Gustaf VI Adolf

Gustaf VI Adolf
Gustaf VI Adolf in 1962
King of Sweden
Reign29 October 1950 – 15 September 1973
PredecessorGustaf V
SuccessorCarl XVI Gustaf
Prime ministers
See list
Born(1882-11-11)11 November 1882
Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
Died15 September 1973(1973-09-15) (aged 90)
Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden
Burial25 September 1973
Royal Cemetery, Solna
Spouse
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​
(m. 1905; died 1920)​
​
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(m. 1923; died 1965)​
Issue
Full name
Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf
HouseBernadotte
FatherGustaf V of Sweden
MotherVictoria of Baden
ReligionChurch of Sweden
King Gustaf VI Adolf and Queen (consort) Louise of Sweden, 1950s.

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death.

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 VI married as his second wife, Lady Louise Mountbatten, in 1923.[6] She died in 1965.[c]

Notes

  1. ↑ After Gustaf VI Adolf's death the powers of the king were reduced to being a ceremonial figurehead.[4]
  2. ↑ She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.[5]
  3. ↑ Lady Mountbatten was the aunt of the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Irene Scobbie, The A to Z of Sweden (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 84
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Anna Mosesson, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Stockholm (New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2012), p. 78
  3. ↑ Martin Gilbert, The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust (New York: Henry Holt, 2003), p. 388
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Abdul Karim Bangura, Sweden Vs Apartheid: Putting Morality Ahead of Profit (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), p. 7
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ Barry Jones, Dictionary of World Biography (Acton, A.C.T: ANU E Press, 2013), p. 359

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