| Carl Johan Bernadotte | |
| Prince Bernadotte prev. Duke of Dalarna | |
| Full Name: | Carl Johan Arthur |
| Birth Date: | 31 October 1916 |
| Birth Place: | Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Death Place: | Ängelholm, Sweden |
| Burial Date: | 14 May 2012 |
| Burial Place: | Royal Cemetery, Solna, Sweden |
| Father: | Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden |
| Mother: | Margaret of Connaught |
| House: | Bernadotte |
| Spouse: | |
| Issue: | Christian Bernadotte Monica Bernadotte |
Carl Johan Arthur, Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg, (31 October 1916 – 5 May 2012)[1] was the fourth son and fifth and youngest child of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught.[2]
Bernadotte was born a Prince of Sweden and granted the title of Duke of Dalarna but renounced these titles to marry a commoner. He was a paternal uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. He was also the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.
Bernadotte lost his succession rights to the Swedish throne and renounced his titles in 1946 when he married the journalist Elin Kerstin Margaretha Wijkmark (4 October 1910 – 11 September 1987), daughter of Henning Wijkmark and wife Elin Larsson in New York City on 19 February. As his unconstitutional marriage to Wijkmark - enskild mans dotter (daughter of a common man) - could not be approved by the Swedish government, Bernadotte knew he was giving up his Swedish titles and succession rights.
They adopted two children:
The Bernadottes lived for some time in New York City, where he worked as the representative of the Anglo-Nordic Trading Company. They made friends with the film star Greta Garbo, who stayed with them in their Swedish home near Båstad.[3]
On 29 September 1988, the widowed Bernadotte married Countess Gunnila Märtha Louise (Wachtmeister af Johannishus) Bussler (12 May 1923 - 12 September 2016) in Copenhagen and also became the stepfather of her two surviving children from her previous marriage.
When marrying on 19 February 1946 he lost his Swedish royal titles, i.e. Prince of Sweden and Duke of Dalarna. He subsequently assumed the surname Bernadotte, the name of the Swedish Royal Family.
On 2 July 1951, for himself, his wife and his marital descendants, he was admitted by Grand Duchess Charlotte (head of state at the time) into the Luxembourgois nobility with the title Count of Wisborg.[4] and in that conferral was also made Carl Johan Arthur Prince Bernadotte.[5]
Certain Swedish decorations were awarded at birth in 1916 and renounced in 1946.
Sweden: Knight with Collar of the Royal Order of the Seraphim - Revoked Sweden: Commander Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of the Sword - Revoked Sweden: Commander Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of the Polar Star - Revoked and Reconferred (10 April 1952)[6] Sweden: Knight of the Royal Order of Charles XIII - Revoked Sweden: King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1928)[6] Sweden: King Gustaf VI Adolf's Commemorative Medal (1967) Sweden: King Carl XVI Gustaf's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1996)
Denmark: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Elephant
Guatemala: Grand Officer of the Order of the QuetzalOn 29 June 2011, he surpassed his elder brother, Sigvard (1907–2002), as the longest-lived of Queen Victoria's male descendants,[7] a record he would hold until being surpassed by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 13 December 2016. He was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, the last surviving child of Gustaf VI Adolf, and the last surviving grandchild of Gustaf V.