When a Prince and Princess Visited Lake Forest

By Laurie Stein

One hundred years ago this summer, Lake Forest entertained royalty. The Crown Prince Gustavus Adolphus and Princess Louise of Sweden visited the town on June 25, 1926. The Princess, the former Louise Mountbatten, was the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. 

The royal party traveled up from Chicago to the Great Lakes Naval Station by motor yacht, where they were welcomed by Captain Hines in full regalia while great guns roared a royal salute. After driving down to Lake Forest, the Prince spent the day playing golf at the Old Elm Club in Highland Park.

A photograph from the Yakes family captures the royal arrival, while a Lake Forester headline heralds the visit.

In the evening, Charles and Laura Shedd Schweppe hosted an elaborate dinner party in their honor at their house on Mayflower. The gate of the estate was decorated with American and Swedish flags with yellow roses and larkspur to carry out the Swedish national colors. Dinner was served for about 30 guests, including the Schweppes; Mr. and Mrs. Kersey Coates Reed, and Col. and Mrs. Noble B. Judah.

Later that evening was a grander affair. Thousands of electric lightbulbs illuminated the grounds. Ruth Page of the Chicago Opera Company performed for the group and 300 guests danced in a pavilion east of the house to three orchestras.

The photograph of the Prince’s arrival comes from the Yakes family. Herman Yakes was a German immigrant hired by John G. Shedd in 1915 to assist with the construction of the Mayflower estate as a wedding gift for his daughter Laura when she married Charles Schweppe. Herman Yakes worked as the caretaker of the estate for many years, managing a staff of 35 people and overseeing its 33 acres. After the royal visit, Yakes received a thank-you letter and an honorary medal from the Crown Prince.

While in Lake Forest, Prince Gustavus Adolphus became a godfather to 9-month-old Gustave Romaine Solbert at The Church of the Holy Spirit. The baby was the daughter of Colonel Oscar Solbert of 311 College Road, who had been appointed by President Calvin Coolidge to accompany the royal visitors on their tour. 

Prince Gustavus Adolphus ascended to the Swedish throne as King Gustaf VI in 1950, upon the death of his father; at the time, he was the world’s oldest heir apparent to a monarchy (a record broken by Charles, Prince of Wales, in 2016). He had a reputation as a “professional amateur professor” and was a dedicated archaeologist with an enormous private library.