She was a princess with purpose whose legacy still lingers long after her death. Princess Ingeborg of Sweden had a very important say in the royal image of one of her descendants.
The future Queen of Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, debuted a new-to-her tiara at her eighteenth birthday celebrations in the summer of 2022. The pearl and diamond tiara belonged to Ingrid Alexandra’s great-great-grandmother, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. And it’s become a significant part of the future queen’s royal image.
Born Ingeborg Charlotte Caroline Frederikke Louise in 1878, she was the daughter of King Frederick VII and Louise of Denmark. She was a first cousin to both King George V of Great Britain and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia through her grandfather, King Christian IX of Denmark.
In 1897, she married Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland. Ingeborg later admitted that although they were first cousins, they did not know each other at all when they married. The couple had four children: Princess Margaretha in 1899, who would become Princess Axel of Denmark; Princess Martha in 1901, who would become Crown Princess of Norway; Princess Astrid in 1905, who would become Queen of the Belgians; and Prince Carl Bernadotte in 1911.
Princess Ingeborg was a senior royal and played a large role at court. Her mother-in-law, Queen Sophia, disliked attending public events, and her sister-in-law, the Crown Princess, was more often than not abroad for medical treatments. Because she represented the Royal Family so often, she was incredibly popular.
Ingeborg’s brother, Carl, was made King of Norway in 1905 when he took the name Haakon VII. Because she was sister to the King of Norway, sister-in-law to the King of Sweden, and was born a Danish royal, she was able to unite the Scandinavian royal families.
The princess was grandmother to the current Norwegian King, Harald V, Princess Ingrid Alexandra’s grandfather.
The tiara was a present to Ingeborg from her husband. Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen, Ingeborg’s granddaughter through Martha, inherited the tiara on Ingeborg’s death. Her children then gave the tiara to Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit to give to Ingrid Alexandra for her birthday, keeping the piece in the family.
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