Teresia, Duchess of Dalarna

A carte-de-visite portrait of Teresia Amalia Karolina Josefina Antoinetta of Saxe-Altenburg (1836-1914), the wife of Prince August of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Darlana.

The daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, she spent her childhood in Bavaria. After her father's death in 1852, she lived with her cousin, Queen Marie of Hanover, and a maternal uncle. In 1864 she married Prince August of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Dalarna. After her marriage she was styled Princess of Sweden and Norway and Duchess of Dalarna (English: Dalecarlia).

There was little romance in the marriage but the couple became good friends and lived together harmoniously. They had no children. Widowed in 1873, Teresia fell under the influence of an American con-artist. She had previously suffered from nervous breakdowns and her German relatives now had her declared insane and placed under a doctor’s care in Switzerland. In 1890 she returned to Sweden, where she resided at the Haga Palace. Her kitchen was well-known for its good cuisine in in time Teresia grew somewhat overweight. She died on 9 November 1914.

Photographed by Eurenius and Quist of Stockholm.