by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015
Photo Credit – Wikipedia, Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANEFO),
King Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf) was born at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden on November 11, 1882. He was the eldest of the three children of King Gustaf V of Sweden and his wife Victoria of Baden. Gustaf Adolf had two younger brothers:
- Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland (1884 – 1965), married Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, had one son, divorced
- Prince Erik of Sweden, Duke of Västmanland (1889 – 1918), unmarried, died during the Spanish Flu Epidemic
Gustaf Adolf with his brother Wilhelm; Photo Credit – Wikipedia
Gustaf Adolf and his brothers were educated by their governess Ida Borin and then starting in 1890, by their tutor Dr. Carl Svedelius. The three brothers enjoyed spending their summers at Tullgarn Palace or at Mainau, an island in Lake Constance near Konstanz, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, owned by the Baden Grand Ducal Family of their mother. Frequently, their grandmother, Queen Sofia (born Princess Sofia of Nassau) would request the company of her grandsons at Ulriksdal Palace, her favorite residence.
In 1901, Gustaf Adolf began studies in history, economics, political science, and archaeology at Uppsala University, the oldest university in Sweden. It was here that Gustaf Adolf expanded on his love for archaeology. The famous Bronze Age discoveries he found in the excavation of the Håga Mound while a student at Uppsala University, are now at the Swedish History Museum. Gustaf Adolf was fluent in Swedish, English, French, and German. He also read Italian and understood Latin.
Throughout his life, Gustaf Adolf was a devoted archaeologist and participated in archaeological expeditions in China, Greece, Korea, and Italy. In 1925 he founded the Swedish Institute in Rome, a research institution that serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy. His other great area of interest was botany, concentrating on flowers and gardening. He was considered an expert on the rhododendron and he created one of the very finest rhododendron collections at Sofiero Castle, his summer residence. In 1958, Gustaf Adolf was admitted to the British Academy for his work in botany.
Gustaf Adolf also received military training at Military Academy Karlberg and became a Captain in the Swedish Army in 1909 upon completing his training. Subsequently, he became a major (1913), lieutenant colonel (1916), colonel (1918), major-general (1923), and lieutenant general (1928).
On January 26, 1905, Gustaf Adolf was in Cairo, Egypt for a birthday banquet for Khedive Abbas Hilmi Pasha of Egypt where he met Princess Margaret of Connaught, the elder daughter of Queen Victoria’s son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. Margaret’s younger sister Patricia, who was rumored to be Gustaf Adolf’s future wife, was supposed to sit at his table, but instead, he took Margaret as his dinner partner. The couple were engaged on February 26, 1905, in Cairo and were married on June 15, 1905, in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. In 1907, when his father became king, Gustaf Adolf became the Crown Prince of Sweden.
Photo Credit – Wikipedia
Gustaf Adolf and Margaret had five children:
- Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906 – 1947), married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; had five children including King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
- Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (1907 – 2002) later Count Sigvard Bernadotte af Wisborg, married (1) Erica Patzek, no children, divorced (2) Sonja Robbert, had one son, divorced (3) married Marianne Lindberg, no children
- Princess Ingrid (1910 – 2000), married King Frederik IX of Denmark, had three daughters including Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
- Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912 – 1997), married Lillian Davies, no children
- Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna (1916 – 2012) later Count Carl Johan, Bernadotte af Wisborg, (1) Kerstin Wijkmark, two adopted children; (2) Countess Gunilla Wachtmeister af Johannishus, no issue; was the last surviving great-grandchild of Queen Victoria
Then Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf with his first wife Crown Princess Margaret and four older children in 1912; Photo Credit – Wikipedia, United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division
Margaret was eight months pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, killing Margaret, aged 38, and her unborn child on May 1, 1920. Her family along with the Swedish and British public mourned her death greatly. Margaret was buried at the Royal Burial Grounds in Haga in Solna, Sweden.
After Margaret’s death, Gustaf Adolf traveled extensively, including to England in 1923 where his friends introduced him to his second wife, Lady Louise Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg), at a dinner party. Lady Louise was the daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg (Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven after 1917) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Princess Victoria was the daughter of Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria and she was also an elder sister of the late Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.
The couple’s engagement was announced on July 1, 1923, and they were married on November 3, 1923, in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London, England by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Gustaf Adolf and Louise had a stillborn daughter in 1925, and after that, they had no more children.
Gustaf Adolf and Louise on their wedding day; Photo Credit – Wikipedia
On October 29, 1950, Gustaf Adolf became king at age 67 upon the death of his father, King Gustaf V. Gustaf Adolf’s personality, his informal and modest nature, and his expertise and interest in a wide range of areas made him popular with the Swedish people. It was said that he wrote 7,000 signatures per year and hosted 3,000 guests per year. He was the patron of about 200 scientific, sporting, and art organizations. Queen Louise died on March 7, 1965, at St. Göran Hospital in Stockholm following emergency surgery after a period of severe illness.
On August 18, 1973, Gustaf Adolf fell ill from bleeding ulcers at his summer Sofiero Castle and had surgery on August 21. After the surgery, he developed pneumonia, cardiac issues, and kidney failure. King Gustaf VI Adolf died on September 15, 1973, just short of his 91st birthday, at Helsingborg Hospital in Helsingborg, Sweden. He was buried alongside his two wives at the Royal Burial Grounds in Haga in Solna, Sweden. It was the first time since 1689 that a Swedish monarch was not buried in Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm.
King Gustaf VI Adolf was succeeded by his 27-year-old grandson King Carl XVI Gustaf. The new king was the son of King Gustaf VI’s eldest son Prince Gustaf Adolf who had died in a plane crash when Carl Gustaf was not even a year old. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden is also the grandfather of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Grave of King Gustaf VI Adolf and his two wives; Photo Credit – Wikipedia
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