Death and Funeral of Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland: March 10 & 16, 2013

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

Really? How large was the turn out from the Gotha for the funerals of HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester or HRH Princess Margaret, or for the sister of the King of Norway? I think expecting a large Gotha turn out is pretty optomistic but am willing to be surprised.

I think the difference is that both Princess Margaret and Princess Alice, Duchess of Glocuester had private funerals where there was also no Press inside of St. Georg's Chapel. Had it been more official i think there would have been more foreign representatives.

[Ephram]

Heartfelt condolences to Sweden over the passing of Princess Lilian. She will be remembered - her spirit during the Nobel ceremony shall always present forever.

Princess Lilian Of Sweden Attends The Nobel Foundation

[HereditaryPrincess]

I've just found this thread as I checked out when it was started. This is very sad news, rest in peace Princess Lilian; I'm sure she'll be greatly missed by the Royal Family and her friends.

On another note, what an amazing love story she had! She'll be reunited with her prince once more.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Artemisia

It won't be a small family affair.
Lilian was a not only a member of the Royal Family, but also a Royal Highness and a Princess of Sweden. As such, she will be accorded appropriate funerals. As per established protocol, her coffin will lie in state at the Royal Chapel, followed by a funeral ceremony that is likely to be attended by representatives of foreign royal families. A procession will then progress through the city to the cemetery at Haga, where the late Princess will be buried alongside Prince Bertil.

Death of Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland

We'll have to see who right on Saturday Artemisia

I'm still sticking with a large Swedish Royal Family presence and a few of the cousins.

[LadyFinn]

A HQ photo of princess Lilian at the court website, choose "Högupplöst format". The photo was taken on her 90th birthday.
Pressbild Prinsessan Lilian - Sveriges Kungahus [NS4 version]

[An Ard Ri]

Stockholm: A shop with a photo of the late Princess Lilian in the etalage.

PPE Agency

Huffington Post

Swedish Princess Dies: A Look Back At Princess Lilian's Life & Style (PHOTOS)

[Artemisia]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

We'll have to see who right on Saturday Artemisia

I'm still sticking with a large Swedish Royal Family presence and a few of the cousins.

Perhaps I am just being optimistic.

[NGalitzine]

Have we heard anything from either of her half sisters? I know she had no contact with them but assuming they are still alive perhaps one of them talked to a newspaper.

[Roslyn]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

Have we heard anything from either of her half sisters? I know she had no contact with them but assuming they are still alive perhaps one of them talked to a newspaper.

We've heard from one of them, and she's not a happy camper. Meraude posted a link. See Post No. 114 above.

[grevinnan]

Originally Posted by Meraude

The Swedish newspaper Expressen have an interview with princess Lilian's half sister Janice Rees: "Ledsen över att jag inte lärde känna Lilian" | Nyheter | Expressen | Senaste nytt - Nyheter Sport Nöje TV

How completely un-necessary to dig into these family relationships during the week of mourning. Princess Lilian chose to not have any contact and her only answer to that was ...not all divorces are happy ones...

We have no idea why and how the parents divorced, whether the father assisted the Prinsesse's mother with the expense of raising a child. I cases where a parent is left with the caretaking of a child/children without any help from the other partner the child often feels a very deepseated loyalty to the parent and consequently have to reason to establish contact with half-siblings. Princess Lilians wishes should remain as she chose them and dragging the half-sister into the press this week is just so disrespectful.

[Meraude]

I don't know when and why princess Lilian's parents divorced, but as the age difference between princess Lilian and her half-sisters are 30 years, they can't be blamed for the father's divorce. By the time her father remarried the girls' mother Lilian herself was already married and had lived in London for ten years. I would guess that the age difference and the fact that Lilian lived far away from her half-sisters could be reasons why there wasn't any contact between them.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Artemisia

Perhaps I am just being optimistic.

Nothing wrong with that Artemisia!

[episcogal]

Did she speak Swedish?

[muriel]

Originally Posted by episcogal

Did she speak Swedish?

My guess is that she did. She lived in Sweden for c60 years.

[Roslyn]

She didn't live in Sweden for 60 years, since a lot of the first 30 years they were together were spent in France, but after their marriage she spent more than 30 years in Sweden as a working princess, so I reckon that she would have conquered the language. No doubt our Scandinavian members can confirm this.

[Artemisia]

Originally Posted by episcogal

Did she speak Swedish?

Lilian reported spoke very good Swedish, but preferred to conduct most of her official engagements and speeches in English.

[Charlotte1]

Originally Posted by Meraude

I don't know when and why princess Lilian's parents divorced, but as the age difference between princess Lilian and her half-sisters are 30 years, they can't be blamed for the father's divorce. By the time her father remarried the girls' mother Lilian herself was already married and had lived in London for ten years. I would guess that the age difference and the fact that Lilian lived far away from her half-sisters could be reasons why there wasn't any contact between them.

Going by the obit in Trond Noren Isaksen's blog, Lilian's father left the family when Lilian was quite young. This would then cause her to be quite bitter towards him as it would have impoverished her mother and herself even more. Lilian (from interviews she gave) had no good memories of her childhood, all grim ones with no joy. She left school at 14 to help her mother out financially and it seems she left for London at aged 18 and never looked back. Her mother died when Lilian was 27 and her father was long gone so Bertil became her life.

Her parents didn't divorce until 1939 (Lilian would have been around 24) and that was so they could both remarry others. I'm assuming that Lilian had no contact with her father after he left home when she was young and never re-established contact, something her half sister regretted from the interview she gave. In the 1990s the Swedish press found her half sisters but Lilian refused to meet them as she said "not all divorces are happy"

[LadyFinn]

Lilian's cousin Jean Beamound, 85, tells that queen Silvia called her few days before Lilian's death to tell her that Lilian was very weak and the death was near. The cousins were close, Jean visited Lilian at the last time two years ago.
Lilians okända kusin Vi var som systrar Nyheter Expressen Senaste nytt - Nyheter Sport Nöje TV
Translation

[episcogal]

Thanks, all. I noticed the clips, even Bertil, were in English and I was confused a bit.

[Josefine]

will a duchess crown be seen at the funeral?
what crown do you think we will see