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Royal News

Three royal weddings, two princesses and just one dress – the sisters who shared a glittering gown

It was a royal wedding with a recycled gown that would end up being worn at three ceremonies. When Princess Desiree of Sweden married Baron Niclas Silfvershiold sixty years ago, she took wedding thrift to new levels by borrowing a dress that one of her sisters had worn already to her two wedding ceremonies.

The bride, Princess Desiree, was the second of the four sisters of Carl Gustaf of Sweden to marry but the first to wed a non royal. In December 1963, she announced her engagement to a member of the Swedish aristocracy, Baron Nils-August Silfverschiold, who was known by his middle name of Niclas. The couple set the date for June 5th 1964, choosing Stockholm Cathedral for their ceremony. But while the setting was traditional, this would be a very different royal wedding.

Desiree arrived at the church wearing the same gown used by her older sister, Birgitta, in 1961. Princess Birgitta had married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollen and their different religions meant two ceremonies. Birgitta wore the same outfit for the civil wedding in Stockholm and for her religious wedding, five days later, in Germany. Three years later, the dress got its royal wedding hat trick when Desiree also wore it.

The gown, by the Swedish atelier Marthaskolan, features a rounded neckline, three quarter length sleeves and a huge, full length skirt spreading out from a fitted bodice. Made of ivory duchess satin, it also has a thirteen feet train. Desiree, like her sister, also wore the Swedish Royal Family’s Cameo Tiara for her wedding but along with a tulle veil, she added a family heirloom. The princess also wore the lace veil that had belonged to the grandmother she never knew, Princess Margaret of Connaught.

The wedding was a happy event and included a glittering reception. Following her marriage, the bride was known as Princess Desiree, Baroness Silfverschiold. She and Niclas had three children and lived happily until his death in 2017.

Sweden’s many June royal weddings are included in the brand new anthology, available from Royal Central. Royal Weddings, A Collection is on sale as a paperback and an ebook at Amazon.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.