Sibylla weds her Swedish prince

all images: Marlene A. Eilers Koenig collection

October 20, 1932

Hereditary Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were married today in Coburg in "the most colorful wedding Germany has witnessed in many years.

The city came to a standstill as local citizens came out to watch the wedding procession.

Princess Sibylla was radiant as she arrived at St. Moritz church with her father, Carl Eduard, the former reigning duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She wore a white silk gown, "a myrtle wreath and a costly heirloom veil." The bride was attended by eight bridesmaids, all of whom also wore white, except for blue shoes and blue headbands. Sibylla's train, which had been owned by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, was carried by her 13-year-old brother, Prince Friedrich Josias, and Countess Dagmar Bernadotte af Wisborg, a cousin of the groom.

A reception followed the Lutheran ceremony at the Congress Hall in the Veste, a medieval castle that sits high on a hill above Coburg.

German president Hindenburg sent his congratulations, as did Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm II sent the bride and groom a coffee service.

The bride's father received a congratulatory telegram from Adolf Hitler, where he expressed admiration for Carl Eduard's "courageous attitude toward our sorely tried people." Carl Eduard, a grandson of Queen Victoria, and a British prince by birth was stripped of his British titles, including his peerage, Duke of Albany, in 1918 by the British Parliament. This was due to the prince who served with the German military during the first world war.

Duke Carl Eduard was committed to the National Socialism cause. Nazi flags fluttered next to Swedish flags on the wedding day, and German officials, including the Burgermeister, wore Nazi uniforms to the wedding.

The couple will spend their honeymoon in Italy.

The bride and groom, who are second cousins, are both descendants of Queen Victoria. Gustaf Adolf's late mother, Princess Margaret of Connaught, and Sibylla's father were first cousins.