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
RegentTage Erlander
Olof Palme
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
​
​
(m. 1905; died 1920)​
​
​
(m. 1923; died 1965)​
Issue
HouseBernadotte
FatherGustaf V of Sweden
MotherVictoria of Baden
ReligionChurch of Sweden
SignatureGustaf VI Adolf's signature
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. Before becoming king he had been Crown Prince of Sweden. During this long period of time he became a scholar and an archaeologist. 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. 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. He was the last king to rule under a Constitutional Monarchy with any power. Gustaf VI died in 1973. His grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf, succeeded him as king.

Family

Gustaf VI married Margaret of Connaught in 1905. She died in 1920. Together they had four sons and one daughter:

Gustaf VI married as his second wife, Lady Louise Mountbatten, in 1923. She died in 1965.

Notes

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

References

  1. ↑ Irene Scobbie, The A to Z of Sweden (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 84
  2. 1 2 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. 1 2 Abdul Karim Bangura, Sweden Vs Apartheid: Putting Morality Ahead of Profit (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), p. 7
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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

Other websites