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CoronavirusSweden

COVID-19 prevents Princess Birgitta of Sweden from returning home: “I feel homeless”

Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern, the second oldest sister of the Swedish monarch King Carl XVI Gustaf, is prevented from going home to Spain due to the ongoing pandemic.

The Swedish princess has been unable to return to her home in months because of the coronavirus epidemic that has been raging Europe and the world. Over the last 30 years, the sister of Sweden’s King has been living on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Because COVID-19 has impacted Spain so hard, the 83-year-old Princess is now staying with her Swedish family in Sweden.

Her Royal Highness described the uncertainty on when she can return home as “horrible” to the Swedish newspaper “Expressen.”

When COVID-19 broke out in Sweden, the Princess travelled to Sweden. Since then, she has lived with her brother, the King, and his family at Stenhammar Palace. Now, the Princess has confirmed to the magazine that she has left the Swedish kingdom for Germany to visit her son.

The Swedish King and Queen and some other members of the extended Swedish Royal Family are currently living at Stenhammar Palace during the pandemic. Stenhammar is usually called the royal couple’s “weekend palace” because usually, they usually spend time there on the weekends.

Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern to the left, together with her sister Princess Margaretha of Sweden. Photo: By Frankie Fouganthin – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

However, when the Princess of Sweden and Hohenzollern can return to Mallorca, she does not yet know. The uncertainty weighs on Princess Birgitta who told “Expressen” that she feels homeless.

Princess Birgitta said in an interview with the newspaper this weekend: “What I look forward to most of all now is to go to Mallorca. To my home, being homeless does not feel so great. The uncertainty is terrible.”

When the Princess came to Sweden in March she said that she was glad to be back in Sweden. Princess Birgitta remarked to the newspaper that she has appreciated the time with her brother and sister-in-law. She continued: “Obviously, it has been very nice. I have seen a lot of Sweden. It is very gratifying because I have been away from Sweden for almost 60 years, so that was very positive.”

Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern was born in 1937 as an elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf. In 1961, she married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern. Among her sisters, only she married a man of princely status, and as such, could retain her status as Royal Highness.

Prince Johann Georg and Princess Birgitta had three children before they separated in 1990, although they remained legally married. She lived on the island of Mallorca in Spain, while her husband lived in Munich. He died in 2016.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.