Why do some of Frank and Amy’s children have two middle names? And why do some of them belong to Swedish royalty? My mother, Ruth Linnea Wilhelmina Lindgren Coss, told me that “names are free and your parents can give you as many as they like.”
Let’s look at Frank and Amy Lindgren’s oldest and youngest children: The oldest, REGINA Leona Rebecca Lindgren, had the name for a queen. She was nicknamed “Gene,” usually a masculine name. But consider Gene Tierney, a popular actress in the 1940s. And then there’s LEROY Paul Lindgren, the youngest child. Leroy means “the king,” but Uncle Roy didn’t like it and always went by “Roy.”
The next oldest was Gilmore Ruben BERNADOTTE Lindgren, or Uncle Gil, as I knew him. The name Bernadotte goes back to the early 1800s. Sweden’s Charles XIII was an aging monarch who failed to provide an heir to the throne. A Swedish nobleman asked Napoleon to choose his best general to succeed Charles. Bonaparte picked Bernadotte, who renounced Roman Catholicism for Lutheranism. Jean Bernadotte was crowned King Charles XIV John and ruled Sweden well for 30 years. Fast forward…. Later in life, Uncle Gil called himself “Grandpa Bernie.” He entertained his grandchildren by telling them he was royalty. He “commanded” them to bow down to him, and they solemnly did!
Evelyn Anna CHRISTINA Lindgren had a royal name. Sweden’s Queen Christina was a reluctant ruler. She abdicated the throne and converted from Lutheranism to Roman Catholicism (the opposite of Bernadotte). She settled down at living quarters in the Vatican. Her life was told in the 1933 movie, “Queen Christina,” starring Swedish actress Greta Garbo.
Ruth Linnea WILHELMINA Lindgren liked the name Linnea but not her royal name. Wilhelmina was the Queen of Sweden and Norway in the 1800s. She was married to King Charles XV, who ruled the two kingdoms united by Bernadotte (a/k/a King Charles XIV Johan).
Irene ELIZABETH Lindgren liked her regal name. England has Queens Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II, but Sweden had Princess Elizabeth from the 16th century. She became a duchess when she married the Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow in Pomerania (now part of Germany and Poland).
