Sweden: Graves of Princess Désirée and Silfverschiöld family members, Lagmansered church ruins, Trollhättan municipality

Grave of Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (1938–2026).

Last Friday, while on my way to a genealogy conference (Släktforskardagarna 2026) in Borås, I made a short stop at the Lagmansered church ruins in the municipality of Trollhättan. Next to the ruins lies a small cemetery which has a seperate section for the baronial family of Silfverschiöld, whose principal seat is at Koberg Castle not far away.

Princess Désirée, an elder sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, died in January this year and was later interred at the cemetery next to her husband Baron (Friherre) Niclas Silfverschiöld (1934–2017). Her grave plate has not been put in place yet, so I will have to visit the cemetery again another time, maybe next year when I plan to attend Släktforskardagarna 2027 in Jönköping. Naturally I also took photos of the other Silfverschiöld graves before I took off again.

There used to be a stave church built at Lagmansered farm in 1465. It was burned down by the Danes in 1612. A new church was erected during the years 1639–1647, but it was destroyed by fire several times, and afte the last fire in 1929 the community decided to erect a new church at another location closer to Koberg. The new church also has a cemetery, so please have this in mind if you wish to visit the Silfverschiöld graves as they are, as already mentioned, situated in the cemetery at the ruins of the old church.

Her name has oddly enough been misspelt (it should be Désirée, not "Désireé").

Grave of Baron (Friherre) Niclas Silfverschiöld (1934–2017), husband of Princess Désirée.

Grave of Baron Otto Silfverschiöld (1871–1951), grandfather of Niclas.

Grave of Baroness Ingeborg Silfverschiöld, née vom Horn (1873–1953), wife of Otto.

Grave of Baron Carl-Otto Silfverschiöld (1899–1955), father of Niclas.

Grave of Baroness Madeleine Silfverschiöld, née Bennich (1906–1994, first wife of Carl-Otto and mother of Niclas.

Grave of Ambassador Carl Swartz (1920–2008), who was married to Niclas' elder sister Ulla Margareta Silfverschiöld, b. 1932.

Grave of Ebba Ribbing, née Baroness Silfverschiöld (1873–1914), younger sister of Otto, b. 1871.

Grave of Tekla Johansson (1883–1969), who had the title of Kammarjungfru - I suppose that she was employed at Koberg.

The section with the Silfverschiöld graves.

The ruins of the church which was destroyed by fire in 1929.

Updated on Thursday 17 September 2026 at 11:21 (name of Ambassador Swartz corrected).

Sweden: Princess Désirée's funeral service to take place on 19 February 2026

The Swedish Royal Court announced today that the funeral service for Princess Désirée, who died on 21 January 2026, will take place in the Royal Palace Church in Stockholm on Thursday 19 February 2026. After the funeral service the king will held a reception in Princess Sibylla's Apartment at the Royal Palace. The burial will take place at Koberg, but the time has not been disclosed. As mentioned earlier, Princess Désirée's husband Niclas Silfverschiold (1934-2017) is buried with other family members at Lagmansered Cemetery not far from Koberg Palace in Trollhättan municipality.

Sweden: Princess Désirée has passed away

The Swedish Royal court has issued the following statement concerning the death of Princess Désirée, sister of King Carl Gustaf.

21 January 2026

Princess Désirée has passed away

HM The King’s sister Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, passed away peacefully in her home at Koberg in Västergötland on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, surrounded by her family. The Princess was 87 years old.

On the occasion of the death of Princess Désirée, the following statement is made by HM The King:

With great sadness, I have today received the news that my sister, Princess Désirée, has passed away.

Many warm family memories were created in the home of the Silfverschiöld family in Västergötland – a place in Sweden that came to mean a great deal to my sister.

Together with my family, I send my condolences to Princess Désirée’s children and their families.

Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, was the widow of Baron Niclas Silfverschiöld (1934–2017) and lived at Koberg Castle in Västergötland. The Princess leaves behind her three children and their families.

Flags at half mast

HM The King has ordered the flags at Drottningholm Palace and Haga Palace to be flown at half mast on 21 January.

Funeral arrangements

Information regarding Princess Désirée’s funeral will be provided at a later date.

Désirée Elisabeth Sibylla was born at Haga outside Stockholm on 2 June 1938 as the third daughter of Prince Gustaf Adolf (1906–1947) and Princess Sibylla (1908–1972). She married Baron Nils August Otto Carl Niklas Silfverschiold (b. Koberg, Sweden 31 May 1934–d. 11 April 2017), son of Baron Carl-Otto Nils Henning Silverschiöld by his first wife Elsa Madelaine Bennich, in Stockholm on 5 June 1964. The couple had 3 children.

Niclas Silfverschiold (*) is buried with other family members at Lagmansered Cemetery not far from Koberg in Trollhättan municipality.

(*) The baron went by the name Niclas with a "c" even if he legally was named Niklas with a "k".