Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler

Princess Margaretha Margaretha prior to the wedding of her niece Princess Madeleine on 8 June 2013 Born (1934-10-31) 31 October 1934 Haga Palace, Solna, Sweden Spouse John Ambler (m. 1964; d. 2008) Issue Baroness Sybilla von Dincklage Charles Edward Ambler James Patrick Ambler Full name Margaretha Désirée Victoria House Bernadotte Father Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Mother Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Swedish Royal Family HM The King HM The Queen HRH The Crown Princess HRH Prince Daniel HRH Princess Estelle HRH Prince Oscar HRH Prince Carl Philip HRH Princess Sofia HRH Prince Alexander HRH Princess Madeleine HRH Princess Leonore HRH Prince Nicolas HRH Princess Birgitta Extended royal family Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson Marianne Princess Bernadotte, Countess of Wisborg

Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler, (Margaretha Désirée Victoria; born 31 October 1934) is a Swedish princess, the eldest sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and also first cousin of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Early life

Birth

The newborn Princess Margaretha with her mother, Princess Sibylla.

Margaretha was born on the 31st of October 1934 at Haga Palace in Haga Park, Stockholm as the first child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and his wife Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; Paternal granddaughter of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and his late wife Princess Margaret of Connaught; Maternal granddaughter of Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein; she was born during the reign of her paternal great-grandfather King Gustav V of Sweden.

Succession

Although the eldest child, as a female, she was never heir to the throne according to the Swedish constitution current at the time. She was educated privately at the Haga Palace and then at the Stockholm dressmaking school, Märthaskolan (Martha School).^[1]

Courtship and marriage

Princess Margaretha at her wedding in 1964.

In the 1950s Margaretha had a relationship with Robin Douglas-Home, a Scottish aristocrat and the nephew of the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Alec Douglas-Home. He came to visit her in Sweden, but they never married. There was speculation in the press that this was due to Sibylla forbidding the match,^[2] but Margaretha's nanny and confidante Ingrid Björnberg states categorically in her memoirs that the breakup between the two was caused by Margaretha's reluctance to enter into an engagement with Douglas-Home.^[3]

She met her future husband, the businessman John Ambler, ten years her elder, at a dinner party in the United Kingdom in 1963 and their engagement was announced on 28 February 1964. They were married on 30 June 1964, in Gärdslösa Church, on the island of Öland. The Princess wore a wedding gown from the Stockholm couture school, Märtaskolan, where she had previously been a student, and a traditional wedding crown from Öland.^[4]

The couple settled at Chippinghurst Manor in Oxfordshire. As a result of her unequal marriage, she lost her style of Royal Highness and the King gave her the courtesy title of Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler. Under the Swedish constitution of that time, she, as a woman, and her descendants were not eligible to inherit the throne. Thus they still are not.

Margaretha and her husband separated in 1994,^[5] but never divorced.^[6] He died on 31 May 2008.

Children

Margaretha and Ambler's marriage produced three children:

• Sibylla Louise Ambler (b. London, 14 April 1965), named after her maternal grandmother, Princess Sibylla. She married Baron Henning von Dincklage (b. Esslingen am Neckar, 29 April 1971). The couple lives in Munich. They have two children, of whom Madeleine Charlotte Margaretha von Dincklage is the goddaughter of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and was a bridesmaid at her wedding.
• Charles Edward Ambler (b. London, 14 July 1966); he married Helen Jane Ross (b. Huddersfield, 3 March 1969). They have two daughters.
• James Patrick Ambler (b. Oxford, 10 June 1969); he married Ursula Mary Shipley (b. St Austell, 9 July 1965). They have two children.

Royal duties

In June 1960 Margaretha, along with her first cousin Crown Princess Margrethe of Denmark and her second aunt Princess Astrid of Norway, toured the United States on the occasion of the first transatlantic flight by Scandinavian Airlines. During their visit, the three Scandinavian princesses toured Disneyland and Hollywood^[7] and also visited Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles where they met Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Elvis Presley.^[8][9]

Margaretha lives near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, in the UK, and does not perform any official engagements on behalf of the royal family.

She takes part in family events as part of the extended royal family, such as: King Carl XVI Gustaf's 50th birthday celebrations,^[1] King Carl XVI Gustaf's Ruby Jubilee commemorative service,^[10] The wedding of her niece Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling,^[11] The wedding of her niece Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill,^[12][13] The wedding of her nephew Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist,^[14] christenings,^[15][16] and funerals.^[17][18]

She also used to open the annual Swedish Church Christmas Bazaar in London.^[5]

Honours

See also List of honours of the Swedish Royal Family by country

Margaretha's original coat of arms when she was a princess of Sweden.

National honours

•  Sweden: Member Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (LoK av KMO)^[19][20][21]
•  Sweden: Member of the Royal Family Order of King Gustaf VI Adolf, 1st Class^[22][23]
•  Sweden: Member of the Royal Family Order of King Carl XVI Gustaf, 1st Class^[24][25]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 90th Birthday Badge Medal of King Gustav V^[26]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of King Gustav V
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 85th Birthday Badge Medal of King Gustaf VI Adolf
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 50th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Wedding Medal of Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling^[27][28]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Ruby Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf^[29]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 70th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf^[30]

Foreign honours

•  Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1st Class^[31]
•  Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau^[32]
•  Netherlands: Recipient of the Wedding Medal of Princess Beatrix, Princess of Orange and Claus Van Amsberg^[33]

Ancestors

See also

• Swedish Royal Family

References

External links

• Royal House of Sweden