Countess Marianne Bernadotte death: Swedish and Danish royal dies aged 100

Countess Marianne Bernadotte, a member of the Swedish and Danish royal families, has died aged 100.

The oldest member of the Swedish royal family, Bernadotte reportedly passed away in her sleep.

As per the Sweden Herald, her daughter told Swedish news agency TT, ”It was calm and peaceful, she was surrounded by her closest relatives and fell asleep at the nursing home on Gärdet in Stockholm. She was over 100 years old, with only two months to her 101st birthday.”

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She was the aunt of the King of Sweden Carl Gustaf by marriage, having been married to his uncle Count Sigvard Bernadotte.

She was also the great-aunt of the King of Denmark, Frederik X, as she was an aunt to his mother, the former Queen Margrethe II.

Known as Marianne Lindberg, the royal was an actress at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in her early career, known for taking on challenging roles and working with many famous actors and directors.

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She first wed Gabriel Tchang, the son of a former Chinese ambassador to Sweden, in 1947. They had three children together – Robert Gabriel, Richard Antoine, and Marie Gabrielle – though her two sons died before her, with Richard dying aged two and Robert in 2012.

She wed Count Sigvard Bernadotte, the second son of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1961, being widowed in 2002. Through this marriage she received the title of Princess and Count of Wisborg.

Alongside her second husband, she founded the Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte Research Foundation for Paediatric Eye Care as well as many other initiatives, being very passionate about the cause after her second son went blind before dying due to vaccination complications.

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She was also passionate about dyslexia after her brother and other members of the Swedish Royal family seemed to suffer from it, serving as an honorary chair of the Swedish Dyslexia Association and Swedish Dyslexia Foundation.

Marianne and her husband had a penchant for arts and fashion, with the royal previously being named one of the ten best-dressed women in the world. The couple had a strong friendship with Pierre Balmain of the Balmain fashion house, continuing to be dressed by them even after he left, as well as other haute couture houses.

In 2017, she even had a museum exhibition held in her honour which featured the most valuable and unique items in her high fashion wardrobe from the 1960s onwards, opened by her grandniece Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

The royal is survived by her daughter, several grandchildren and a great-grandson.

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