Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg + Princess Carina
They have a child – thanks to a surrogate mother
Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Carina
© Dana Press
It took almost two decades before Gustav Frederik Philipp Richard Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his great love, Carina Axelsson, were finally able to say yes. On June 4, 2022, the couple’s wedding could finally take place in their German home, Bad Berleburg. Now their love will be crowned by a child – who will not be born in an everyday way.
“A spokeswoman for Princess Carina and Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg confirms that Princess Carina and Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg are expecting a child in early summer,” writes “Billed Bladet”, citing a press release from Schloss Berleburg . The happy news captivates with an unusual detail: “The couple is supported by a surrogate mother,” it continues, and: “Princess Carina and Prince Gustav are very happy and grateful for this opportunity and thank everyone involved who helped to find a legal way.” The couple will become parents for the first time.
Prince Gustav zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Princess Carina: Surrogacy raises questions
What makes this announcement so extraordinary: “In Germany, the activities of doctors in connection with surrogacy are punishable under the Embryo Protection Act. The placement of surrogacy is also punishable under the Adoption Placement Act,” says the website of the Federal Foreign Office. Surrogacy is also prohibited in other European countries, but with a few exceptions, explains the website anwalt.de: Surrogacy is permitted in Belgium, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Ukraine, and outside of Europe, primarily in the USA and India.
A love with obstacles
The 54-year-old Gustav is the eldest of three children and the only son of Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, †82, and his widow Benedikte zu Denmark, 78, one of the two sisters of Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 83 -year-old Carina he has been in a relationship since 2003. However, Gustav’s grandfather’s will, written in 1939, required an “Aryan, noble and Protestant” wife for the heir to Berleburg Castle and the associated estates. Carina Axelsson, with Swedish-Mexican roots, did not meet the “requirements”. Only after a long legal battle, in which the prince received a lot of support from his family, was Gustav able to enforce his claim to his inheritance – and thus marry his partner.
The civil and church weddings took place on June 3rd and 4th, 2022 respectively, at Berleburg Castle. Among the few guests were the Danish heir to the throne, Princess Mary, 51, and Prince Frederik, 54.
The child will be raised at Schloss Berleburg in Bad Berleburg, Germany, where the couple make their home. The castle, surrounded by 13,000 hectares of forest, has been in the family for more than 700 years and is now run by Gustav. While the Prince and Princess Carina live in the castle, Princess Benedikte has a house behind the castle where she stays when she is in Germany. Gustav’s younger sister, Princess Nathalie, 47, lives with her family in the west wing of the palace. This includes her children Konstantin and Louisa, who Nathalie has with her ex-husband Alexander Johannsmann.
Source used: billedbladet.dk, auswaertiges-amt.de, anwalt.de