Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister

Countess Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister
Mistress of the Robes
In office 1994 – 31 December 2015
Monarch	Carl XVI Gustaf
Preceded by	Astrid Rudebeck
Succeeded by	Kirstine von Blixen-Finecke
Statsfru
In office 1978–1993
Succeeded by	Louise Lyberg
Personal details
Born	Alice Tornérhielm 9 May 1926 Annerstad, Kronoberg County
Spouse(s)	Count Hans Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister (m. 1949)
Residence	Trolle-Ljungby Castle

Countess Alice Victoria Trolle-Wachtmeister (née Tornérhielm; born 9 May 1926) is a Swedish noblewoman who served the Royal Court of Sweden from the 1970s to 2015, having served as Mistress of the Robes from 1994 to 2015.

Career

Alice Tornérhielm was born on 9 May 1926 as the daughter of Erik Tornérhielm, a squire from Gedsholm, and the Danish-born Ellen Valentiner-Branth. She received training as a child care nurse, as well as in air monitoring service and staff welfare services, before joining the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Service in 1943. In 1949, Alice Tornérhielm married Count Hans Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister, a member of the Trolle-Wachtmeister family, with whom she has since lived at Trolle-Ljungby Castle in Scania.^[1]

The Countess presided over the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Service from 1974 until 1978, when she became a statsfru, a high ranking court official. She served as such until 1994, when she was promoted to the office of the Mistress of the Robes, succeeding Astrid Rudebeck.^[1] As such, she is now the highest ranking non-royal woman in Sweden.^[2]

On 23 February 2012, along with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Speaker of the Parliament Per Westerberg and the Marshal of the Realm Svante Lindqvist, Countess Trolle-Wachtmeister was presented the newborn Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland. According to tradition, the Mistress of the Robes and the other officials are required to witness that the second in the line of succession to the throne is indeed the child of the Crown Princess, rather than a changeling.^[3] She then attended the announcement of the Princess's names on 24 February.^[4]

Honours

National honours

•  Sweden: Member 1st Class of the Royal Order of Vasa (MVO1kl)^[5][6][7]
•  Sweden: Member of the Royal Family Order of King Carl XVI Gustaf^[8][9]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Chain of H.M The King's Medal, Gold in 12th Size^[10][11]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Ruby Jubilee Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf^[12]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the Wedding Medal of Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling^[13]
•  Sweden: Recipient of the 50th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf^[14]

Foreign honours

•  Denmark: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog^[15][16]
•  Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau^[17]
•  Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic^[18]
•  Thailand: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Elephant^[19]

References

1. Rurberg, Ingela (19 May 2012). "Det är en cirkel som sluts". Kristianstadsbladet. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
2. "The Court Calendar 2010 pp. 26–33" (PDF). docs.google.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
3. Jonasson, David (23 February 2012). "The royal birth: This will follow". Stockholm News. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
4. Nackstrand, Jonathan (24 February 2012). "Princess Estelle of Sweden". CBS News. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
5. "Image: alice+trolle-wachtmeister.jpg, (495 × 278 px)". 4.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
6. "Louise Lyberg, fd statsfru och född på Skarhult | Bakom Kulisserna". bakomkulisserna.svenskdam.se. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
7. "Joseph E. Stiglitz - Photo Gallery". nobelprize.org. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
8. "Image: alicetrolle.jpg, (729 × 484 px)". 2.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
9. "Här är de skånska slotten där det spökar | Kvällsposten". expressen.se. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
10. "Image: Alice_Trolle-Wachtmeister.jpg". commons.m.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
11. "Image: Senast+%25C3%25B6verf%25C3%25B6rda25.jpg, (1600 × 938 px)". 4.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
12. "Image: 600-5_2.jpg, (600 × 399 px)". royauxsuedois.r.o.pic.centerblog.net. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
13. "Image: Crown%2BPrincess%2BWedding%2BGuests%2B1.jpg, (399 × 600 px)". 4.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
14. "Royal Jewels of the World Message Board: Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister - Mistress of the Robes in Sweden". members2.boardhost.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
15. "Image: alice-trolle-wachtmeister-51b33da529737.jpg, (350 × 510 px)". 15min.lt. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
16. "Swedish Royal Wedding: The Bride’s Extended Family | Royal Hats". royalhats.wordpress.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
17. "Royal Jewels of the World Message Board: Överhovmästarinnan Grevinnan Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister". members2.boardhost.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
18. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/17/2e/b8/172eb8b358b72f41b65ad59aeb47135e.jpg
19. "Alice – mammas favorit | Ebbas Blogg | SVT.se". blogg.svt.se. Retrieved 6 September 2015.

External links

Media related to Alice Trolle-Wachtmeister at Wikimedia Commons