Gustaf VI Adolf
| Gustaf VI Adolf | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gustaf VI Adolf in 1962 | |||||
| King of Sweden | |||||
| Reign | 29 October 1950 – 15 September 1973 | ||||
| Predecessor | Gustaf V | ||||
| Successor | Carl XVI Gustaf | ||||
| Prime ministers | See list | ||||
| Born | 11 November 1882 Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden | ||||
| Died | 15 September 1973 (aged 90) Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden | ||||
| Burial | 25 September 1973 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Bernadotte | ||||
| Father | Gustaf V of Sweden | ||||
| Mother | Victoria of Baden | ||||
| Religion | Church of Sweden | ||||
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death.
Career[change | change source]
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[change | change source]
Gustaf VI married Margaret of Connaught in 1905.[b] 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.[c]
Notes[change | change source]
- ↑ 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[change | change source]
- ↑ Irene Scobbie, The A to Z of Sweden (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 84
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Abdul Karim Bangura, Sweden Vs Apartheid: Putting Morality Ahead of Profit (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), p. 7
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Barry Jones, Dictionary of World Biography (Acton, A.C.T: ANU E Press, 2013), p. 359