Welsh-born beauty who married into Swedish royal family after 33-year secret romance is buried in state funeral aged 97
- Princess Lilian was born Lillian Davies in Swansea, Wales
- She met Prince Bertil of Sweden in London during the Second World War
- The pair kept their love a secret for 33 years before they could marry
Cinderella story: Welsh-born Princess Lilian of Sweden died on March 10, aged 97
Princess Lilian of Sweden, wife of the late Prince Bertil, was buried in a state ceremony in Stockholm on Saturday.
The Welsh-born beauty, who married into Sweden's royal family after a 33-year secret romance with her prince, was laid to rest in the royal cemetery in Haga on the outskirts of the Swedish capital.
Princess Lilian died at the age of 97 as one of the most loved members of the royal family, despite three decades living hidden from the public.
Lillian May Davies grew up in Swansea in Wales, the daughter of miner William Davies and Gladys Mary Curran, a shop assistant.
She moved to London aged 16, and worked as a model and actress before the war, removing the second 'l' from her name to appear more glamorous.
In 1940, at the height of the Blitz, she married Scottish actor Ian Craig shortly before he was called into the military.
Three years later she was working in a factory, making radios for the Marines, and at a hospital for injured soldiers in the capital.
Shortly before her 28th birthday she threw a cocktail party to celebrate her big day. One of the guests was a handsome Swedish naval attaché - Prince Bertil.
When her husband returned from service in 1945 - in love with an Italian woman - the pair amicably divorced and Lilian moved to Sweden.
Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian lived together for more than three decades before they were allowed to marry in 1976.
When Lilian divorced in 1945, the beauty and her playboy prince were set to marry upon her arrival in Sweden, but disaster struck.
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Bertil's brother Gustav Adolf, Sweden's heir to the throne, died in a plane crash in 1947, leaving his infant son Crown Prince Carl Gustaf next in line to wear the crown.
With an elderly monarch and a toddler crown prince, the possibility that Bertil would have to act as monarch until Crown Prince Carl Gustaf came of age became a reality.
Bertil was simply told a marriage to a commoner and divorcee, which would see him waive his right to the throne, was not on the cards.
Honoured: Members of the Royal Guard carry the coffin of Princess Lilian out of the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace of Stockholm
Loved: Princess Lilian was one of the most popular member of the Swedish Royal family and was given a state funeral today
Our Princess: A little girl was among the hundreds of people who gathered behind the Honour Guards to watch the procession after the funeral service for British-born Princess Lilian outside the Royal Palace
Together forever: Princess Lilian will be laid to rest next to Prince Bertil - the man she loved in secret for 33 years
Bertil's other older brother Sigvard had already waived his right to the throne by marrying a commoner, leaving Bertil and Lilian with no choice.
For the next 33 years Lilian lived hidden from the public, very few knew she even existed. The Swedish Royal family made a deal with the press not to mention her name, and she was not allowed to accompany Prince Bertil on any official duties.
On her 80th birthday in 1995, she said: 'If I were to sum up my life, everything has been about my love... He's a great man, and I love him.'
King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the Swedish throne in 1973 and after his marriage in 1976 to commoner Silvia Sommerlath, Lilian and Bertil could finally become an official couple.
Their wedding took place just months after the King and Queen's, in December 1976.
Enchanting love story: Lilian and Prince Bertil in 1953, ten years after5 they fell head over heels for each other in London, yet another 23 before they would marry
Enduring love: Prince Bertil and Lilian in October 15, 1976, shortly after their engagement had been announced
Prince Bertil kept his title and the miner's daughter from Wales became a princess.
'We only regret one thing,' Prince Bertil said after the wedding,' And that is that we were not able to get married sooner and have children.'
Despite never having any of her own, Lilian was very close to the royal children and Prince Carl Philip was her godson.
Princess Lilian was active until just a few years before death and, like her husband, had a keen interest in sports.
When asked what the secret to her long life was the great lover of practical jokes put it down to laughter, rather than exercise.
Member of the family: Princess Lilian with King Carl Gustaf, Princess Madeleine, Queen Silvia, Prince Carl Philip and Crown Princess Victoria during the 2003 Nobel Prize Awards in Stockholm
Always smiling: Princess Lilian, the King and Queen and Crown Princess Victoria pose for photographers with President Mandela and his wife Graca Machel in 1999
‘She was a true bringer of happiness and had the ability always to create around her a warm and kind atmosphere,’ King Carl Gustaf said in a statement last week.
‘The family's children always appreciated her jokes and humorous ways.’
Prince Bertil died aged 84 in 1997, with his wife by his side. She will now rest next to him at the Royal Cemetery at Haga, Stockholm.
The royal palace has not given a cause of death for the Princess, but it has been known since 2010 that Lilian suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had been in ill health for several years.
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