Gustaf VI Adolf
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death.
Gustaf VI Adolf | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
King of Sweden | |||||
29 October 1950 – 15 September 1973 | |||||
Predecessor | Gustaf V | ||||
Successor | Carl XVI Gustaf | ||||
Prime ministers | See list
| ||||
Born | Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden | 11 November 1882||||
Died | 15 September 1973 Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden | (aged 90)||||
Burial | 25 September 1973 | ||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | |||||
| |||||
House | Bernadotte | ||||
Father | Gustaf V of Sweden | ||||
Mother | Victoria of Baden | ||||
Religion | Church of Sweden |
Career
Gustaf VI was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden.[1] Before becoming king he had been Crown Prince of Sweden. During this long period of time he became a scholar and an archaeologist.[2] He was also a well regarded expert on Chinese art. At his death he left his large collection of Chinese art to the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska Museet) in Stockholm, Sweden.[2] In World War II Gustaf, as Crown Prince, spoke out publicly against sending Jews to Auschwitz. This was after the public learned of the extermination camps in Germany.[3] He was the last king to rule under a Constitutional Monarchy with any power. Gustaf VI died in 1973.[4] His grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf, succeeded him as king.[a]
Family
Gustaf VI married Margaret of Connaught in 1905.[b] She died in 1920.[5] Together they had four sons and one daughter:
- Gustaf Adolf. He died in 1947 in an airplane accident.[5]
- Sigvard.[5]
- Bertil.[5]
- Carl Johan.[5]
- Ingrid, married King Frederik IV of Denmark.[5]
Gustaf VI married as his second wife, Lady Louise Mountbatten, in 1923.[6] She died in 1965.[c]
Gustaf VI Adolf Media
Gustaf Adolf wearing his ducal coronet in Stockholm Palace circa 1900
July 1926: Crown Prince Gustaf Adolph in Bohemian Grove to see the play Truth by George Sterling. Photo by Gabriel Moulin.
Gustaf Adolf with his first wife, Margaret, and their children in 1912
Notes
- ↑ After Gustaf VI Adolf's death the powers of the king were reduced to being a ceremonial figurehead.[4]
- ↑ She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.[5]
- ↑ Lady Mountbatten was the aunt of the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[5]
References
- ↑ Irene Scobbie, The A to Z of Sweden (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 84
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Anna Mosesson, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Stockholm (New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2012), p. 78
- ↑ Martin Gilbert, The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust (New York: Henry Holt, 2003), p. 388
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Abdul Karim Bangura, Sweden Vs Apartheid: Putting Morality Ahead of Profit (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), p. 7
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Irene Scobbie, The A to Z of Sweden (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 85
- ↑ Barry Jones, Dictionary of World Biography (Acton, A.C.T: ANU E Press, 2013), p. 359