Ingrid of Sweden

Princess Ingrid was born on 28 March 1910, at the Royal Palace 

in Stockholm as the third child and only daughter of Gustaf Adolf,
Crown Prince of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of
Connaught. 

Her mother was a daughter of Queen Victoria's third son Prince Arthur,
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn by his wife
Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia.

Princess Ingrid was a member of the House of Bernadotte.

Baptism

She was baptised Ingrid Victoria Sofia Louise Margareta in Slottskyrkan
(the Royal Chapel) in Stockholm, Sweden on 5 May 1910. 

Her godparents were: 

- the King and Queen of Sweden (her paternal grandparents);
- the Dowager Queen of Sweden (her paternal great-grandmother);
- the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn (her maternal grandparents);
- the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden (her paternal great-grandmother);
- the Empress of Russia (her mother's paternal first cousin);
- Princess Alexander of Teck (her mother's paternal first cousin);
- the Prince of Wales (her mother's paternal first cousin);
- Prince Adalbert of Prussia (her maternal second cousin);
- the Grand Duchess of Baden (her grandaunt);
and the Dowager Duchess of Dalarna (her great-grandaunt).

Childhood

Ingrid and her family lived in apartments in the Royal Palace in
Stockholm, in a mansion at Ulriksdal, near the capital, and in a summer
residence, Sofiero Palace in Helsingborg, Scania in southern Sweden.

Crown Princess Margaret founded a school for Ingrid with a small circle
of Swedish noble girls. 

Ingrid was also given some domestic instruction as part of her education.
As a child, she practiced cooking in her model cottage on the palace
grounds and even washed the dishes after meals. 

The ability for a girl to cook, sew, and manage a household was seen
as important at the time for royalty.

In 1920, when Ingrid was just ten years old, her mother died from
sepsis while in the eighth month of her sixth pregnancy. 

After her mother's death, Ingrid spent several months of each year
in the United Kingdom in the care of her grandfather.Observers suggested
that Ingrid's strong self-discipline was shaped as an effect
of her mother's death.

Her father remarried Lady Louise Mountbatten three years later.
Louise was a second cousin of Ingrid's. Only a stillborn daughter
resulted from her father's second marriage. 

Ingrid felt betrayed by her father when he remarried, and she
was unkind to Crown Princess Louise. Ingrid and her father would
not reconcile until many years later.

Education

Ingrid was taught history, art history, political science, and learned several
languages. Her knowledge of art and culture was extended by long stays
in Paris and Rome. 

Along with her father, stepmother and brother Prince Bertil, Ingrid took a
five-month journey through the Middle East in 1934 - 1935. 

Ingrid interested in sports, especially horse-riding, skiing and tennis.
Ingrid made her debut at the opening of the Swedish Riksdag in 1928
when she was noted to be “smartly dressed.” She was also noted to be
an accomplished linguist, horsewoman, skier and skater, and dancer. 

Ingrid often played tennis against her grandfather King Gustav V.
During her young adulthood, Ingrid was often seen driving her
two-seat car around Stockholm. 

Besides gaining a reputation as a stylish young woman, Ingrid was
known as being quite attractive. After her visit to the United States in
1939, Americans described Ingrid as "tall and very slender" with a
"nicely modeled mouth and exquisite teeth."

Love and Marriage

The question of Ingrid's marriage was a hot topic of conversation in
the 1920s. She was matched with various foreign royalties and was s
een by some as a possible wife for the heir-apparent to the British throne,
the Prince of Wales, who was her second cousin. 

Her mother, Margaret of Connaught, and the then-Prince of Wales' father,
King George V, were first cousins, both being grandchildren of
Queen Victoria. 

In 1928, Ingrid met the Prince of Wales in London. However, no
engagement took place. She was also considered as a match for
Prince George of the United Kingdom, the fourth son of King George V.

On 15 March 1935, shortly before her 25th birthday, she was
engaged to Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Iceland.
They were related in several ways. As descendants of Oscar I of
Sweden, they were third cousins. Through Leopold, Grand
Duke of Baden, they were third cousins. And finally through
Paul I of Russia, Frederick was a fourth cousin of Ingrid's
mother. 

They married in Stockholm Cathedral on 24 May 1935. Among
the wedding guests were the King and Queen of Denmark,
the King and Queen of the Belgians and the Crown Prince
and Crown Princess of Norway. 

Her wedding was one of the greatest media events of the day in
Sweden in 1935, and received so much attention that the media
were criticised for it. 

Ingrid also appeared on the radio in 1935 and read a poem,
something which was also given much attention.

 

Duty

While she was Crown Princess, she was the official patron of the
Girl Guides (1936), after having taken, and passed, the same tests all
applicants were given. 

In 1940, before the occupation, she was the leader of the Danske Kvinders
Beredskab (The Danish Women's war-effort society). 

During the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, Ingrid,
with her personal courage and integrity, influenced the Danish Royal House
and its conduct in relation to the occupation forces, and won great
popularity as a symbol of silent resistance and public patriotic moral. 

She showed solidarity toward the Danish population, and could often be
seen on her bicycle or with her baby carriage on the streets of
Copenhagen during the war. 

Her open defiance of the occupation forces made her grandfather,
King Gustav of Sweden, worry about the risks, and in 1941, he sent
a demand to her to be more discreet "for the sake of the dynasty" and
its safety, but she reacted with anger and refused to obey, and she had
the support of her spouse, who shared her views. 

Upon her husband's accession to the throne on 20 April 1947, she
became the Queen of Denmark. As such, she reformed the traditions
of Danish court life, abolished many old-fashioned customs at court
and created a more relaxed atmosphere at official receptions. 

She was interested in gardening and art, and renovated the Gråsten Slot
according to her own historical research about the palace's
original appearance.

In 1972, King Frederick IX died, and Ingrid was widowed at the age of
61. Her elder daughter, aged 31, became the new queen, and Ingrid
now assumed a position as family matriarch. 

She was patron of a long line of social organizations, positions
which, one after another, she eventually left to Princess Benedikte
as years passed. She was described as dutiful, well-prepared and energetic.

Death

Queen Ingrid died on 7 November 2000 at Fredensborg Palace, Fredensborg,
with her three daughters and ten grandchildren at her bedside. 

Thousands gathered outside Amalienborg Palace, her official residence,
after her death was announced; flowers were left, candles were lit and
hymns were sung in her honour. 

Her funeral took place on 14 November 2000, and Ingrid was interred
next to her husband, King Frederick IX, outside Roskilde Cathedral
near Copenhagen. 

The funeral was attended by many crowned heads of Europe and
other heads of state, among them the King and Queen of Sweden,
the then Queen of Spain, the then Queen of the Netherlands,
the King and Queen of Norway, the then King and then Queen of the Belgians,
the then Grand Duke and then Grand Duchess of Luxembourg,
the then Prince of Wales, the then Hereditary Prince of Monaco,
the then President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and
former President of Finland Mauno Koivisto.

Source pictures: Wikipedia