as Duke of Sweden in a 13th-century bust , with her brother
Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, in 2010. The first use in Swedish of the title of
hertig was in 1266 by Prince
Magnus, son of Princess
Ingeborg and
Birger Jarl. That title (derived from German "
herzog") then replaced the older Nordic "
jarl", both translated into the Latin title
dux, However, professor of art history Jan Svanberg is of the opinion that since
Birger Jarl (died 1266) was depicted with a ducal
coronet of English and continental European design, he actually was a duke, and that his Latin title of
Dux Sueorum should be given as
Duke and Regent of Sweden in English. Svanberg's opinion would then make duchesses of both of Birger's wives
Ingeborg (died 1254) and
Matilda (died 1288), in English usage. In the 13th and 14th century, kings of the Bjälbo dynasty gave his sons duchies to rule as
fiefs. The geography of these duchies could be unclear, as they were not always within the boundaries of one province and could also be reallotted with territorial changes. Feuds between a king and ducal brothers were common, and ended at times in
assassination and
fratricide. There was only one non-royal Swedish duke,
Bengt Algotsson, Duke of Halland and Finland in 1350s. The tradition was discontinued during the Kalmar union. After the
Kalmar Union period, just before his death in 1560, King
Gustav I took up the tradition by making his sons
John,
Magnus and
Carl powerful dukes, together ruling much more of the kingdom than their older half-brother
Eric, who had held a duchy in the southeast. When Eric became King Eric XIV, the imbalance of power his father had created became destructive. John, with the aid of Carl, eventually revolted, dethroned Eric and became king; Magnus proved unimportant due to mental health issues, but Carl's duchy of Södermanland prospered as a separate territory for several decades and also made his eventual rise to the throne possible. His duchy was inherited by his younger son,
Carl Philip, who died in 1622 having been the last holder of one of the semi-autonomous Swedish duchies, which his brother, King
Gustav II Adolph, officially abolished in 1618. During the subsequent rule of Queen
Christina of Sweden, however, her cousin and heir
Carl Gustav of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken was titled Duke of
Öland by the Swedish sovereign herself, but her government refused to acknowledge that title officially. His father was created Duke of Stegeborg in 1651, a title that a younger brother of Carl Gustav's eventually inherited. In 1772, King
Gustav III reinstated the appointment of dukes, now non-hereditary, for his brothers as
courtesy titles, which added to their international prestige and domestic influence. Since then, all Swedish princes have been created dukes of a province at birth, as well as one Great Prince or
Grand Duke of Finland (who died in infancy). During the 20th century, because of constitutional restraints, several princes gave up their royal titles for marriages that were not approved by the King (see
Bernadotte af Wisborg). Whether or not they then actually lost their ducal titles too has never been formally or legally determined. For the first time since the 14th century a princess of Sweden was created duchess in her own right in 1980, coinciding with the amendment of the
Act of Succession allowing female succession to the throne. Thus, King
Carl XVI Gustaf's eldest daughter
Victoria became
Crown Princess (displacing her younger brother
Carl Philip) and received the title of
Duchess of Västergötland. Her younger sister
Madeleine was the first princess to be created duchess at birth, and also the first to get a double duchy (see above), roughly corresponding with the modern governmental limits of
Gävleborg County. Such modern ducal titles are handled by the King of Sweden personally, are unregulated by law and not registered as names in the
Swedish Tax Agency's population census. Now the title holders are mainly known domestically as
Crown Princess Victoria,
Prince Daniel,
Princess Estelle,
Prince Oscar,
Prince Carl Philip,
Princess Sofia,
Prince Alexander,
Prince Gabriel,
Prince Julian,
Princess Ines,
Princess Madeleine,
Princess Leonore,
Prince Nicolas and
Princess Adrienne though the ducal titles often are included in formal communication and royal court usage. In writing to them, it is considered correct to address all of them but the Crown Princess by ducal title. As of 1772, the dukes and duchesses do not normally reside permanently within their duchies, though they are associated with them to some extent by making occasional visits, seen as beneficial to
public relations for the
County Administrative Boards and local business. wears a ducal
coronet of European style in a contemporary bust. ==List of dukes and duchesses by duchy in Sweden==