Birthdays of Count Carl Johan Bernadotte and Emanuela de Dampierre

Two Royal Nonagenarians – Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg and Emmanuelle de Dampierre, Duchess of Segovia – celebrated their respective 93rd and 96th birthdays recently.

Count Carl Johan Bernadotte was born as Prince Carl Johan Arthur of Sweden, Duke of Dalarna, on October 31, 1916 as the fifth and youngest child of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (later King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden) and Crown Princess Margaret of Connaught.

He had 3 older brothers – Gustav Adolf (born 1906), Sigvard (born 1907) and Bertil (born 1912), and a sister – Ingrid (born 1910). In 1920, when Carl Johan was only 3 years old, Crown Princess Margaret died of an infection following surgery; she was 8 months pregnant with her sixth child.

In 1946, Prince Carl Johan married Elin Wijkmark. Upon the marriage, Carl Johan lost his succession rights and renounced all titles as his wife was not of equal rank, thus making the marriage morganatic. Carl Johan and Elin didn’t have any biological issue but they adopted two children:

Monica Kristina Margaretha Bernadotte (born March 5, 1951). She was adopted in 1951. Monica married Johan Peder Grefve Bonde af Björnö in 1976: they have 3 children – Ebba Kristina (born October 20, 1980), Marianne Cecilia (born September 29, 1982) and Carl Johan (born April 14, 1984). Monica and Johan Peder divorced in 1997.

Christian Carl Henning Bernadotte (born December 3, 1949). He was adopted in 1950. Christian married Marianne Jenny in 1980: they have 3 children – Christina Margaretha (born May 28, 1983), Richard Carl (born June 8, 1985) and Philip Carl (born May 18, 1988).

In 1951, Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg created Carl Johan Count of Wisborg. Following the death of Elin in 1987, Count Carl Johan married Countess Gunnilla Marianne Lindberg Wachtmeister af Johannishus on September 29, 1988.

Count Carl Johan is Queen Victoria’s last surviving great-grandchild. Should he live until June 29, 2011, he will surpass his elder brother Sigvard as the longest lived of Queen Victoria’s male descendants.

Victoire Jeanne Joséphine Emmanuelle (Emanuela) de Dampierre was born on November 8, 1913 to Don Roger de Dampierre, 2nd Duke of San Lorenzo, Viscount of Dampierre, Nobleman of Viterbo and Donna Vittoria Ruspoli (daughter of Emanuele Ruspoli, 1st Prince of Poggio Suasa and Mary Curtiss).

Emanuela was a businesswoman in her own right when she met Infante Jaime, 1st Duke of Segovia, the second son of King Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg.

After a short romance, the pair married in Rome on March 4, 1935. Because Donna Vittoria was not born a Princess of Royal descent, Alfonso XIII did not consider Alfonso in line of the succession to the Spanish Throne in accordance with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1776. The couple had 2 sons, named after Infante Jaime’s haemophiliac brothers, Alfonso and Gonzalo:

Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz (born April 20, 1936). In 1972, he married Dona Maria del Carmen Martinez-Bordin y Franco, daughter of Don Cristabal, 10th Marquess of Villaverde and Dona Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco (the only daughter of General Franco). They had two sons: Don Francisco Alfonso de Borbon y Martinez-Bordin, Duc de Bourbon (born on November 22, 1972) and Don Luis-Alfonso de Borbon y Martinez-Bordin (born in 1974). Alfonso and Carmen separated in 1979. They received a civil divorce 1982 and an annulment in 1986. Alfonso was recognized by French legitimists as King Alphonse III of France. On February 7, 1984, Alfonso was driving home with his sons from a ski trip in the Pyrenees when his car collided with a truck. His eldest son Francisco was killed in the accident. He and his younger son Louis Alfonso suffered very serious injuries. Alfonso, Duke of Anjou died in a skiing accident 5 years later, on January 30, 1989.

Gonzalo, Duke of Aquitaine (born June 5, 1937). In 1959, his engagement to Dorothy Marguerite Fritz was announced. Dorothy, a wealthy heiress and the owner of the Huntington Hotel, was the daughter of Nicholas Eugene Fritz: the marriage never took place. In 1983, Gonzalo married Maria del Carmen Harto y Monteallegre in Mexico; they received a civil divorce just 3 months later, before the marriage had been registered in Spain. A year later, in 1984, he married Maria de las Mercedes Licer y Garcia, who was 26 years younger than Gonzalo. They separated in July 1985, were civilly divorced in 1989, and received a religious annulment in 1994. In 1992, Gonzalo married Emanuela Pratolongo (23 years younger than him). Gonzalo had no children from any of his marriages. He, however, did have an illegitimate daughter, Stephanie, by Sandra Lee Landry, whom he officially recognized. Stephanie Michelle de Borbon was born on June 19, 1968. She married Richard Carl McMasters II in Palm Beach County, Florida on July 27, 1995. The couple has 5 sons: Nicholas (born in 1994), Christian (born in 1995), Jaime (born in 1996), Richard (born in 1998) and Alexander (born in 2004). Nicholas and Christian were born before their parents’ marriage. Gonzalo, Duke of Aquitaine died of leukaemia on May 27, 2000.

Don Jaime and Emanuela de Dampierre divorced on 1947 in Bucharest. The divorce, though recognized by the Italian courts in 1949, was never recognized in Spain: although in 1949 Don Jaime re-married civilly to Charlotte Tiedemann, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church and of the French legitimists, Emanuela de Dampierre remained his wife. Emanuele also re-married civilly in 1949 to Antonio Sozzani; they had no children together.

Infante Jaime was left deaf-mute as a result of childhood operation and because of this, he had renounces his rights to the Spanish Throne for himself and his descendants. In 1941, however, on the death of his father, he became the senior legitimate heir male of the House of Capet and proclaimed himself the legitimate heir to the French throne and head of the House of Bourbon. French legitimists recognized him as King Henry VI and his wife (Emanuela) as Queen of France. Although Jaime briefly took back his renunciation of the Throne of Spain, he eventually renounced the Spanish succession for the second time in favour of his nephew, current King Juan Carlos, after a personal petition of his elder son Alfonso.

The husband, son and grandson of the Duchess of Segovia have been recognized by the French legitimists as rightful claimants of the Throne of France.

Filed under France, Spain, Sweden
Tagged Biography, Birthday, Count Carl Johan Bernadotte af Wisborg, Emmanuelle de Dampierre, House of Bourbon-Parma.