Charles XIII of Sweden

Charles XIII & II
Charles XIII of Sweden wearing the Order of Charles XIII in red
King of Sweden
Reign 5 June 1809 – 5 February 1818 (&00000000000000080000008 years, &0000000000000245000000245 days)
Predecessor Gustav IV Adolf
Successor Charles XIV John
King of Norway
Reign 4 November 1814 – 5 February 1818 (&00000000000000030000003 years, &000000000000009300000093 days)
Predecessor Christian Frederick
Successor Charles III
Spouse Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp
House House of Holstein-Gottorp
Father Adolf Frederick
Mother Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Born 7 October 1748(1748-10-07)
Died 5 February 1818(1818-02-05) (aged 69)

Charles XIII & II also Carl, Swedish: Karl XIII (Stockholm, 7 October 1748 – Stockholm, 5 February 1818), was King of Sweden (as Charles XIII) from 1809 and King of Norway (as Charles II) from 1814 until his death. He was the second son of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, sister of Frederick the Great.[1]

Though known as King Charles XIII in Sweden, he was actually the seventh Swedish king by that name, as his predecessor Charles IX (reigned 1604–1611) had adopted a numeral after studying a fictitious history of Sweden.[2]

Statue of King Charles XIII at Kungsträdgården.

Contents

Life and politics

Prince Charles was appointed grand admiral when he was but few days old. He was described as a good dancer at the amateur theatre of the royal court. Reportedly he was not very close to his mother; the Queen preferred her younger children, Sophie Albertine and Frederick Adolf, but he and his elder brother Gustav were described as close. In 1772 he cooperated in the revolutionary plans of his elder brother, King Gustav III of Sweden and as a sign of recognition, was appointed Duke of Södermanland.

He was described as dependent of others, easily influenced, weak and pleasure loving. He was very interested in the supernatural, secret societies and mysticism. It is said that he was one of the best clients of the celebrated fortune teller Ulrica Arfvidsson and even asked her for political advice, and he also favored the medium Henrik Gustaf Ulfvenklou, who made a great success as a medium in the city's aristocracy during the season 1783–84 and had great influence over the duke. He was also a member of the Freemasons.

Charles was given several official tasks during his period as duke. In 1777, he served as regent during Gustav III:s stay in Russia, in 1780 he served as formal chief commmander during the King's stay in Spa. On the outbreak of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788 he served with distinction as admiral of the fleet, especially at the battles of Hogland (7 June 1788) and Öland ( 26 July 1789). On the latter occasion he would have won a signal victory but for the unaccountable remissness of his second-in-command, Admiral Liljehorn.

In 1785, he was given the proposition to become Duke of Courland by the nobility of the Duchy of Courland and given the support of Gustav III[3] , but the plans never materialized.

Charles was in close connection to the opposition against Gustav III, and it is debated whether he knew and supported the plans to assassinate the King.[4]

On the assassination of Gustav III in 1792, Charles acted as regent of Sweden till 1796 on behalf of his nephew, King Gustav IV, who was a minor when his father was shot in the Stockholm opera. The regent de facto, however, was in fact Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm, whose influence over him was supreme. These four years has been considered the perhaps most miserable and degrading in Swedish history (an Age of Lead succeeding an Age of Gold, as it has well been called) and may be briefly described as alternations of fantastic jacobinism and ruthless despotism.

On the coming of age of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden in November 1796, the duke's regency ended. In 1803, the Boheman affair caused a severe conflict between Gustav IV Adolf and the ducal couple. The mystic Karl Adolf Boheman (1764-1831) had been introduced to the spouses by Count Magnus Stenbock in 1793 and gained great influence by promising to reveal scientific secrets about the occult. Boheman inducted them to a secret society and founded what he described as a branch of the Freemasons in 1801, where both sexes where accepted as members, and to which the Counts and Countesses Ruuth and Brahe as well as the mother of the queen where introduced. Boheman where arrested upon an attempt to recruit the monarch, who accused him of revolutionary agendas and expelled him. The ducal couple where exposed to an informal investigation by the monarch, and the duchess where questioned in the presence of the royal council. [5]. In 1808, he was again chief commander during Gustav IV Adolf's stay in Finland.

On 13 March 1809, those who had dethroned Gustav IV Adolf appointed him regent, and he was finally elected king by the Riksdag of the Estates. But by this time he was prematurely decrepit, and Crown Prince Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte took over the government as soon as he landed in Sweden in 1810. By the Union of Sweden and Norway on 4 November 1814 Charles became king of Norway under the name Carl II of Norway. After eight years as king only by title, Charles died without a natural heir on 5 February 1818, and Bernadotte succeeded him as King Charles XIV John.[6]

In 1774, his brother arranged a marriage with his cousin, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp. His marital relationship was very distant; although initially fond of his beautiful and lively bride, they lived most of their lives separated and both had extramarital affairs. During his old age, when he became king, he began to follow her around, irritating her by asking the same questions repeatedly. Charles was talked about as having a whole harem of mistresses, including noblewoman such as Augusta von Fersen and singers and actresses such as Charlotte Eckerman. One of his best known mistresses was Charlotte Slottsberg, who also had influence over him. As a king, his mistress was the noblewoman Mariana Koskull.

He was the 872nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain.

Children and family

He married his cousin Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759–1818), on 7 July 1774 in Stockholm, but both of their children died in infancy.

  1. Lovisa Hedvig (– 2 July 1797)
  2. Carl Adolf, Duke of Värmland (Stockholm, 4 July 1798 – Stockholm, 10 July 1798)

With his mistress, Augusta von Fersen, he had a son:

  1. Carl Löwenhielm 1772–1861

Ancestors

  Swedish Royalty
  House of Holstein-Gottorp
Blason Adolphe Frédéric de Suède.svg
Adolf Frederick
Children
   Gustav III
   Charles XIII
   Frederick Adolf, Duke of Östergötland
   Sophia Albertina, Abbess of Quedlinburg
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
   Sophie, Grand Duchess of Baden
   Princess Amalia Maria Charlotta
   Cecilia, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg
Grandchildren include:
   Carola, Queen of Saxony
Charles XIII
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Marie Elisabeth of Saxony
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. Frederick III of Denmark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Frederikke Amalie of Denmark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Adolf Frederick of Sweden
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Friedrich VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Christine Magdalen of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (= 16)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Auguste Marie of Holstein-Gottorp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Marie Elisabeth of Saxony (= 17)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Charles XIII of Sweden
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Frederick I of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. Luise Henriette of Nassau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Frederick William I of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. Sophia, Countess Palatine of Simmern
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover (= 26)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. George I of Great Britain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. Sophia, Countess Palatine of Simmern (= 27)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Sophia Dorothea of Celle
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Eleonore d'Esmier d'Olbreuse
 
 
 
 
 
 

See also

References

  1. ↑ Karl 2 – utdypning (Store norske leksikon)
  2. ↑ Article Karl in Nordisk familjebok
  3. ↑ Cecilia af Klercker (1903) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok II 1783-1788 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte II). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. p. 96. ISBN 412070. 
  4. ↑ Nationalencyklopedin på internet den 2 januari 2007, uppslagsord Karl XIII
  5. ↑ Cecilia af Klercker (1936) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok VII 1800-1806 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte VIII 1800-1806). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag Stockholm. p. 497-527. ISBN 362103. 
  6. ↑ Halvdan Koht: biografi (Karl XIII), i NBL1, bd. 7, 1936

Other sources

External links

Karl XIII/II
House of Holstein-Gottorp
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 7 October 1748 Died: 5 February 1818
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Gustav IV Adolf		 King of Sweden
1809–1818		 Succeeded by
Charles XIV/III John
Preceded by
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 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.