Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
From Freepedia
- For other Swedish Princes with the name Carl, please refer to the list at Prince Carl of Sweden
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Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Oscar Carl Vilhelm, Duke of Westrogothia (February 27, 1861 - October 24, 1951), was the third son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway.
On August 27, 1897, he married Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. They had four children:
- Princess Margaretha (1899-1977)
- Princess Märtha, later Crown princess of Norway (1901-1954)
- Princess Astrid, later Queen of the Belgians (1905-1935)
- Prince Carl, Duke of Ostrogothia, known as Carl Jr, later Prince Bernadotte (a Belgian title) (1911-2003)
Prince Carl was once considered a candidate to the Norwegian crown during Norway's fight for independence from Sweden in 1905. To elect a prince from Sweden was considered to be a less radical way out of the union, and hence a more peaceful approach. However, King Oscar II of Sweden never approved on this, as he saw the whole "riot" as a betrayal against his rights as King of Norway. Hence Prince Carl never became King of Norway in 1905, instead a Danish prince was elected (Haakon VII) after some diplomatic turbulence. As history turned out however, Prince Carl's daughter, Princess Märtha, married Haakon VII's son, the later King Olav V. The present King Harald V of Norway is hence a grandchild of Prince Carl, Duke of Westrogothia.
Other descendants from Prince Carl include the royal families of Belgium and Luxembourg (the lines goes via his daughter Princess Astrid, later Queen of the Belgians.)
References
- Bomann-Larsen, Tor: Folket - Haakon & Maud II (2004; in Norwegian)
