changed his mind, and the royal house gave its consent to the marriage on condition that Oscar's brothers signed a document promising that they should never enter a similar marriage, which they did. On 21 January 1888, a ball was arranged on the where Ebba and Oscar were allowed to dance with each other, and on 29 January 1888, the engagement was formally announced. The match was regarded as a great sorrow within the royal house, but it received a lot of sympathy from the public. It was said that a bridge had been placed between the people and the royal house: "The Munck bridge", and the fact that Oscar had to give up his royal title made people say that the king no longer had four sons but only three, as one of them "married and had to quit". When the couple left Stockholm, a large crowd had gathered on the train station to see them off and show their support.
...
Wikipedia