Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland

Lilian died in Stockholm on 10 March 2013, aged 97, sixteen years after her husband. The Royal Palace did not give a cause of death, but she had been in poor health for several years. Her death came as the royal family was preparing for Princess Madeleine’s wedding, and the family interrupted what they were doing to spend her last moments together with her.

In August 2008, Lilian fell and broke her femur in her apartment; and, in February 2009, she again suffered a fall in her home. It was announced on 3 June 2010, that Lilian was afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and was no longer able to appear in public. She lived her final years at Villa Solbacken, her longtime home in the Djurgården area of Stockholm, attended by three nurses.

Prince Bertil died on 5 January 1997 in their home. From 1997 until 2010 Lilian continued to represent the royal family at various engagements and other occasions. She was the patron of many organizations. In 2000, Lilian released a biography of her life with Bertil.

Bertil never had to become regent, since his father, who ascended the throne in 1950, lived long enough to see his grandson, Carl Gustaf, come of age. Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden ascended the throne in 1973, and, having married a commoner himself, he approved Bertil’s and Lilian’s marriage, meaning that Bertil would be able to keep his titles and place in the line of succession, and that Lillian would become a princess. They were married on 7 December 1976 at the church of Drottningholm Palace in the presence of the king and the queen.

In 1943, she met the Swedish Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, in London, reportedly at a cocktail party for her 28th birthday. Soon after their meeting, they became lovers although she was still married to Craig. When she and her husband were reunited after the war, Craig expressed his wish to marry another woman, and they were amicably divorced on 7 November 1947.

Bertil’s older brother, Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, was second in line to the Swedish throne; but he died in 1947. As Gustaf Adolf’s son, Carl Gustaf, was less than one year old, it seemed likely that, when Bertil’s grandfather, King Gustaf V, and father (Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf) died, he would have to serve as regent (other heirs having given up their places in the line of succession because of marriages not acceptable to the king). For this reason, Bertil chose not to marry Lilian, so the couple simply lived together discreetly for more than thirty years. In 1946, Prince Bertil acquired a house in Sainte-Maxime, France, that became their private retreat.

In 1940 Lilian married the Scottish actor Ivan Craig (1912–1995) in Horsham, West Sussex. Shortly after their wedding, Craig joined the British Army and left for Africa, where he saw active service during the Second World War. In his absence, Lilian worked in a factory that made radios for the Royal Navy and at a hospital for wounded soldiers.

Princess Lilian of Sweden, Duchess of Halland (born Lillian May Davies, later Craig; 30 August 1915 – 10 March 2013), was a Welsh fashion model who became a member of the Swedish royal family through her 1976 marriage to Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912–1997). As such, she was a paternal aunt-in-law of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and an aunt-in-law of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.

Lillian May Davies was born on 30 August 1915, in Swansea, South Wales, the daughter of William John Davies, who had a market stall after working in a coal mine, and his wife Gladys Mary (née Curran), a shop assistant. The site of the terraced house where they lived is now beneath the Quadrant Shopping Centre. Her parents separated in the 1920s, but they were not divorced until 1939. She moved to London when she was 16. She dropped one ‘l’ from her first name when she became a fashion model. She was photographed for magazines such as Vogue.