Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden

Gustav IV Adolf
King of Sweden (more...)
Reign	March 29, 1792 – March 29, 1809
Predecessor	Gustav III
Successor	Charles XIII
Coronation	April 3, 1800
Consort	Frederica of Baden
Issue
Gustav, Prince of Vasa Princess Sophie Princess Cecilia
Detail Titles and styles
The Duke of Holstein-Eutin HM The King HRH The Crown Prince of Sweden
Royal house	House of Holstein-Gottorp
Royal motto	Gud och folket ("God and the People")
Father	Gustav III of Sweden
Mother	Sophia Magdalena of Denmark
Born	November 1, 1778 Stockholm Palace, Sweden
Died	February 7, 1837 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Burial	Riddarholmen Church, Stockholm

Gustav IV Adolf (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837), was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. He was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and his queen consort Sophie Magdalena, eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain. He was the last Swedish ruler of Finland.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Politics 3 Loss of Finland 4 Coup d'etat and abdication 5 Children 6 Ancestors 7 Family 8 References: 9 See also 10 External links

Early life

Gustav Adolf was born in Stockholm. It was rumored that Gustav Adolf was the biological son of the Nobleman, then Baron and later Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila, though this has never been established. He was raised under the tutelage of his father and the liberal-minded Nils von Rosenstein. Upon Gustav III's assassination in March 1792, Gustav Adolf succeeded to the throne at the age of 14, under the regency of his uncle, Charles, duke of Södermanland.

In August 1796 his uncle the regent arranged for the young king to visit Saint Petersburg to betroth him to Catherine the Great's granddaughter, Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna. However, the whole arrangement foundered on the obstinate refusal of Gustav to allow his destined bride liberty of worship according to the rites of the Russian Orthodox Church — a rebuff which undoubtedly accelerated the death of the Russian empress. Nobody seems to have suspected the possibility at the time that emotional problems might lie at the root of Gustav's abnormal piety.

On the contrary, when he came of age that year, thereby ending the regency, there were many who prematurely congratulated themselves on the fact that Sweden had now no disturbing genius, but an economical, God-fearing, commonplace monarch to deal with.

Politics

Gustav Adolf's prompt dismissal of the generally detested Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm, the duke-regent's leading advisor, added still further to his popularity. On 31 October 1797 Gustav married Friederike Dorothea, granddaughter of Karl Friedrich, Margrave of Baden, a marriage which seemed to threaten war with Russia but for the fanatical hatred of the French republic shared by the Emperor Paul of Russia and Gustav IV Adolf, which served as a bond of union between them. Indeed the king's horror of Jacobinism was morbid in its intensity, and drove him to become increasingly reactionary and to postpone his coronation for some years, so as to avoid calling together a diet. Nonetheless, the disorder of the state finances, largely inherited from Gustav III's Russian war of 1788-92, as well as widespread crop failures in 1798 and 1799, compelled him to summon the estates to Norrköping in March 1800 and on April 3 the same year. When the king encountered serious opposition at the riksdag, he resolved never to call another.

  Swedish Royalty
  House of Holstein-Gottorp

Adolf Frederick Children    Gustav III    Charles XIII    Prince Frederick Adolf    Princess Sophia Albertine Gustav III Children    Gustav IV Adolf    Carl Gustav, Duke of Småland Gustav IV Adolf Children    Gustav, Prince of Vasa    Carl Gustav, Grand Duke of Finland    Sofia Wilhelmina, Grand Duchess of Baden    Princess Amalia Maria Charlotta    Princess Cecilia Grandchildren include:    Princess Carola Charles XIII

Loss of Finland

His reign was ill-fated and was to end abruptly. In 1805, he joined the Third Coalition against Napoleon. His campaign went poorly and the French occupied Swedish Pomerania. When his ally, Russia, made peace and concluded an alliance with France at Tilsit in 1807, Sweden and Portugal were left as Great Britain's European allies. On 21 February 1808, Russia invaded Finland, which consisted of provinces of Sweden, on the pretext of compelling Sweden to join Napoleon's Continental System. Denmark likewise declared war on Sweden. In just few months after, almost all of Finland was lost to Russia. As a result of the war, on 17 September 1809, in the Treaty of Hamina, Sweden surrendered the eastern third of Sweden to Russia. The autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Imperial Russia was established.

Coup d'etat and abdication

Gustav Adolf's inept and erratic leadership in diplomacy and war precipitated his deposition through a conspiracy of army officers. On 13 March 1809 seven of the conspirators broke into the royal apartments in the palace, seized the king, and imprisoned him and his family in Gripsholm castle; Duke Charles (Karl) was thereupon persuaded to accept the leadership of a provisional government, which was proclaimed the same day; and a diet, hastily summoned, solemnly approved of the revolution.

On 29 March Gustav IV Adolf, to save the crown for his son, voluntarily abdicated; but on 19 May the Riksdag of the Estates, dominated by the army, declared that not merely Gustav but his whole family had forfeited the throne, perhaps an excuse to exclude his family from succession based on the belief that the King's father was Munck af Fulkila. On 5 June the duke regent (Gustav's uncle) was proclaimed king under the title of Charles XIII, after accepting a new liberal constitution, which was ratified by the diet the same day. In December Gustav and his family were transported to Germany. In 1812 he divorced from his wife.

In exile Gustav used several titles, Count Gottorp, Duke of Holstein-Eutin, and finally settled at St. Gallen in Switzerland where he lived in a small hotel in great loneliness and indigence, under the name of Colonel Gustafsson. It was there that he suffered a stroke and died. At the suggestion of King Oscar II of Sweden his body was finally brought to Sweden and interred in the Riddarholmskyrkan.

Children

1. Crown Prince Gustaf, after 1809 known as Gustaf Gustafsson of Vasa (November 9, 1799–1877)
2. Princess Sofia Wilhelmina (May 21, 1801–1865), married Grand Duke Leopold I of Baden
3. Prince Carl Gustaf, Grand Duke of Finland, Duke of Småland (Drottningholm, 2 December, 1802 – Haga, 10 September, 1805)
4. Princess Amelia Maria Charlotta (Stockholm, 22 February, 1805 – Vienna, 31 August, 1853), unmarried and without issue
5. Princess Cecilia (June 22, 1807–1844), married August, Grand Duke of Oldenburg.

Gustav would serve as an officer to the Habsburgs of Austria, but would only father one daughter, Carola, the wife of King Albert I of Saxony, but she died childless.

Sofia Wilhelmina would marry Leopold I of Baden, and their granddaughter, Victoria of Baden, would eventually marry Gustav V of Sweden, thus connecting the House of Bernadotte with the previous Swedish dynasties.

Ancestors

16. Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp

8. Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin

17. Frederikke Amalie of Denmark

4. Adolf Frederick of Sweden

18. Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach

9. Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach

19. Auguste Marie of Holstein-Gottorp

2. Gustav III of Sweden

20. Frederick I of Prussia

10. Frederick William I of Prussia

21. Sophia Charlotte of Hanover

5. Louisa Ulrika of Prussia

22. George I of Great Britain

11. Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

23. Sophia Dorothea of Celle

1. Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden

24. Frederick IV of Denmark

12. Christian VI of Denmark

25. Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

6. Frederick V of Denmark

26. Christian Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

13. Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

27. Countess Sofie Christiane of Wolfstein

3. Sophia Magdalena of Denmark

28. George I of Great Britain (= 22)

14. George II of Great Britain

29. Sophia Dorothea of Celle (= 23)

7. Louise of Great Britain

30. Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

15. Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach

31. Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach

Family

In 1797 he had married Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Baden (1781–1826), with whom he had five children:

1. Crown Prince Gustav, after 1809 known as Gustaf Gustafsson, Prince of Vasa (November 9, 1799–1877)
2. Princess Sofia Wilhelmina (May 21, 1801–1865), married Grand Duke Leopold I of Baden
3. Prince Carl Gustaf, Grand Duke of Finland (December 2, 1802–1805)
4. Princess Amalia Maria Charlotta (February 22, 1805–1853), unmarried.
5. Princess Cecilia (June 22, 1807–1844), married August, Grand Duke of Oldenburg.

His son Gustav would serve as an officer in the service of the Habsburgs of Austria, but would never father a son of his own, only a daughter, later Queen Consort Carola of Saxony, wife of Saxony's King Albert I. Sofia Wilhelmina would marry Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, and their granddaughter Victoria of Baden would marry the Bernadotte king Gustaf V of Sweden. (The present King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is thus Gustav IV's heir.) By 1812, Gustav Adolf divorced his consort and following this he had several mistresses, among them Maria Schlegel who gave him the son Adolf Gustafsson.

References:

• H. Arnold Barton, Scandinavia in the Revolutionary Era, 1760–1815, 1986, ISBN 0-8166-1392-3.
• Sten Carlsson, Gustaf IV Adolf, 1946.

See also

External links

• Royal House of Sweden
• Grand-Ducal House of Baden

Gustav IV Adolf House of Holstein-Gottorp Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg Born: November 1 1778 Died: February 7 1837
Regnal titles
Preceded by Gustav III	King of Sweden 1792-1809	Succeeded by Duke Karl as Regent of Sweden

Monarchs of Sweden by house Munsö c.970–c.1060 Eric the Victorious / Olof Björnsson · Olof Skötkonung · Anund Jacob · Emund the Old Stenkil c.1060–c.1130 1160–1161 Stenkil (Stænkil) · Eric Stenkilsson / Eric the Pagan · Halsten · Anund Gårdske · Håkan the Red · Halsten / Inge the Elder · Blot-Sweyn · Eric of Good Harvests · Inge the Elder · Philip Halstensson / Inge the Younger · Ragnvald Knaphövde · Magnus the Strong · Houses of Sverker and Eric · Magnus Henriksen Sverker · Eric c.1130–1250 Sverker the Elder · Eric the Saint · Magnus Henriksen · Charles Sverkersson · Kol / Boleslas · Canute I · Sverker the Younger · Eric Canutesson · John Sverkersson · Eric Ericsson · Canute II 1 · Eric Ericsson Bjelbo 1250–1364 Valdemar Birgersson · Magnus Ladulås · Birger Magnusson · Mats Kettilmundsson 2 · Magnus Ericsson3 · Eric Magnusson · Magnus Ericsson / Haakon Magnusson3 Mecklenburg 1364–1389 Albrekt (Albert) Kalmar Union Italics indicate regents 1389–1523 Margaret I of Denmark4 / Eric of Pomerania4 · Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson · Eric of Pomerania4 · Charles Canutesson · Eric of Pomerania4 · Charles Canutesson · Christopher of Bavaria4 · Bengt Jönsson (Oxenstierna) / Nils Jönsson (Oxenstierna) · Charles Canutesson3 · Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna / Erik Axelsson Tott · Christian I4 · Kettil Karlsson (Vasa) · Charles Canutesson · Kettil Karlsson (Vasa) · Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna · Erik Axelsson Tott · Charles Canutesson · Sten Sture the Elder · John II4 · Sten Sture the Elder · Svante Nilsson · Eric Trolle · Sten Sture the Younger · Christian II4 · Gustaf Eriksson (Vasa) Vasa 1523–1654 Gustaf I · Eric XIV · John III · Sigismund5 · Charles IX · Gustaf II Adolf · Christina Palatinate- Zweibrücken Hesse-Kassel 1654–1751 Charles X Gustav · Charles XI · Charles XII · Ulrika Eleonora · Frederick I Holstein-Gottorp 1751–1818 Adolf Frederick · Gustaf III · Gustaf IV Adolf · Charles XIII3 Bernadotte since 1818 Charles XIV John3 · Oscar I3 · Charles XV3 · Oscar II3 · Gustaf V · Gustaf VI Adolf · Carl XVI Gustaf 1 Lineage uncertain.  2 Regent.  3 Also Norwegian monarch.  4 Also Norwegian and Danish monarch.  5 Also king of Poland.