The Most Famous

NOBLEMEN from Sweden

Icon of occuation in country

This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Noblemen. The pantheon dataset contains 1,415 Noblemen, 22 of which were born in Sweden. This makes Sweden the birth place of the 10th most number of Noblemen behind Denmark, and Belgium.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Noblemen of all time. This list of famous Swedish Noblemen is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swedish Noblemen.

Photo of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten

1. Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906 - 1947)

With an HPI of 76.63, Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten is the most famous Swedish Nobleman.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.

Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund; 22 April 1906 – 26 January 1947) was a Swedish prince who for most of his life was second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. He was the eldest son of Gustaf VI Adolf, who was crown prince for most of his son's life and ascended the Swedish throne three years after his son's death. The current king, Carl XVI Gustaf, is Prince Gustaf Adolf's son. The prince was killed on 26 January 1947 in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Photo of Princess Märtha of Sweden

2. Princess Märtha of Sweden (1901 - 1954)

With an HPI of 76.14, Princess Märtha of Sweden is the 2nd most famous Swedish Nobleman.  Her biography has been translated into 46 different languages.

Princess Märtha of Sweden (Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra; 28 March 1901 – 5 April 1954) was Crown Princess of Norway as the spouse of the future King Olav V from 1929 until her death in 1954. As Olav only became king in 1957, Märtha never became Queen of Norway. Her son, Harald V, is the current king of Norway. Princess Märtha was also an elder sister of Queen Astrid of Belgium and a maternal aunt of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and Kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium. In 1940, Crown Princess Märtha and her family were immersed in World War II as Germany invaded Norway. After escaping to her home country of Sweden, and then being evacuated to America by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she effectively advocated for Norway and did fundraising until the end of the war. In 1942, King Haakon VII of Norway, Märtha's father-in-law, invested her as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav.

Photo of Haakon VI of Norway

3. Haakon VI of Norway (1340 - 1380)

With an HPI of 75.34, Haakon VI of Norway is the 3rd most famous Swedish Nobleman.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Haakon VI (Norwegian: Håkon Magnusson; Swedish: Håkan Magnusson; c. August 1340 – 11 September 1380) was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as Haakon Magnusson the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather, Haakon V (r. 1299–1319). Haakon was the younger son of Magnus Eriksson, king of both Norway and Sweden. His older brother Eric was meant to succeed their father on the throne of Sweden, while Haakon was made king of Norway in his father's lifetime. Magnus greatly favored Haakon over Eric, leading to the latter's rebellion and seizure of Southern Sweden. Eric died in 1359, and Haakon became co-ruler of Sweden with his father three years later. The two reigned over Sweden together until 1364, when they were deposed in favor of Magnus' sororal nephew, Albert of Mecklenburg, by a clique of exiled Swedish noblemen led by Bo Jonsson Grip. Magnus and Haakon tried to retake the Swedish throne, but without success. In 1363, Haakon married Margaret, daughter of Valdemar IV of Denmark. The marriage, itself a significant element in the Nordic power struggle, resulted in the birth of one son, Olav. Haakon's continuous conflicts with his father-in-law ended only with the latter's death in 1375. Haakon seized the opportunity to have his son elected Valdemar's successor, defeating the claims of his and his wife's Mecklenburg relatives. Upon his death in 1380, Haakon was succeeded by Olav, with Margaret as regent. Olav died childless seven years later, and Haakon's widow proceeded to assert authority over all three Scandinavian kingdoms as their first female monarch.

Photo of Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg

4. Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg (1584 - 1638)

With an HPI of 68.99, Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg is the 4th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Catherine of Sweden (Swedish: Katarina; 10 November 1584 – 13 December 1638) was a Swedish princess and a Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken as the consort of her second cousin John Casimir of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. She is known as the periodical foster mother of Queen Christina of Sweden and the mother of Charles X Gustav of Sweden.

Photo of Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland

5. Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912 - 1997)

With an HPI of 68.35, Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland is the 5th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Prince Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Halland (Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén; 28 February 1912 – 5 January 1997), was a member of the Swedish royal family. He was the third son of King Gustaf VI Adolf and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught, as well as the uncle of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. From 1973 to 1979, he was heir presumptive to his nephew Carl XVI Gustaf and the Swedish throne.

Photo of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden

6. Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 68.19, Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is the 6th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  Her biography has been translated into 65 different languages.

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she would be Sweden's fourth queen regnant (after Margaret, Christina and Ulrika Eleonora) and the first since 1720. Her inheritance is secured by Sweden's 1980 Act of Succession, the first law in Western Europe to adopt royal absolute primogeniture.

Photo of Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden

7. Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden (1001 - 1050)

With an HPI of 66.87, Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden is the 7th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ingegerd Olofsdotter, also known as Irene or Anna (1001 – 10 February 1050), was a Swedish princess and the grand princess of Kiev from 1019 to 1050 as the wife of Yaroslav the Wise. She was the daughter of the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung by his wife Estrid of the Obotrites. She is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Photo of Catherine Vasa of Sweden

8. Catherine Vasa of Sweden (1539 - 1610)

With an HPI of 65.54, Catherine Vasa of Sweden is the 8th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Catherine Vasa of Sweden (Swedish: Katarina Gustavsdotter Vasa; 6 June 1539 – 21 December 1610) was a Swedish princess, and the Countess consort of East Frisia as the spouse of Edzard II, Count of East Frisia. She was the oldest daughter of Gustav Vasa and Margareta Leijonhufvud. She was the autonomous Regent of Berum and Norden in Ostfriesland (East Frisia) from 1599 to 1610.

Photo of Princess Margaretha of Sweden

9. Princess Margaretha of Sweden (1899 - 1977)

With an HPI of 65.03, Princess Margaretha of Sweden is the 9th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Princess Margaretha of Sweden (Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg; 25 June 1899 – 4 January 1977) was a member of the Swedish Royal Family by birth and the Danish Royal Family by marriage. She was the elder sister of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway and Queen Astrid of the Belgians.

Photo of Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland

10. Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 64.69, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland is the 10th most famous Swedish Nobleman.  His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland (born Olof Daniel Westling; born 15 September 1973) is a member of the Swedish royal family by marriage to Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, making him the likely next consort of Sweden. Prior to his marriage to the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, he was a personal trainer and gym owner and ran a company called Balance Training with three gyms in central Stockholm.

People

Pantheon has 22 people classified as Swedish noblemen born between 1001 and 2016. Of these 22, 6 (27.27%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swedish noblemen include Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, and Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland. The most famous deceased Swedish noblemen include Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, Princess Märtha of Sweden, and Haakon VI of Norway. As of April 2024, 22 new Swedish noblemen have been added to Pantheon including Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, Princess Märtha of Sweden, and Haakon VI of Norway.

Living Swedish Noblemen

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Deceased Swedish Noblemen

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Newly Added Swedish Noblemen (2024)

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Overlapping Lives

Which Noblemen were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Noblemen since 1700.