Prince Gustav marries American writer Carina Axelsson
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After 19 years of dating, Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg has finally married his American girlfriend, Carina Axelsson. Prince Gustav, the nephew of two queens – Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece – was stuck in a legal battle over his inheritance.
In 1939, Gustav’s grandfather, Prince Gustav Albrecht of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg – a German nobleman who served in the Nazi army – wrote a will in which he stipulated the terms of inheritance of the family estate, Berleburg Palace. Conditions of Gustav Albrecht: if married, his heirs had to marry an “Aryan, noble and Protestant” woman.
In 1968, her son Prince Richard married Princess Benedikte of Denmark, the second daughter of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, and the younger sister of the current Queen Margrethe II. Benedikte fulfilled Gustav Albercht’s conditions and Prince Richard was able to inherit Berleburg Palace.
However, Prince Gustav – the eldest son of Princess Benedikte and Prince Richard – did not date an “Aryan, noble and Protestant” woman. Instead, he’s been dating Carina Axelsson, an American-born author of Swedish and Mexican descent, for nearly two decades now.
As The court jeweler explains, in the mid-2000s, “Carina moved into Schloss Berleburg with Gustav, and she often acted as chatelaine to the castle. She even often appeared with a sparkling ruby and diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand. But marriage, it seemed, remained out of the question. If Gustav married Carina before his father died, he would face legal challenges from various cousins in hopes of claiming a property on the estate, which is one of the largest noble estates in Germany today.”
After Prince Richard died in 2017, this legal challenge exploded. Gustav’s great-uncle, Prince Ludwig-Ferdinand, claimed he was Berleburg’s rightful heir due to Gustav and Carina’s relationship, and sued. Carina soon stopped appearing in public with Gustav. Yet in the summer of 2020, German courts found that Gustav met the terms of the will, clearing the way for Gustav to inherit Berleburg and void his grandfather’s Nazi will.
In April 2022, the Danish royal family confirmed that Prince Gustav and Carina Axelsson would finally be married, and the two tied the knot this weekend in the chapel at Berleburg Castle. Many members of the royal family were present, including Gustav’s mother, Princess Benedikte, as well as Danish Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, who served as witnesses.
Carina wore the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Diamond Spike Tiara, a tiara she previously wore during Queen Margrethe II’s 70th birthday celebrations. Scroll through the wedding photos:
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Cleo von Adelsheim, Hereditary Princess of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg, was also present and shared some photos on her Instagram of her transparent dress:
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In an interview with Nose blade published before the wedding, Gustav said: “We are both happy to have only our closest friends and family to celebrate our wedding. We have always said that we do not want a big party, after all this that we have been through.”
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