Princess Désirée

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla; 2 June 1938 – 21 January 2026) was the third child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and an elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Early life

Désirée was born on 2 June 1938 as the third daughter and child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (son of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and his late wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught) and his wife, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (daughter of Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife, Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein).

Desiree was christened on 30 June 1938 at Solna Church in the Solna Municipality of Stockholm, Sweden. She was given the names: Desiree after her ancestor Queen Desideria and Sibylla after her mother, Princess Sibylla. She grew up at the family home, Haga Palace outside Stockholm, with her three sisters; together they were known as the Haga Princesses.

In November 1960, Désirée accompanied her elder sister Princess Birgitta for a visit to the United States on behalf of their grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf for the 50th anniversary of The American-Scandinavian Foundation. In their honour a ball was organised for the two princesses at the Renaissance Blackstone Hotel in Chicago by Mayor Richard Daley.

Désirée was number 306 in the succession order to the British Royal throne.

Marriage and children

Désirée's engagement to Baron Nils-August Otto Carl Niclas Silfverschiöld, (1934–2017) was announced on 18 December 1963, and the couple married on 5 June 1964 in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. Dickson, Eva (red). 1964.  As a result of her non-royal marriage, she lost her style of Royal Highness and her position as a princess of Sweden, but was given the courtesy Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld by the King. Under the Swedish constitution of that time, she, as a woman, and her descendants were not eligible to inherit the throne, and when this was later changed to absolute primogeniture the right of succession was limited to the descendants of her brother, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Désirée and her husband had three children:

• Baron Carl Otto Edmund Silfverschiöld (born 22 March 1965 in Gothenburg), married Maria Gunilla Fredriksson (born 12 April 1965 in Malmö) in 2005 and has one daughter.
• Baroness Christina Louise Ewa Madeleine Silfverschiöld (born 29 September 1966 in Gothenburg), married Baron Hans Louis Gerard de Geer af Finspång (born 26 January 1963 in Stockholm) in 1999 and has three children. 
• Baroness Hélène Ingeborg Sibylla Silfverschiöld (born 20 September 1968 in Gothenburg), who served as bridesmaid at the 1976 weddings of her uncle King Carl XVI Gustaf and granduncle Prince Bertil. In a relationship with Fredrik Dieterle has one son. 

Following her marriage, Désirée lived in the Silfverschiöld family's home at Koberg Castle and at Gåsevadholm Castle in Halland. She was the godmother of her niece, Crown Princess Victoria.

Later life and death

Désirée occasionally attended Nobel Prize festivities and public royal events in a semi-official capacity, sometimes wearing tiaras and jewelry belonging to the royal family. She also represented Sweden in first receiving Emperor Akihito of Japan when he arrived for a state visit in 2000. She was widowed in 2017.

In 2023, Désirée was hospitalised at Sahlgrenska University Hospital for several months due to meningitis.

She died on 21 January 2026, at the age of 87, at her home in Koberg Castle, Västergötland, Sweden.