Count Lennart Bernadotte, Cousin to Swedish king

Born: 8 May, 1909, in Stockholm. Died: 22 December, 2004, in Mainau, Germany, aged 95.

Count Lennart Bernadotte, a cousin of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, who had his princely title stripped for marrying against the royal family’s wishes, died on Wednesday. He was 95.

Born in Stockholm on 8 May, 1909, the count was the only child of Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, but they divorced when Bernadotte was young.

His uncle and aunt, King Gustav V and Queen Victoria, took over his upbringing, which was reportedly very strict. He lost his royal title in 1932 when he married Karin Emma Louise Nissvandt, the daughter of a Swedish industrialist, against the wishes of his family. He assumed the family name of Bernadotte which, under the Swedish Act of Succession, is mandatory for any prince or princess who marries without the royal family’s consent.

In 1951, he received a new title, that of Count of Wisborg, from the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

In 1972, after divorcing Nissvandt, he married Sonja Haunz, who was 35 years younger than him. Bernadotte is survived by his wife, and nine children from both marriages.

In 1941, Bernadotte took over the management of the family property on the island of Mainau as the Second World War raged in Europe. He eventually acquired the entire island, which is surrounded by Lake Constance, in 1955, running it through the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation.

Under his stewardship, the island became a massive tourist draw, bringing in some 1.7 million visitors annually.

Besides his horticulture interests, Bernadotte was also an amateur photographer and filmmaker and wrote several plays for local theatre groups.

In an interview in 1994, Bernadotte, said he looked back on his life with no regrets. "I have lived a happy life and I still think it is fun," he said.