The details of the last will of the late Princess Lilian of Sweden are once again being debated by the country’s press. And the details show that siblings Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine were treated very differently by their aunt when it came to inheritance.
Princess Lilian died in 2013, at the age of 97, in her home, Villa Solbacken on Djurgården in Stockholm. Princess Lilian was married to Prince Bertil, uncle of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustav. When Princess Lilian died, she left a fortune of 78 million Swedish kroner, about 7.6 million Euros. This summer, Swedish media is again looking at where her possessions went.
Princess Lilian and Prince Bertil were especially close to Carl Philip. He was their godson and Carl Philip and Bertil shared a great passion for cars. Princess Lilian was very fond of Carl Philip. It therefore quickly became known in 2013 that the prince was to inherit the property Villa Solbacken from the widow of his father’s uncle.
The newspaper Expressen managed to obtain the essential information from the will and the estate register, and was therefore able to reveal who got what. King Carl Gustaf inherited Princess Lilian`s collection of photographs, art and some objects of great family value. Queen Silvia, who was one of Lilian’s closest friends, received five million Swedish crowns and several valuable pieces of jewellery.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip were very close to Lilian and Prince Bertil. They regarded Lilian and Bertil as a kind of grandparents. Crown Princess Victoria received Lilian’s favourite tiara, which formerly belonged to Princess Margaret of Connaught, Bertil’s mother. It was made by the French jewellery company Boucheron in Paris and consists of silver, gold and diamonds. Victoria wore the tiara to Madeleine’s wedding in June 2013, three months after Lilian’s death.
Princess Madeleine’s relationship with Princess Lilian wasn’t as well known. She inherited from her great-aunt an antique ring.
However, a year after the death of the princess, it was Madeleine who honoured her by naming her first child in her memory. Her elder daughter is Princess Leonore Lilian Maria of Sweden.
