Estelle Bernadotte

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Estelle Manville 1928

Estelle Romaine Bernadotte , née Manville (born September 26, 1904 in Pleasantville ( Westchester County , USA), †  May 28, 1984 in Uppsala ) was a US-Swedish woman who was married to the UN diplomat Folke Bernadotte and was involved in international peace movements.

Private life

Estelle Romaine was the only daughter of the industrialist Hiram Edward Manville and his wife Henrietta Estelle Romaine.

In the summer of 1928 she met the nephew of the Swedish King Gustav V , Folke Bernadotte, at a banquet on the Côte d'Azur in Beaulieu-sur-Mer . The couple announced their engagement on August 3, and they were married on December 1 of the same year in their place of birth. This was the first marriage of a member of a European royal family on US soil.

The family had four children, two of whom died in childhood:

  • Gustaf Eduard Bernadotte von Wisborg, (born January 20, 1930 - February 2, 1936) died of surgical complications
  • Count Folke Bernadotte von Wisborg (* February 8, 1931), ⚭ 1955 Christine Glahns (* 1932).
  • Fredrik Oscar Bernadotte from Wisborg (born January 10, 1934 - August 30, 1944)
  • Count Bertil Oscar Bernadotte von Wisborg (born October 6, 1935), ⚭ 1. 1966 Rose-Marie Heering (1942–1967), ⚭ 2. 1981 Jill Georgina Rhodes-Maddox.

On March 3, 1973, she married her second husband Carl Erik Sixten Ekstrand, who she survived. She also took his name and was now called Estelle Ekstrand . She spent most of her retirement years in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in France . She died at the age of 79 after hip surgery in Sweden.

Public work

Estelle Bernadotte in Helsinki in 1949

As a wife, Estelle Bernadotte was involved in her husband's philanthropic work, including his work at the International Red Cross and also in planning the 1945 rescue of prisoners of war from Germany ( White Buses ).

Her husband was used as a mediator in Palestine in May 1948 to negotiate between Israelis and Palestinians. When he was shot on September 17th, Estelle Bernadotte took over the mediation of Ralph Bunche as his successor and organized the peace efforts in the interests of her husband until the arrival of Bunche.

Subsequently, Estelle Bernadotte devoted himself from 1949 to 1957 to leading the Swedish girl guides . At Trygve Lie's request , she was a member of the United Nations Prisoners of War Committee. She got involved with the International Red Cross and supported UNICEF . Under the name of her husband, she set up a foundation for paralyzed children , which she later expanded to include further handicaps in childhood.

Appreciation

The Swedish Princess Estelle of Sweden is believed to have been named in honor of Estelle Bernadotte.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in the archives of the New York Times
  2. ^ New York Times : The Former Esteue Manville's Eldest Child Succumbs After Mastoid Operation . New York Times . February 3, 1936. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  3. ^ New York Times : Bernadotte Infant Dies; Count Frederic Oscar the Son of Former Estelle Manville . New York Times . August 22, 1934. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  4. ↑ a b c Antonius Lux (ed.): Great women of world history. 1000 biographies in words and pictures . Sebastian Lux Verlag , Munich 1963, p. 62.
personal data
SURNAME Bernadotte, Estelle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bernadotte, Estelle Romaine (full name); Manville (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-Swede married to UN diplomat Folke Bernadotte
DATE OF BIRTH September 26, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Pleasantville , Westchester County , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1984
Place of death Uppsala , Uppsala County , Sweden