Duchies in Sweden


Duchies in Sweden have been allotted since the 13th century to powerful Swedes, almost always to princes of Sweden and wives of the latter. From the beginning these duchies were often centers of regional power, where their dukes and duchesses had considerable executive authority of their own, under the central power of their kings or queens regnant. Since the reign of King Gustav III the titles have practically been nominal, with which their bearers only rarely have enjoyed any ducal authority, though often maintaining specially selected leisure residences in their provinces and some limited measure of cultural attachment to them.

Today

In Sweden today, Duke is considered a dynastical title, and is only given to members of the Royal House. Unlike British dukedoms, for example, these Swedish titles are not hereditary. Modern Swedish duchies have always been named for the historical provinces of Sweden, which are no longer governmental entities. Currently, there are twelve such duchies one of which includes two of the provinces:
The titles today are given to, and kept by, legitimate members of the Swedish royal family for life, except for Swedish monarchs, who do not continue to hold ducal titles after ascending the throne. Only in connection with his ascension in 1973 has the current king occasionally been referred to as King of Sweden and Duke of Jämtland. He became the Duke of Jämtland after his christening, and held that title until his ascension to the Swedish throne in 1973. However, his wife, current Queen Silvia, whom he married in 1976, is not a duchess, and no other queen consorts have ever continued to have any such title either, after their husbands became King. Otherwise, royal spouses of ducal title holders are also created dukes and duchesses upon marriage. The first example of a man acquiring the Swedish ducal title of a woman was at the 2010 marriage of Crown Princess Victoria to Prince Daniel. Currently the prerequisite for a ducal title has been assumed by the public to be the position of Prince or Princess of Sweden, and for that being a Swedish citizen, however no definite policy has been published.

History

The first use in Swedish of the title of hertig was in 1266 by Prince Magnus, son of Princess Ingeborg and Birger Jarl. That title then replaced the older Nordic "jarl", both translated into the Latin title dux, However, professor of art history Jan Svanberg is of the opinion that since Birger Jarl was depicted with a ducal coronet of English and continental European design, he actually was a duke, and that his Latin title of Dux Sueorum should be given as Duke and Regent of Sweden in English. Svanberg's opinion would then make duchesses of both of Birger's wives Ingeborg and Matilda, in English usage.
In the 13th and 14th century, kings of the Bjälbo dynasty gave his sons duchies to rule as fiefs. The geography of these duchies could be unclear, as they were not always within the boundaries of one province and could also be reallotted with territorial changes. Feuds between a king and ducal brothers were common, and ended at times in assassination and fratricide. There was only one non-royal Swedish duke, Bengt Algotsson, Duke of Halland and Finland in 1350s. The tradition was discontinued during the Kalmar union.
After the Kalmar Union period, just before his death in 1560, King Gustav I took up the tradition by making his sons John, Magnus and Carl powerful dukes, together ruling much more of the kingdom than their older half-brother Eric, who had held a duchy in the southeast. When Eric became King Eric XIV, the imbalance of power his father had created became destructive. John, with the aid of Carl, eventually revolted, dethroned Eric and became king; Magnus proved unimportant due to mental health issues, but Carl's duchy of Södermanland prospered as a separate territory for several decades and also made his eventual rise to the throne possible. His duchy was inherited by his younger son, Carl Philip, who died in 1622 having been the last holder of one of the semi-autonomous Swedish duchies, which his brother, King Gustav II Adolph, officially abolished in 1618.
During the subsequent rule of Queen Christina of Sweden, however, her cousin and heir Carl Gustav of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken was titled Duke of Öland by the Swedish sovereign herself, but her government refused to acknowledge that title officially. His father was created Duke of Stegeborg in 1651, a title that a younger brother of Carl Gustav's eventually inherited.
In 1772, King Gustav III reinstated the appointment of dukes, now non-hereditary, for his brothers as courtesy titles, which added to their international prestige and domestic influence. Since then, all Swedish princes have been created dukes of a province at birth, as well as one Great Prince or Grand Duke of Finland. During the 20th century, because of constitutional restraints, several princes gave up their royal titles for marriages that were not approved by the King. Whether or not they then actually lost their ducal titles too has never been formally or legally determined.
For the first time since the 14th century a princess of Sweden was created duchess in her own right in 1980, coinciding with the amendment of the Act of Succession allowing female succession to the throne. Thus, King Carl XVI Gustaf's eldest daughter Victoria became Crown Princess and received the title of Duchess of Västergötland. Her younger sister Madeleine was the first princess to be created duchess at birth, and also the first to get a double duchy, roughly corresponding with the modern governmental limits of Gävleborg County. Such modern ducal titles are handled by the King of Sweden personally, are unregulated by law and not registered as names in the Swedish Tax Agency's population census.
Now the title holders are mainly known domestically as Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia, Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel, Prince Julian, Princess Ines, Princess Madeleine, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Princess Adrienne though the ducal titles often are included in formal communication and royal court usage. In writing to them, it is considered correct to address all of them but the Crown Princess by ducal title. As of 1772, the dukes and duchesses do not normally reside permanently within their duchies, though they are associated with them to some extent by making occasional visits, seen as beneficial to public relations for the County Administrative Boards and local business.
File:Birger jarl.jpg|thumb|Birger Jarl wears a ducal coronet of European style in a contemporary bust.

List of dukes and duchesses by duchy in Sweden

Since Magnus III of Sweden was the first bearer of the Swedish title hertig, this list begins, in the chronological aspect, with him.
This list of dukes and duchesses in Sweden excludes minor duchies as well as dominions such as Estonia and Bremen-Verden. For ease of reference, most provinces are listed by their modern Swedish names with Latin or English exonyms, by which many past dukes have been known, given as alternatives. Years given are those during which ducal titles incontestably were held, regardless of subsequent status as monarchs or former royalty. Since the accession of Charles XIII in 1809, the Royal Court of Sweden has neither recognized that ducal titles are continued to be borne by kings, nor that those were still valid that had been given to princes who subsequently lost their royal status. There is also no evidence that domestic provincial ducal titles continued to be borne by kings in earlier eras.

Sweden and Swealand">Svealand">Swealand (''Dux Sueorum'' as ''hertig'')

Title held NameNotes
1252–1275Prince Magnusappointed, became King 1275, died 1290
1275Prince Ericappointed, died with title
1284–1310Prince Ericappointed, gave up title 1310, then Duke of Dalsland, North Halland, Värmland & Västergötland
1318–1321Princess Ingeborgwidow of previous Eric, appointed & held this title in her own right as regent, continued as Duchess of North Halland
Title discontinued 1321

[Ångermanland] also known as ''Angermannia''

[Blekinge] also known as ''Blekingia''

[Dalarna] also known as ''Dalecarlia''

[Dalsland] also known as ''Dalia''

''East Gothland'': see Östergötland

''Eyland'': see Öland

Finland

Title held NameNotes
1284–1291Benedictappointed, also Bishop of Linköping, died with title
1302–1318Valdemarappointed, also Duke of Uppland & Öland from 1310, died with titles
1302–1305Christinaas first wife of Waldemar above, until divorce
1312–1353Ingeborgas second wife and widow of Valdemar above, deposed, continued as Duchess of Öland in her own right, died c.1357
1353–1357Benedictappointed, deposed, also Duke of Halland until 1356, died c.1360
1556–1563Johnappointed, deposed, became King of Sweden & Finland 1569, died 1592
1562–1563Catherineas wife of Prince John above, deposed, became queen in 1569, died in 1583
1589–1606Johnfrom birth, deposed, continued as Duke of East Gothland, died with that title 1618
1580s–1599Kings John III &
Sigmund		as monarchs also held the nominal title of Grand Duke of Finland, simultaneously with John just above
1606–1632Gustav Adolphappointed, also Duke of Estonia 1607-1618, Södermanland 1604-1607 & Västmanland 1610-1611, became King of Sweden and Finland in 1611

From the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, Grand duke of Finland was a part of the official titles of the king of Sweden until the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in 1809.