Oscar II

Full name
	Oscar Fredrik

Oscar II
Oscar II
King of Sweden
	18 September 1872 – 8 December 1907
	12 May 1873
Predecessor	Charles XV
Successor	Gustaf V
King of Norway
	18 September 1872 – 7 June 1905
Coronation	18 July 1873
Predecessor	Charles IV
Successor	Haakon VII
Born	21 January 1829; Stockholm Palace, Stockholm
Died	8 December 1907 (aged 78); Stockholm Palace, Stockholm
Burial	Riddarholmskyrkan, Stockholm
Spouse	Sofia of Nassau
Issue	Gustaf V of Sweden; Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland; Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland; Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke
Full name
Full name
	Oscar Fredrik
House	House of Bernadotte
Father	Oscar I of Sweden
Mother	Josephine of Leuchtenberg
Religion	Lutheranism

Oscar II (21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907), baptised Oscar Fredrik,^[1] was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.

Early life

When he was born on January 21, 1829 in Stockholm, Oscar Fredrik was created Duke of Östergötland. He entered the navy at the age of eleven, and was appointed junior lieutenant in July 1845. Later he studied at Uppsala University, where he distinguished himself in mathematics. On 13 December 1848, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

From 1859, when his father died, he was first in line to the Swedish throne after his oldest brother King Charles, who then had no male heirs (his son had died in infancy in 1854). His middle brother Gustaf had died in 1852.

King of Sweden and Norway

A portrait of Oscar in 1898

He succeeded his brother Charles XV and IV on 18 September 1872, and was crowned as king of Norway in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on 18 July 1873. At the accession he adopted as his motto Brödrafolkens väl / Broderfolkenes Vel ("The Welfare of the Brother Peoples"). While the King and the Royal Court resided mostly in Sweden, Oscar made the effort of learning to be fluent in Norwegian and from the very beginning he realized the essential difficulties in the maintenance of the union between the two countries.

Later life

The political events which led up to the peaceful dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 could hardly have been attained but for the tact and patience of the king himself. He was dethroned on 7 June 1905 by the Norwegian Parliament and renounced the Norwegian throne on 26 October.

Personal life

On 6 June 1857 he married in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Germany, Princess Sophia Wilhelmina, youngest daughter of Duke William of Nassau.

Death

His health declined, indeed, to permit any prince of his house to become king of Norway, but better relations between the two countries were restored before his death in Stockholm on 8 December 1907 from unknown causes.

Oscar II Media

Mauritz Frumerie's 1829 medal showing the three eldest sons of Crown Prince Oscar: Charles, Gustaf, and Oscar.
Aides Daniel Nordlander (upper left) and Fritz von Dardel, Ordnance Officer Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin, General Henri-Pierre Castelnau, King Charles XV of Sweden and Prince Oscar, future King Oscar II of Sweden, at the 1867 International Exposition in Paris, France.
Norwegian coronation medal for Oscar and Sophia
Photograph of Oscar II, c. 1870s
Photograph of Oscar II by Gösta Florman, c. 1891
Oscar II boating.Engraving by Anders Zorn.
Portrait of Oscar II wearing the Crown of Eric XIV and mantle, by Oscar Björck. King Oscar II was the last crowned Swedish king and was known to enjoy the pomp and ceremony.
Blason du Prince Oscar Fredrik duc d'Östergötland de 1829 à 1844
Blason du Prince Oscar (II) de Suede a partir de 1844