Through Oscar's marriage in
Bournemouth on 15 March 1888 to Swedish
noblewoman Ebba Munck af Fulkila, lady-in-waiting to the Crown Princess, without the consent of his father, the King, he gave up his right of succession to the Swedish throne and his royal title. Ebba was a lady-in-waiting of the crown princess,
Victoria of Baden, who in 1885 visited her brother-in-law in
Amsterdam, where he was to undergo a medical examination. Ebba and Oscar visited the Norwegian sailor church during their stay in Amsterdam and fell in love: Ebba was religious and influenced Oscar in this regard. When Oscar told his family that he wished to marry Ebba, they were scandalized. He was forced to take a two-year consideration period, and Ebba was dismissed as a lady-in-waiting. In 1887, Oscar told his family that he had not changed his mind, and the royal house gave its consent to the marriage on condition that Oscar's brothers signed a document promising that they should never enter a similar marriage, which they did. On 21 January 1888, a
ball was arranged at the
Royal Palace of Stockholm, where Ebba and Oscar were allowed to dance with each other, and on 29 January 1888, the engagement was formally announced. The match was regarded as a great sorrow within the royal house, but it received a lot of sympathy from the public. It was said that a bridge had been placed between the people and the royal house, "The Munck bridge", and the fact that Oscar had to give up his royal title made people say that the king no longer had four sons but only three, as one of them "married and had to quit". When the couple left Stockholm, a large crowd had gathered at the train station to see them off and show their support. They were married on 15 March 1888 in
St Stephen's Church at
Bournemouth in
England by the vicar Gustaf Beskow, who was close to the queen,
Sofia of Nassau, in the presence of Oscar's mother, Queen Sophia, two of his brothers (
Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland, and
Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke), his cousin the Danish crown princess
Louise of Sweden, as well as the mother and brother of Ebba. He and his wife were named with new titles as
Prince and Princess Bernadotte as of their wedding day. It has never been determined if that was a Swedish title of nobility or another form of unofficial courtesy title (such as some later
dynasty members have been given). On 2 April 1892, he and his wife were given personal noble titles as Prince and Princess Bernadotte when admitted into the nobility of Luxembourg by Oscar's uncle
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, previously Duke of Nassau, and also then given a Luxembourgish hereditary title as
Count and Countess of Wisborg.
Wisborg was derived from
Visborg, castle ruins in Oscar's former Duchy of Gotland. also are interred The
Prince Couple, as they were called, at first lived in
Karlskrona, but in 1892 moved to
Stockholm and remained there. They maintained summer residences at Villa Fridhem in
Gotland and Malmsjö Manor in
Sudermania. ==Personal life==