Gustaf VI Adolf
| Gustaf VI Adolf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Sweden | |
| Reign | 29 October 1950 – 15 September 1973 |
Gustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - (11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden. Through his mother Victoria, Gustaf VI Adolf could claim to be the direct heir to Gustav IV of Sweden of the deposed House of Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line) and the House of Vasa as well as the [[Bern He married, firstly, Princess Margaret of Connaught on 15 June 1905 in St. George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle. Princess Margaret was the daughter of HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom.
He married, secondly, Lady Louise Mountbatten, formerly HSH Princess Louise of Battenberg, on 3 November 1923 at St. James's Palace. She was the sister of Lord Mountbatten and aunt of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It was Lady Louise who became Queen of Sweden. Both Queen Louise and her stepchildren were great grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Reign
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In 1950, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf became king at age 67 upon the death of his father, King Gustaf V.
During Gustaf VI Adolf's reign, work was underway on a new Instrument of Government — eventually taking effect in 1975 after the kings' death — to replace the 1809 constitution and produce reforms consistent with the times. Among the reforms sought by some Swedes was the replacement of the monarchy or at least some moderation of the old constitution's provision that "The King alone shall govern the realm."
Gustaf VI Adolf's personal qualities made him popular among the Swedish people and, in turn, this popularity led to strong public opinion in favour of the retention of the monarchy. Gustaf VI Adolf's expertise and interest in a wide range of fields (architecture and botany being but two) made him respected, as did his informal and modest nature and his purposeful avoidance of pomp. The monarchy was, however, made subordinate to a democratic state. Additional powers of the monarch were removed when Sweden's constitutional reform became complete in 1975.
Gustaf VI Adolf was a devoted archaeologist, and was admitted to the British Academy for his work in botany in 1958. Gustaf VI Adolf participated in archaeological expeditions in China, Greece, Korea and Italy, and founded the Swedish Institute at Rome.
He was the 1,126th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain in 1910 and the 915th Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1954.
The King died in 1973 at age 90 at Helsingborg Hospital after a deterioration in his health that culminated in pneumonia. He was succeeded on the throne by his 27-year-old grandson Carl XVI Gustaf, son of the late Prince Gustaf Adolf. In a break with tradition, he was not buried in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm, but in the royal burial grounds in Haga alongside his two deceased wives.
King Gustaf VI Adolf and Crown Princess Margaretha of Sweden had five children:
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten | 22 April 1906 | 26 January 1947 (aged 40) | father of the present King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden |
| Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland | 7 June 1907 | 4 February 2002 (aged 94) | later Count Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg |
| Princess Ingrid | 28 March 1910 | 7 November 2000 (aged 90) | later Queen of Denmark; mother of the present Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece |
| Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland | 28 February 1912 | 5 January 1997 (aged 84) | married Lillian Davies, no issue |
| Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna | 31 October 1916 | later Count Carl Johan, Bernadotte af Wisborg, married Countess Gunnila Wachtmeister af Johannishus, had adopted issue |
Crown Princess Margaretha of Sweden died suddenly on 1 May 1920 of an infection following surgery. At the time, she was eight months pregnant and expecting her sixth child.
Prince Gustaf Adolf later married Lady Louise Mountbatten, on 3 November 1923. This second marriage produced only one stillborn daughter on 30 May 1925.
King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden was the grandfather of both his direct successor King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and also of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
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Interests
The King's reputation as a "professional amateur professor" was widely known; nationally and internationally, and among his relatives.
Gustaf VI Adolf had an enormous private library consisting of 80,000 volumes and - nearly more impressively – he actually had read the main part of the books. He had an interest in specialist literature on Chinese art and East Asian history. Throughout his life, King Gustaf VI Adolf was particularly interested in the history of civilization, and he participated in several archaeological expeditions. His other great area of interest was botany, concentrating in flowers and gardening. He was considered an expert on the Rhododendron flower. At Sofiero (The king's summer residence) he created one of the very finest Rhododendron collections.
Like his son, Bertil, Gustaf VI Adolf maintained wide, lifelong interests in sports. He enjoyed tennis and golf, and fly fishing for char.
Ancestors
| 16. Charles XIV John of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8. Oscar I of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17. Désirée Clary | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4. Oscar II of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18. Eugène de Beauharnais | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9. Josephine of Leuchtenberg | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19. Princess Augusta of Bavaria | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Gustaf V of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20. Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10. William, Duke of Nassau | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21. Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5. Sofia of Nassau | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22. Prince Paul of Württemberg | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11. Princess Pauline of Württemberg | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23. Catherine Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 24. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12. Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 25. Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6. Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 26. Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13. Sophie of Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 27. Frederica of Baden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3. Victoria of Baden | |||||||||||||||||||
| 28. Frederick William III of Prussia | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14. William I, German Emperor | |||||||||||||||||||
| 29. Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7. Princess Louise of Prussia | |||||||||||||||||||
| 30. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar | |||||||||||||||||||
| 31. Maria Pavlovna of Russia | |||||||||||||||||||
External links
- People from Stockholm
- Swedish monarchs
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- Uppsala University alumni
- Swedish monarchs of German descent
- 1882 births
- 1973 deaths
- Burials at the Royal Burial Ground, Stockholm
- Extra Knights Companion of the Garter
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- Knights of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
- Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog