 Bernadotte was born and grew up in Helsingborg, Sweden, the daughter of Helge Lindberg and his wife Thyra Dahlman.Her parents were divorced when she was a girl and she then lost touch with her father for many years, which she has described as a grievous, while also greatly admiring her strong mother for taking charge of her and her brother.Her brother Rune Lindberg suffered from dyslexia before it was an understood problem, and that plus her discovery much later, that members of the Swedish royal family also struggled with the affliction, led to her keen interest in the subject.