The Swedish and Danish royal families will be in mourning following the death of Countess Marianne Bernadotte on Friday. The royal was 100 at the time of her passing.
The news was confirmed by the Swedish palace who paid tribute to Marianne. In a statement, they highlighted her work on supporting causes that offered research and care for people living with conditions like dementia, paediatric eye care and disabilities.
Paediatric eye care was a particular interest for the late royal; in 1989, she and her late husband, Count Sigvard Bernadotte, founded the Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte Research Foundation for Paediatric Eye Care.
She has also served as an honorary chair of the Swedish Dyslexia Association and Swedish Dyslexia Foundation.
The late royal also embodied her late husband's love of the arts and has previously designed clothes, with the garments being shown in exhibitions around Sweden. Her love of fashion extended to what she wore, and the royal was previously named as one of the ten best-dressed women in the world.
Before her marriage to Count Sigvard in 1961, she was married to Gabriel Tchang, the son of the Chinese ambassador to Sweden. The former couple, who were an item between 1941 and 1957, welcomed three children, Robert, Richard and Marie.
Sadly, Marianne had to live through two of her children's deaths. Richard died as a child when he was just two, while Robert died at the age of 64 in 2012. She is survived by her daughter.
Countess Marianne was King Carl Gustaf's last surviving aunt, and the royal was also the aunt of Denmark's Queen Margrethe and Greece's Queen Anne-Marie.
Recent royal heartbreak
The Swedish royals recently had to endure another death after Carl Gustaf's sister, Princess Birgitta, died at the age of 87 on 4 December 2024.
In a statement, Carl Gustaf said: "With great sadness today I received the news that my sister, Princess Birgitta, has passed away.
"My sister was a colourful and forthright person who will be deeply missed by me and my family. Together with my entire family, today I send my condolences to Princess Birgitta's children and grandchildren."
Birgitta spent the latter years of her life living on the island of Mallorca, where she developed a passion for golf and had her own tournament.