After a law degree from Uppsala and holding various lower-ranking diplomatic posts in
London,
Paris,
Washington D.C.,
Berlin and
Vienna, and as
state secretary for foreign affairs, he was appointed Swedish envoy to Rome in 1889. He remained there until late 1902 when he was transferred to the same position in London, and was received by King
Edward VII to present his
letter of credence at
Buckingham Palace on 13 February 1903. During his time in London the Swedish heir
Prince Gustaf Adolf married the British King′s niece
Princess Margaret of Connaught in June 1905. Bildt returned as envoy to Rome in late 1905 and remained there as envoy until his retirement in 1920. Throughout his years in Italy, Bildt published a number of works on Italian or Italo-Swedish topics, starting with his
Anteckningar från Italien av en svensk diplomat ("Notes from Italy by a Swedish diplomat"), with historical descriptions of a number of Italian towns. He wrote essays on earlier Swedish visits to Italy, such as the one by King
Gustav III in 1783, but his main focus was on
Saint Bridget of Sweden who spent her last years in Rome and Queen
Christina, who settled there after abdicating from the Swedish throne (1654) and converting to Roman Catholicism (1655). With his excellent connections in Rome, Bildt was able to access until-then unused sources in Roman public and private archives and published articles on many previously unknown episodes in and aspects of Christina's later life. He was elected a member of the
Swedish Academy in 1901 and was a member of several foreign academies. ==Personal life==