Princess Ingeborg | |||||
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Duchess of Västergötland | |||||
Born |
Charlottenlund Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark |
2 August 1878||||
Died | 12 March 1958 , Sweden |
(aged 79)||||
Spouse | Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland | ||||
Issue |
Margaretha, Princess Axel of Denmark Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway Astrid, Queen of the Belgians Prince Carl Bernadotte |
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House | Glücksburg | ||||
Father | Frederick VIII of Denmark | ||||
Mother | Louise of Sweden |
Full name | |
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Ingeborg Charlotte Caroline Frederikke |
Princess Ingeborg of Denmark (Ingeborg Charlotta Carolina Frederikke Louise; 2 August 1878 – 12 March 1958), was a Princess of Sweden by marriage to Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland. She was the daughter of Frederick VIII of Denmark, and the maternal grandmother of Harald V of Norway, Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium, and the female line great grandmother of Henri of Luxembourg.
Princess Ingeborg was born on 2 August 1878 at Charlottenlund Palace north of Copenhagen as the second daughter and fifth child of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, the eldest son of King Christian IX. Her mother was Princess Louise of Sweden, the only surviving child of King Charles XV of Sweden and IV of Norway.
In May 1897, Princess Ingeborg was engaged to Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland. Prince Carl was the third son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau. They were, therefore, first cousins once-removed.
They married on 27 August 1897 in the chapel at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen and spent their honeymoon in Germany.
The couple had four children:
In 1947, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary, her spouse admitted that their marriage had been completely arranged by their respective fathers, and Ingeborg herself added: "I married a complete stranger!"
The marriage was popular because she was the granddaughter of the popular king Charles XV of Sweden and IV of Norway, and she was a personal success in Sweden. It was said of her, that of all foreign princesses married into the Swedish royal house, she was perhaps the one best suited to be Queen consort of Sweden, and for the first ten years in Sweden, she almost was: from 1897 until 1907, Queen Sophia seldom attended public events and Crown Princess Victoria spent most of her time abroad for health reasons, Princess Ingeborg was thereby given more public duties, unofficially performing much of the role associated with the queen consort at the Swedish court. She is perceived as having performed her representational duties with a combination of dignity and easygoing friendliness, and as attracting a social circle with her wit. Her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Victoria, however, did not approve of her informality and once remarked: "One does not enter the chamber of the Crown Princess of Sweden without knocking, even if one is Princess Ingeborg."