Estelle Bernadotte

Estelle Bernadotte (born Estelle Romaine Manville; September 26, 1904 – May 28, 1984), Countess of Wisborg (1928–1973), also known as Estelle Ekstrand (from 1973), was an American-Swedish countess who was a leading figure in the International Red Cross and Girl Scout movement.[2] She married Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish member of a United Nations mediating team. He was assassinated by the extremist Zionist Stern gang while on duty in Israel in September 1948.[3]

For the Swedish princess, see Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland.
Estelle Bernadotte
Countess of Wisborg
Estelle Manville in 1928
BornEstelle Romaine Manville
(1904-09-26)September 26, 1904
Pleasantville, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 28, 1984(1984-05-28) (aged 79)
Uppsala, Sweden
BurialJune 20, 1984[1]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1928; died 1948)​
    Carl Erik Sixten Ekstrand
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1973)​
    HouseBernadotte

    Life

    Estelle Romaine Manville was born in 1904 in Pleasantville, New York. She was the only daughter of American industrialist Hiram Edward Manville and wife Henrietta Estelle Romaine, members of a family that had founded parts of the Johns Manville corporation.[4]

    Wedding

    In 1928, she was married to the Swedish diplomat Count Folke Bernadotte.[2] According to members of the Bernadotte family, King Gustaf V of Sweden personally introduced Estelle Manville to his nephew, Count Folke Bernadotte, during a visit to Nice, France, in the summer of 1928.[5][6] On August 3, 1928, it was widely reported that Mr. and Mrs. Manville officially announced the engagement of their only daughter to Count Folke Bernadotte.[7]

    The wedding took place on December 1, 1928, in the rather small St. John's Episcopal Church in Pleasantville, New York.[8][9] At the wedding the bride wore a Swedish bridal crown in platinum and rock crystal and Queen Sophia's bridal veil in openwork lace. The veil was held by a coronet in silver and crystals, which was specially made by the Swedish court jeweler.[10] Prince Gustaf Adolf was the Best man and Prince Sigvard the Marshal. More than 1500 guests were invited to the festivities on the Manville estates, Hi-Esmaro. Wedding expenses totaled $1.5 million.[11]

    Professional life
    Bernadotte, with her two sons Folke (b. 1931) and Bertil (b. 1935), leaving for Folke Bernadotte's funeral. Picture taken at the entrance of the Bernadotte residence in Stockholm, September 26, 1948.

    In May 1948, Estelle's husband Folke Bernadotte was appointed the United Nations' mediator in Palestine, the first official mediator in UN history. This appointment followed the immediate violence that followed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and the subsequent unilateral Israeli Declaration of Independence. In this capacity, he succeeded in achieving an initial truce during the subsequent 1948 Arab–Israeli War and laid the groundwork for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The specific proposals showed the influence of the previously responsible British government, and to a lesser extent the U.S. government.[12] On Friday, September 17 of that same year, Folke Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Israeli militant group Lehi.[13][14]

    In 1949, Bernadotte became the president of the Swedish Girls' Guide and Scout Association. Dressed in a girl scout uniform, Bernadotte greets the wife of the Swedish ambassador to Finland. Helsinki, 1949.
    Bernadotte talking with J. K. Paasikivi, the President of Finland. Helsinki, 1949.

    As her husband's widow, Estelle Bernadotte was active in philanthropic endeavours that he had supported, including the International Red Cross. She was president of the Swedish Girls' Guide and Scout Association from 1949 to 1957. She supported the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and international conservation efforts.[2]

    On September 17, 1958, on the 10th anniversary of the assassination of her husband Folke Bernadotte, she became the first leader of the Folke Bernadotte Foundation, a charity that supports children with cerebral palsy.[2][15] The foundation was created and supported by the Swedish Guide and Scout Association, the Swedish Red Cross, the Gothenburg Deaconess Society, and twenty other non-profit organizations, as well as by prominent medical and educational expertise.[15] Under Bernadotte's leadership, the Folke Bernadotte Foundation widened its mission to help children and young people with other disabilities.[15] Bernadotte was also the leader of the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Fund, a foundation whose mission is to increase understanding among young people at the international level.[16]

    In her later life, she managed a care home for elderly women in Stockholm.[2]

    Later life and death

    Bernadotte lived her later years in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. She was survived by two sons and her second husband Carl Erik Sixten Ekstrand (1910-1988). They were married on March 3, 1973 at Oscar's Church in Stockholm. Bernadotte died in 1984 in Uppsala after long illness (sepsis) following hip surgery.[2][6] Her ashes were buried on June 20, 1984, in an unmarked section of the memorial field at the Norra begravningsplatsen cemetery in Solna, north of Stockholm.[1] Her name Estelle Bernadotte of Wisborg appears as her written signature on the memorial plaque of her first husband, Count Folke Bernadotte, at the same cemetery.[17]

    Children

    Estelle and Folke Bernadotte had four sons, two of whom died in childhood.[2]

    • Count Gustaf Eduard Bernadotte of Wisborg, January 20, 1930, Stockholm – February 2, 1936, Stockholm; died of complications following surgery.[18]
    • Count Folke Bernadotte of Wisborg, born in Pleasantville, New York, on February 8, 1931, in 1955 married Christine Glahns (born January 9, 1932).
    • Count Fredrik Oscar Bernadotte of Wisborg, January 10, 1934, Stockholm – August 30, 1934, Stockholm.[19]
    • Count Bertil Oscar Bernadotte of Wisborg, born in Stockholm October 6, 1935, in 1966 married Rose-Marie Heering (1942–1967), and in 1981 married Jill Georgina Rhodes-Maddox.

    Legacy

    There has been speculation that Princess Estelle of Sweden (b. 2012), second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, was given her name in honor of Bernadotte.[20][21] On February 3, 2012, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden told a special cabinet meeting to announce the name of the princess that the name is very close to the heart of her mother and the family.[21] Bernadotte's son Folke Bernadotte Jr. (b. 1931) said in an interview that he is very honored that princess Estelle (as he assumed) was named after his mother, and that the royal family has a special relationship to her and her voluntary work aiding people in need.[6]

    References
    1. "Mrs. Estelle Romaine Ekstrand". hittagraven.stockholm.se/en/. 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    2. The New York Times (June 5, 1984). "Estelle Ekstrand of Sweden; A Leader of the Girl Scouts". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    3. "Svensk Filmdatabas:Estelle Bernadotte" (in Swedish). Svensk Filmdatabas. 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    4. holcombegenealogy.com (2012). "Thomas Holcombe of Connecticut". holcombegenealogy.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    5. Hadenius, Stig (2005). Gustaf V: en biografi (in Swedish) (2005 ed.). faktagranskning: Torgny Nevéus, Lund : Historiska media. - Total pages: 314
    6. Lindqvist, Roger (February 25, 2012). "Prinsessan döps efter hans mor". unt.se. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    7. The New York Times (August 4, 1928). "Estelle Manville Betrothed To Count; Will Wed Folke Bernadotte, Nephw of the King of Sweden". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    8. The New York Times (October 29, 1928). "Estelle Manville Makes Bridal Plans". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    9. "St. John's Episcopal Church in Pleasantville Receives Sacred Sites Grant". Pleasantville-Briarcliff Manor, NY Patch. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
    10. The New York Times (October 26, 1928). "Bridal Veil of the Late Queen Sophia To Be Worn by Miss Estelle Manville". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    11. p. 51. - Lindorm, Erik (1940). Gustaf V och hans tid: en bokfilm. 1928-1938 (in Swedish) (1940 ed.). Wahlström & Widstrand. - Total pages: 479
    12. Sachar, Howard M. (1998). "Chapter 1: The Pangs of Withdrawal". Israel and Europe: An Appraisal in History. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-45434-2. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
    13. Haberman, Clyde (February 22, 1995). "Terrorism Can Be Just Another Point of View". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-04-24. Mr. Shamir, nearly 80, still speaks elliptically about the Bernadotte assassination. Years later, when Ben-Gurion moved to a kibbutz in the Negev desert, Sdeh Bokker, one of his closest friends there was Yehoshua Cohen, who had been one of the assassins. Review of A Death in Jerusalem, by Kati Morgan.
    14. Kifner, John (12 September 1988). "2 Recount '48 Killing in Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
    15. Folke Bernadotte Foundation (2012). "Folke Bernadotte Stiftelsen" (in Swedish). Folke Bernadotte Foundation. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    16. Folke Bernadotte Foundation (2012). "Folke Bernadottes Minnesfond". Folke Bernadotte Foundation. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    17. "Bernadotte af Wisborg". hittagraven.stockholm.se. 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    18. The New York Times (February 3, 1936). "The Former Esteue Manville's Eldest Child Succumbs After Mastoid Operation". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    19. The New York Times (August 22, 1934). "Bernadotte Infant Dies; Count Frederic Oscar the Son of Former Estelle Manville". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    20. TT (February 24, 2012). "Namnvalet Estelle väcker reaktioner". dn.se. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
    21. "Estelle is Sweden's first royal baby in 30 years". Reuters. February 24, 2012. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
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