The marriage of the Swedish Prince Gustaf Adolf and British Princess Margaret of Connaught (daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria, and his wife, Princess Luise of Prussia) on 15 June 1905 was probably the most important social and media event that year in Sweden.
The Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag had extensive coverage of the wedding at Windsor Castle and Princess Margareta's (as she was called in Sweden) first months in her new home country.
In 1907, when Gustaf Adolf's father, Crown Prince Gustaf, acceeded to the throne as King Gustaf V in 1907, the couple became Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden.
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| This wedding photograph by King Edward's official photographer Downey shows the newly married together with their bridesmaids, Princess Patricia of Connaught (behind the bride), Princess Mary of Wales (seated) and the Princesses Eva of Battenberg and Beatrice of Sachsen-Coburg. All looking very serious, which probably was the custom at the time in this kind of photographs. |
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| Prince Gustaf Adolf , accompanied by the princes Vilhelm and Eugen, on his way to St. George's Chapel at Windsor. |
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| The official wedding photo. |
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| A portrait of Princess Margaret by Lafayette Ltd, London. |
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| Princess Margareta and Prince Gustaf Adolf photographed on board the Swedish Royal Navy yacht Drott , which took them the Sweden after the wedding. |
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| Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Margareta arrive at Sofiero Palace on July 22, 1905. |
On July 22 the newly weds, who also bore the titles Duke and Duchess of Scania, arrived at the Sofiero Palace in Helsingborg, which they had received as a wedding gift from King Oscar. Later on the Prince and the Princess were to spend many summers at Sofiero. Princess Margareta, who was inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement, totally recreated the palace gardens.Through her work, which included the books Vår trädgård på Sofiero ("Our Garden at Sofiero") and Från blomstergården ("From the Flower Garden") illustrated with her own drawings and photographs, she introduced the modern English garden in Sweden.
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| While at Sofiero, the Duke and Duchess of Scania acquainted themselves with the local community. Here they are visiting a mine in Höganäs. |
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| Princess Margareta and Prince Gustaf Adolf visiting a pipe factory in Hoganäs in 1905. |
The marriage between Margaret and Gustaf Adolf has been described as a happy love match, but it ended in a tragedy. On 1 May 1920 the Princess died suddenly in Stockholm due to an infection following a mastoid operation. At the time, she was eight months pregnant and expecting her sixth child. In an announcement Swedish Prime Minister Hjalmar Branting said the Stockholm Royal Palace's ray of sun had gone out.
The beautiful Sofiero Palace Gardens are still a lasting monument to the British princess who once was destined to become the Queen of Sweden.
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