Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden

Gustaf VI Adolf (Oskar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf) (11 November 1882 ; 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 1950 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden.

He was born in Stockholm and at birth created Duke of Skåne. On 29 October 1950, he succeeded his father on the throne. His personal motto was Plikten framför allt, "Duty before all".

He married, firstly, Princess Margaret of Connaught on 15 June 1905. 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. 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

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, and Italy, and founded the Swedish Institute at Rome.

His Majesty died in 1973 at age 90 after a deterioration in his health that culminated in pneumonia in Helsingborg hospital. 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 wifes.

Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Crown Princess Margaretha of Sweden had five children:

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 is the grandfather of both his direct successor King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and also of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Interests

Gustaf VI Adolf had an enormous private library consisting of 80,000 volumes - the most impressing in all of this was that 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

See also