Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler – photo: Wikipedia

Princess Margaretha, Mrs Ambler is the eldest of the four sisters sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. She was born Princess Margaretha Désirée Victoria of Sweden on October 31, 1934, at Haga Palace, the eldest child of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Through both of her parents, she is a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Margaretha has three younger siblings:

Princess Margaretha was educated privately at Haga Palace, where she lived with her mother and siblings. Her father had died in a plane crash in Denmark in 1947. She later attended Märthaskolan (Martha School), a dressmaking school in Stockholm. In 1950, her great-grandfather King Gustaf V died and her grandfather became King Gustaf VI Adolf. The family moved from Haga Palace to the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

For many years, Margaretha and her three sisters, known as “The Haga Princesses”, were very prominent in Swedish society. All quite beautiful and sought after, they were often seen in photos at various events. Following a romance with Robert Douglas-Home, a Scottish diplomat (and later paramour of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom), Princess Margaretha met British businessman John Ambler at a dinner party in England. Their engagement was announced in February 1964.

 

On June 30, 1964, Princess Margaretha and British businessman John Ambler, the son of Captain Charles Ambler and Louise Cullen, were married at the Gärdslösa Church, on the island of Öland in Sweden. Upon marriage, Margaretha lost her royal style and was styled Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler. The couple settled in England, and had three children:

  • Sibylla Louise Ambler (born 1965), married  Baron Cornelius von Dincklage, had one daughter and one son, separated
  • Charles Edward Ambler (born 1966), married to Helen Jane Ross, had two daughters
  • James Patrick Ambler (born 1969), married to Ursula Mary Shipley, had one daughter and one son

Margaretha and her husband separated in 1996 but never divorced. John Ambler suffered from poor health and spent the last ten years of his life in a nursing home in Oxfordshire, England.  He passed away on May 31, 2008.

Princess Margaretha lives near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. She does not take part in any official functions in Sweden but is typically seen at family events such as the weddings of her brother’s children. She lives a rather quiet life in England, and for many years opened the Swedish Church Christmas Bazaar in London.

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