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 | |||||
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King of Sweden | |||||
Reign | 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 90) Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden | (aged||||
Burial | 25 September 1973 Royal Cemetery, Solna | ||||
Spouse |
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Issue |
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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.[lower-alpha 1]
Family
Gustaf VI married Margaret of Connaught in 1905.[lower-alpha 2] 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.[lower-alpha 3]
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
- 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
- Abdul Karim Bangura, Sweden Vs Apartheid: Putting Morality Ahead of Profit (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), p. 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