In The News

Welsh born Princess Lilian of Sweden passes away

Welsh born Princess Lilian of Sweden passes away

THE death has taken place of the Welsh-born Princess Lilian of Sweden. She was 97.

Born Lilian Davies in Swansea, she was already married when she met and fell in love with Sweden’s Prince Bertil. They met in London during the Second World War.

Despite divorcing her husband two years after meeting the Prince, the couple were eventually to wait more than 30 years before getting married.

The couple’s romance had been called a real-life Cinderella story by the Swedish press, but the Prince’s father, King Gustaf VI, had refused to give permission for a marriage — fearing that it could jeopardise the future of the Monarchy.

A brother of Prince Bertil’s, Prince Sigvard, would eventually relinquish his right to the throne in order to marry a commoner, but this option was closed to the Bertil himself. This was because his eldest brother, Prince Gustav Adolf, was killed in a plane crash in 1947. Although the Prince had left a male heir, the child was only 1-year-old and until he came of age, Prince Bertil would remain next in line to the throne.

With marriage impossible, the couple opted to live discreetly in France. In 1973, Bertil’s nephew Carl Gustaf became King and three years later permission was granted for the couple, who were by then in their sixties, to marry.

Princess Lilian went on to perform many public duties with her husband and was widely accepted by the Swedish people who had respected the fact that she had shown such undying love for the Prince.

When Prince Bertil passed away in 1997, Princess Lilian continued to fulfill a number of Royal engagements. But in 2010 it was revealed that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

View previous In the News items: Canadian country legend Tom Connors passes away, Tributes are paid to jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball, Rock guitarist Alvin Lee passes away, Bobby Rogers of The Miracles passes away, Tributes are paid to former businessman Sir George Quigley, Remains are returned to Donegal after 180 years, Classical pianist Van Cliburn passes away, Former Temptations singer Richard Street passes away, Former aircraft company chief Sir Philip Foreman passes away, Tributes are paid to the designer of the Daleks, Award winning animator Bob Godfrey passes away, Kevin Ayers of sixties band Soft Machine passes away, Beatles pay tribute to early collaborator Tony Sheridan, Gameshow host Derek Batey passes away, Tributes are paid to the actor Richard Briers, American country singer Mindy McCready is dead at 37, Tributes are paid to screenwriter Alan Sharp, Film special effects expert Petro Vlahos passes away, Government agency updates service for bereaved relatives, Dave Clark Five member Rick Huxley passes away, Tributes are paid to table tennis player who helped make history, Tributes are paid to movie makeup artist Stuart Freeborn, Onedin Line star Peter Gilmore passes away, Actor Robin Sachs passes away, Remains found beneath carpark are those of King Richard III, Funeral of veteran sports journalist Malcolm Brodie takes place, Tributes are paid to former New York mayor Ed Koch, Artist and writer Ceija Stojka passes away, Wildlife filmmaker Eamon de Buitlear passes away, Journalist and historian Stanley Karnow passes away, Funeral takes place of Una Finnegan, Funeral takes place of veteran campaigner Inez McCormack, Film director and restaurant critic Michael Winner passes away, American civil rights pioneer James Hood passes away, Tributes are paid to actress Sophiya Haque, Actor Conrad Bain passes away, Tributes are paid to teacher saved by Oskar Schindler, Crossword setter uses puzzle to reveal he is dying, Broadcaster and historian Robert Kee passes away, Tributes are paid to former fast food executive Fred Turner, Oldest man in Britain Reg Dean passes away, Listen with Mother presenter Daphne Oxenford passes away, Former British prisoner of war passes away, Singer Patti Page passes away, Actor Harry Carey Jnr passes away, Tributes are paid to soul singer Fontella Bass, Former England cricket captain Tony Greig passes away, Gulf War general Norman Schwarzkopf passes away, Tributes are paid to the creator of Thunderbirds, Record holding woman dies aged 115 or Tributes are paid to former newsreader Kenneth Kendall

If you have a relative or a friend who has passed away and feel they should be mentioned in our In the News section, then please email us.