On the late afternoon of Saturday, June 4, 2022, His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Miss Carina Lynn Axelsson held their religious wedding ceremony inside the private chapel at Schloss Berleburg. The day before, the couple exchanged vows during theircivil marriage ceremony held inside the Orangerie behind Schloss Berleburg.
The bride wore a custom bridal gown and veil by Danish designer, Ms. Birgit Hallstein. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark served as the Best Man. Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was the Maid of Honor.
In an interview with the Danish magazine, Billed Bladet, prior to the wedding, the bride noted that she made the altar cloth for the religious wedding ceremony:
“I have made a new altar cloth. A beautiful tablecloth adorned with embroidery, which I found a few years ago and which Prince Gustav’s grandmother, Princess Margareta, had intended to be used for the altar. I found them in a box with a small note attached stating that one day they could be used for an altar cloth. I followed the instructions and did exactly as she wanted it done, according to the drawings.”
The eighty guests attended Saturday’s religious wedding ceremony including Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Her Serene Highness Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Countess Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, Count Richard von Pfel un Klein-Ellguth, Countess Ingrid Alexandra von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark, Their Highnesses Hereditary Prince Hubertus and Hereditary Princess Kelly of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Baron Otto and Baroness Helle Reedtz-Thott, Her Highness Hereditary Princess Cleopatra of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg and her husband, Ms. Ellen Hillingsø and her husband, Mr. Christoffer Castenskiold, Mr. and Mrs. Jens Hillingsø, Mr. and Mrs. Erik Axelsson, Ms. Liselotte Axelsson to name a few. Unfortunately, Miss Axelsson’s parents, Bertil and Alicia Axelsson, did not attend today’s wedding ceremony.
Upon her marriage to Prince Gustav, Miss Carina Axelsson will now be known as Carina, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.
Congrats to the couple!
Photos courtesy of Ms. Sophia Noelle/Wedding Novelle/Danish Royal Court
On Friday, June 3, 2022, His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his longtime partner, Miss Carina Lynn Axelsson, were married, civilly, at the Orangerie behind Schloss Berleburg in Bad Berleburg, Germany.
According to the German press agency, DPA, the couple exchanged vows in the late afternoon in front of 40 guests including Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Danish actress Ms. Ellen Hillingsø and her husband, Mr. Christoffer Castenskiold, to name a few. After the ceremony, Prince Gustav and Princess Carina along with their guests had an intimate dinner at Schloss Berleburg.
The religious ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 4, in the late afternoon in front of 80 guests inside the Schloss Berleburg private chapel. A spokesperson for Prince Gustav and Princess Carina confirmed that the ceremony will be “very private”. Moreover, the guest list and photos will not be released to the media.
The couple’s spokesperson also noted that the media and the public were not welcome at the wedding nor allowed in front of Schloss Berleburg. A Bad Berleburg police spokesman said that part of Schloss Berleburg park had been closed and privacy screens had been installed. However, I can confirm that the Danish magazine, Billed Bladet, is currently in Bad Berleburg to cover the wedding in full detail. Furthermore, knowing how close several journalists from Billed Bladet are to the couple I believe there will be a 90% chance Their Serene Highnesses Prince Gustav and Princess Carina will allow the publication to release their official wedding portrait.
Days before the wedding Prince Gustav and Carina sat down for a lengthy interview with Billed Bladet to talk about their relationship, life, the court case and more. When asked why they wanted an intimate wedding Prince Gustav said, ”…we are both happy to have only our closest friends and family to celebrate our wedding. We always said we did not want a big party. Also after all that we have been through.”
Carina adds, ” It’s great with a quiet wedding, as it was held 100 years ago. Also, only the closest of friends and family will attend.”
Throughout the interview, Prince Gustav and Carina repeatdly stated that the wedding itself is what they are most looking forward to:
“Yes, after all that we have had to go through, it is now, so to speak, a great pleasure to make our relationship official by getting married. And after at least five years of stress, and there have also been difficult years before, it is great to be able to celebrate our wedding with our family and friends.”
Later in the interview, Carina was asked about her relationship with Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Her Royal Highness Princess Marie of Denmark:
“We have great chemistry… I do not know. Maybe because we have all come into the family from the outside. And, then we have a lot in common. Princess Marie is French and I have lived in France for a long time. We share a common understanding and share a great interest in French and Danish culture.
The Crown Princess, like me, likes horses and nature. And then she is deeply committed to everything she does. And then she understands the dynamics of coming from far away into a family that has a long history. We all three remind each other in terms of personality…”
The couple also spoke about their four dogs, Jane, Zadie, Anna and Alice. Apparently, the couple’s sweet dogs — two Labs and two English Spaniels — will be apart of Saturday’s wedding celebrations.
In the latest edition of the Danish magazine, Billed Bladet, His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Miss Carina Lynn Axelsson announced they will marry on Friday, June 3, 2022.
The civil marriage ceremony will take place inside the Orangerie behind Schloss Berleburg in Bad Berleburg, Germany, in front of 40 guests. The religious ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 4, 2022, at the private chapel at Schloss Berleburg.
In the interview, the happy couple went on to say how relieved they are now that they are free to marry. Prince Gustav states that “…after at least five years of stress, and there have also been difficult years before, it’s great to be able to celebrate our wedding with our family and friends.” The soon-to-be Princess Carina of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg also noted that her family, who will be at the wedding, are:
“…very happy on my behalf. Yes, because of the wedding, but it’s even more about the fact that the trial is over and we can now live as we want..“
When asked about the trial he endured for five years with his great uncle, Prince Ludwig-Ferdinand, over the estate of Schloss Berleburg and its vast lands, Prince Gustav said:
“I personally was under a lot of pressure. It was not easy, and there I must say that I could handle the situation in a calm way, because I had always been used to my father, who was very strict and impulsive.”
Miss Axelsson goes on to say:
“As long as the trial ran, Prince Gustav was not the owner of the castle. There was no owner and therefore he was treated as a tenant when a trustee was appointed who set the guidelines for the use of the castle. Prince Gustav was only allowed to use a few rooms at the castle and could not drive around the forest as an owner can…”
In July 2020, Prince Gustav won the case against his greedy great uncle in a German High Court. As a result, Prince Gustav was declared the rightful heir and owner of the multi-million dollar estate (some even say that the estate is worth a billion, but that’s just gossip at this point).
An update regarding today’s big announcement: His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Miss Carina Axelsson will marry on June 4, 2022.
It has yet to be announced where the couple will marry. Most likely, it will be at the Evangelische Stadtkirche in Bad Berleburg where Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Mr. Alexander Johannsmann were married in 2010 and where the funeral of the late His Serene Highness Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg took place.
***UPDATE: The ceremony will take place in the private chapel at Schloss Berleburg.
On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, the Danish royal court confirmed to the magazine, Billed Bladet, that His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleberg will finally marry his longtime love, Miss Carina Lynn Axelsson! YAY!!
Prince Gustav and Miss Axelsson met at a dinner party in Paris in late 2003. In an interview with Billed Bladet, ten years ago, the prince — who is the only son of Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte of Denmark and the late His Serene Highness Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg — recalled how he met Miss Axelsson:
“I had accepted an invitation to dinner by some friends in Paris. A couple of friends, one knew Carina and one knew me. It was a set-up. I had come to meet Carina and that second her mobile phone rang. All the mobile phones kept ringing throughout the dinner. After the dinner finished, Carina had turned on her phone again. I took her number and called her up from another part of the room and love began.”
Months later, Miss Axelsson moved into the stunning Schloss Berleburg in Bad Berleburg, Germany. Since then, Miss Axelsson has been warmly welcomed into the royal fold by the entire Danish royal family along with other reigning and non-reigning houses throughout Europe including the Swedish royal family and the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha. In fact, Miss Axelsson is godmother to His Highness Prince Philipp Hubertus Andreas Christian of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha, son of another American princess, Her Highness Princess Kelly of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha.
For years, royal watchers were wondering why Prince Gustav and Miss Axelsson haven’t married. Unfortunately, there was a clause in his late grandfather’s, Prince Gustav Albrecht, Will that stated that his heir, which he deliberately passed to Prince Gustav not Prince Richard, had to marry an Aryan woman of noble descent.
Nonetheless, Prince Gustav and Miss Axelsson continued to attend all the glittering royal events throughout Europe including the wedding of Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Mr. Daniel Westling in 2010 and the royal wedding between His Royal Highness Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Miss Tatiana Blatnik in 2010. The couple also attended baptisms, Danish royal family gatherings, birthday parties and much more.
On March 13, 2017, His Serene Highness Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg passed away at the age of 82. Everyone in the family were devasted by the loss of their beloved prince. Thereafter, Prince Gustav and Miss Axelsson were rarely seen in public together. As time went on, Miss Axelsson eventually moved to Dorset, England while Prince Gustav stayed at Schloss Berleburg in Germany to take care of the land and the house he inherited.
After the death of his father, Prince Gustav battled with his great-uncle, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand, in a German court regarding as to whom is the rightful heir to the estate of Schloss Berleburg and the private fortune worth 500 Million Euros ($527,795,000.00). On July 30, 2020, the German Higher Regional Court sided with Prince Gustav. Via a press release from the Higher Regional Court (translated):
“The inheritance dispute over the assets in the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg house has been decided: the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm confirms the decision of the Bad Berleburg Agricultural Court from the first instance, so that Gustav Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg is the legal heir. The 10th Civil Senate – Senate for Agricultural Matters – of the Hamm Higher Regional Court rejected the appeal against the decision of the Bad Berleburg Agricultural Court of April 18, 2019. With its decision of July 23, the Senate confirmed the decision of the Bad Berleburg Agricultural Court, which was largely correct in terms of its reasoning, after a – by law – non-public hearing of the persons involved in the process on July 14, 2020.”
As a result of the ruling, the prince was officially recognized as the heir to the estate and its vast lands throughout Germany. Moreover, the ruling also paved the way for Prince Gustav to marry his love, Carina.
Meanwhile, in Dorset, England, Miss Axelsson continued to publish her popular Young Adult book series, Model Undercover and Royal Rebel. She also is a keen gardener, has several cute dogs, and has an absolutely amazing cottage in Dorset.
Earlier this month, Prince Gustav and Miss Axelsson were photographed alongside Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark as they walked to the 50th birthday party for Mrs. Birgitte Handwerk. Royal watchers were thrilled to see Prince Gustav and Miss Axelsson together again in public. Many were wondering if they were a couple again or simply friends.
So, after 19 years the circle is complete. The prince finally gets his princess. And, finally, after 19 years Miss Axelsson will officially become Her Serene Highness Princess Carina of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg! Congrats!
Now, the question is: When is the wedding? Where will it take place? More importantly, will Miss Axelsson receive a fabulous new tiara? Stay tuned for updates!
**UPDATE: The couple will marry on June 4, 2022.
***CORRECTION: The couple met at a dinner party in Paris in late 2003.
On a side note: On Friday, I’m going to upload a video biography of the couple on my YouTube channel since there’s so much more to their love story that I haven’t covered on my blog. So, stay tuned.
As of late there seems to be a tremendous amount of interest in Miss Carina Axelsson, the 40-something American woman who is, not exactly a princess but close enough, living at Schloss Berleburg in Germany with her permanent boyfriend, His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.
Why there is so much interest in Miss Axelsson is truly beyond me. With that being said, I thought I would provide my loyal readers with a “semi-fact list” about this mysterious woman who has overtaken Schloss Berleburg. Furthermore, the woman who is lucky enough to wear a tiara at many royal engagements (even though many royal watchers believe her latest tiara is filled with fake diamonds).
So, let’s start shall we? 🙂
According to my “favorite” Danish magazine, Billed Bladet, Miss Carina Axelsson was born and raised in northern California, specifically Los Gatos just east of Santa Cruz, a place known for alternative living, aging hippies, and marijuana loving surfers (Santa Cruz that is).
Miss Axelsson was apparently a model which began in San Francisco, CA in the late eighties. Then she was shipped off to New York City, and finally she landed in Paris, France. Rumors abound that she was on the cover of Marie Claire (France), Vogue (France), and editorials in many European magazines. However, at this time evidence states otherwise. Not one royal watcher has been able to track down evidence to support this claim which leaves many of them doubting her stint as a model.
For some reason she enrolled in night school — École Boulle to be exact — in Paris whereupon she earned her AA degree as an illustrator. Anyway, some time later she published a book called Nigel of Hyde Park. Now, I never heard of this book so I’m going to assume that it didn’t sell as many copies as the Harry Potter series. Apparently, there is a second Nigel book — hence part deux — but again royal watchers have yet to find the book nor information about it. Perhaps they are not trying that hard.
So, after fourteen years in lovely old Paris she met His Serene Highness Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg at some random schwingding dinner party in Germany. According to Prince Gustav, in an interview with Billed Bladet:
I had accepted an invitation to dinner by some friends in Germany. A couple of friends, one knew Carina and one knew me. It was a set-up. I had come to meet Carina and that second her mobile phone rang. All the mobile phones kept ringing throughout the dinner. After the dinner finished, Carina had turned on her phone again. I took her number and called her up from another part of the room and love began.
His Serene Highness Prince Gustav began dating Miss Axelsson soon after. Then in June 2006, she made her first official appearance with the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family at the princely wedding of Prince Phillip of Hesse and Miss Laetitia Bechtolf in Germany. Thereafter, Miss Axelsson, according to Billed Bladet, moved into Schloss Berleburg.
As the years passed, Miss Axelsson made her presence known around the castle. She took it upon herself to restore the schloss to the alleged horror of His Serene Highness Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Prince Gustav’s super awesome Dad) who allegedly found her to be somewhat of an annoyance, yet he tolerated her behavior according to a recent Svensk Damtidning article. Even the local Bad Berleburgers began to refer to her as Frau Axelsson: The Lady of the Schloss.
With her badass self Miss Axelsson uncovered valuable treasures in the basement of the schloss. Eventually she decided — allegedly — to use the items and turn them into an exhibit at Schloss Berleburg. It was her idea — allegedly — to open up a museum where tourists could gaze upon beautiful artifacts that had been buried for over 100 years at Schloss Berleburg. Rumor has it that Miss Axelsson thought it would be a brilliant idea to open up a coffeehouse within the castle. Yeah — if true — it is tacky. But, I suppose if the schloss is hard up for money why not charge thirsty tourists $8.00 per a cup of cappuccino, right?
While all this was going on, Carina and Prince Gustav continued to make appearances at various royal events with the Danish royal family (Prince Gustav’s Mom is the younger sister of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark). Soon, Miss Axelsson became BFFs with Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Then Her Royal Highness Princess Marie of Denmark, Miss Tatiana Blatnik (now Her Royal Highness Princess Tatiana of Greece), and His Royal Highness Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. Whew.
You are probably wondering by now why Miss Axelsson and Prince Gustav have not married, right? Well, um, there is a bit of a problem. You see Prince Gustav’s grandfather, Prince Gustav Albrecht, was kind of a Nazi-loving jackass (he was heir to the house which he deliberately passed to Prince Gustav not Prince Richard). According to Professor Jonathan Petropulos, European historian at the prestigious Claremont McKenna College and author of the book, Royals and the Reich, Prince Gustav Albrecht is on the official list of German princes and high nobility who were registered within the Nazi Party (if you have the book, Royals and the Reich, the published list begins on page 380. Shocking to say the least).
So, at the beginning of WWII Prince Gustav Albrecht drafted up a Will which stated that his heir, a son which years later was Prince Gustav, had to marry a Protestant Aryan woman of noble descent. Miss Carina Axelsson is neither. She is part Latina (Mexican-American via her mother) and Swedish (via her father). And, clearly, Miss Axelsson is no where being close to being a noble. That is why she and Prince Gustav haven’t taken the plunge.
However, many royal watchers believe the two are secretly married. Why do they believe this? Miss Axelsson’s massive ruby and diamond ring on her married ring finger. She tends to show it off every time there is a camera around. I, mean, wouldn’t you with that giant rock on your finger? Thought so.
Today, the couple continue to live at Schloss Berleburg in Germany and Miss Axelsson continues to make her mark around town. In the past, she established the Nigel Awards, restored the interior of the Schloss to pristine condition (which allegedly irritated Prince Richard), allegedly established a capitalistic coffeehouse, started a museum at the schloss, illustrated an Advent calendar for the local museum whereupon proceeds were donated to the local library, held an exhibition of her illustrations at the Bad Berleburg Museum, co-hosted several charity events with Princess Benedikte at Schloss Berleburg, decorated a billion Christmas trees within schloss and showed them off to Denmark’s biggest royal kiss-ass magazine Billed Bladet as well as with various German newspapers, and continues to flaunt her fabulous new tiara at various royal events.
Now, you may be wondering, “What is this chica’s beef with Miss Carina Axelsson?” Well, actually, there isn’t one. Sure, I believe she is living in lalaland… pretending that she’s a princess. She did say, after all, that “I never imagined that I would become a real life princess…”
However, I will say that I admire her for restoring the aging schloss and for promoting it in the Danish media. Afterall, it does bring in the moola to Schloss Berleburg in these crappy economic times. So who can fault her? Not I. 🙂
UPDATE! Twenty years later… 🙂
I was recently notified by a reader that the infamous coffeehouse is not owned nor was opened by Miss Axelsson, but by some dude named, Christoph.
