The King's sister Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla was born on 2 June 1938 at Haga Palace, where she grew up with her two older sisters, Margaretha and Birgitta, as well as her five-year-old younger sister Christina, the so-called "Hagasessorna", and, eventually, her younger brother, Crown Prince Carl Gustaf. As a child, she lived a life in the spotlight – the princesses' activities were followed with great interest by the Swedish public.
Désirée studied at the French School in Stockholm, just like her sisters, and then studied French in Switzerland. She graduated with a degree in textiles from Konstfack and trained as a preschool teacher. For a short period, she worked as a preschool teacher at Kungsholmen in Stockholm.
Died in skiing accident
She and Greger Lewenhaupt, the older brother of King Carl XVI Gustaf's friend Carl Adam "Noppe" Lewenhaupt, fell in love; but before they could become engaged, Greger Lewenhaupt died in a skiing accident in 1960.
In 1964, Princess Désirée married Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld, a landowner from Koberg Castle in Västergötland. The wedding took place in the Royal Chapel in Stockholm and the princess wore the same dress her older sister Birgitta had worn at her wedding three years earlier.
According to a well-known story, Désirée was asked by her grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf what kind of jewelry she wanted as a wedding gift.
"I don't want any jewelry. I want a tractor - Niclas needs it for farming," Désirée replied.
“Only as a mother and wife”
The couple had three children – Carl, Christina-Louise and Hélène – and settled in the castle outside Trollhättan, where Princess Désirée lived a quiet family life. She rarely participated in official missions but was still close to the king and the rest of the family and attended celebrations and family gatherings.
"I now see myself only as a mother and wife and do not attach much importance to my princessship. In principle, I think it is wrong to rely on origins and kinship," she said in a rare interview with Svensk Damtidning in 2008.
Princess Désirée became a widow in 2017, when her husband Niclas Silfverschiöld died. Princess Birgitta died in 2024. The last time the "sisters" were seen was during the summer of that year, the court's head of information, Margareta Thorgren, confirmed.
Désirée was 87 years old.
