| Prince Gustaf Adolf | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Västerbotten | |||||
 Gustaf Adolf in 1932 | |||||
| Born | Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (1906-04-22)22 April 1906 Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden | ||||
| Died | 26 January 1947(1947-01-26) (aged 40) Kastrup Airfield,Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||
| Cause of death | Air crash | ||||
| Burial | 4 February 1947 Royal Cemetery,Solna, Sweden | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Bernadotte | ||||
| Father | Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden (later Gustaf VI Adolf) | ||||
| Mother | Margaret of Connaught | ||||
Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund; 22 April 1906 – 26 January 1947) was a Swedish prince who for most of his life was second in the line ofsuccession to the Swedish throne. He was the eldest son ofGustaf VI Adolf, who was crown prince for most of his son's life and ascended the Swedish throne three years after his son's death. The current king,Carl XVI Gustaf, is Prince Gustaf Adolf's son. The prince was killed on 26 January 1947 inan airplane crash atKastrup Airport,Copenhagen,Denmark.
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Gustaf Adolf was born inStockholm on 22 April 1906 as the eldest son of the then PrinceGustaf Adolf and his first wife PrincessMargaret. He was known by his last given name, Edmund, in the family.
Gustaf Adolf passedstudentexamen atStockholm Palace in 1925 and attended the Cavalry Officer Candidate School (Kavalleriets officersaspirantskola, KavOAS) inEksjö the following year and in 1926–1927 theRoyal Military Academy. He was then commissioned asfänrik in theSvea Life Guards (I 1) and theLife Regiment Dragoons (K 2) and in 1928 in theLife Regiment of Horse (K 1).[1] Gustaf Adolf continued his military training and became major in theGeneral Staff Corps,Svea Life Guards, and the Life Regiment of Horse in 1941[2] In 1943, he became lieutenant colonel in theGeneral Staff Corps, inSvea Life Guards, inVästerbotten Regiment and in the Swedish Cavalry.[3] He was lieutenant colonel at his death.[1]
Gustaf Adolf, who served as president of theSwedish Olympic Committee from 1933 until his death in 1947,[4][5] had competed inshow jumping at the1936 Summer Olympics.[6]
Gustaf Adolf joined theBoy Scouts, and as an adult became aScoutmaster. He earned hisWood Badge beads atGilwell Park in England. When theSvenska Scoutrådet formed he served as its first president orChief Scout.[7] He led the Swedish contingents at the5th World Scout Jamboree in 1937 and at theWorld Scout Moot in 1939. He served on theWorld Scout Committee from May 1937 until his death.[8][9]
From 1932, Prince Gustaf Adolf was chairman of theSwedish Scout Council and from 1937 honorary chairman of theInternational Scout Committee. Since 1933, the prince was also chairman of the Central Board of theSwedish Sports Confederation, the Swedish Central Association for Sports Promotion (Centralföreningen för idrottens främjande) and theSwedish Olympic Committee. Prince Gustaf Adolf was chairman of theRoyal Swedish Aero Club from 1937 and theRoyal Automobile Club from 1939.[1] He was first honorary member of the Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training (Centralförbundet för Befälsutbildning),[10] of theRoyal Society of Sciences in Uppsala,[11] of theRoyal Swedish Academy of War Sciences,[12] of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Music,[13] of theRoyal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences[14] and honorary member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences.[15] He was also honorary chairman of the Central Organization of the Swedish Women’s Auxiliary Veterinary Corps (Centralstyrelsen för Svenska blå stjärnan).[16]
As an official representative of Sweden, Gustaf Adolf met with many Nazi leaders, includingAdolf Hitler andHermann Göring, which has led to speculations about possible Nazi sympathies. In his bookAlla dessa Bernadottar (All these Bernadottes),Staffan Skott asserts that letters and diary entries by influential anti-Nazi Swedes disprove the rumors. The Swedish Royal Court made a statement denying any knowledge of Nazi sympathies.[17][better source needed]
Gustaf Adolf expressed his support forFinland during theContinuation War of 1941–1944, and would even have liked to participate as a voluntary soldier in theWinter War of 1939–1940, but the King's disapproval prevented this from happening.[citation needed]
Some leading Swedish politicians were averse to the possibility of seeing Gustaf Adolf inherit the throne, and one prominentSocial Democrat publicly uttered that the prince was "a person who must never be king".[18]
On 20 October 1932 atSt. Moritz Church in Coburg, Gustaf Adolf married his second cousin,Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, daughter ofCharles Edward, former Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They had five children:Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (born 31 October 1934);Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern (19 January 1937 – 4 December 2024);Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (born 2 June 1938);Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson (born 3 August 1943); and KingCarl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born 30 April 1946).[17]
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Gustaf Adolf was killed in an airplane crash in the afternoon of 26 January 1947 atKastrup Airport,Copenhagen,Denmark.[19] The prince, along with two companions, was returning to Stockholm from a hunting trip and visit toPrincess Juliana andPrince Bernhard of theNetherlands. The delayedKLM flight fromAmsterdam had landed atCopenhagen for a routine stop before continuing toStockholm. Soon after theDouglas DC-3 aircraft took off, it climbed to an altitude of about 50 meters (150 ft), stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded on impact. All 22 people aboard the plane (16 passengers and six crew members) were killed. Also aboard the ill-fated flight was American singer and actressGrace Moore and Danish actressGerda Neumann.[19] An investigation found that an inexperienced young employee had serviced the aircraft and, short of time, the plane's captain had failed to perform the final pre-flight check list properly. He took off not realizing that elevator locking pins were still in place.[20]
At the time of his death, Gustaf Adolf had been second in line to theSwedish throne behind his father, the crown prince, who in 1950 became King Gustaf VI Adolf. The younger Gustaf Adolf was succeeded as second in line by his only son,Carl Gustaf (at the time only 9 months old), who would later succeed his grandfather in 1973 as King Carl XVI Gustaf.
| Styles of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten | |
|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
Sweden
1927:Fänrik in theSvea Life Guards and theLife Regiment Dragoons[1] 1928:Fänrik in theLife Regiment of Horse[1] 1941:Major in theGeneral Staff Corps, Svea Life Guards, and the Life Regiment of Horse[2] 1943:Lieutenant Colonel in the General Staff Corps, Svea Life Guards,Västerbotten Regiment, and in the Swedish Cavalry[3] 1906: Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King (Knight of theRoyal Order of the Seraphim) 1906: Commander Grand Cross of theOrder of the Sword 1906: Commander Grand Cross of theOrder of the Polar Star 1906:Crown Prince Gustaf V and Crown Princess Silver Wedding Medal[21] 1907:King Oscar II and Queen Sofia's Golden Wedding Medal[21] 25 May 1928:King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal[21] 1906: Knight of theOrder of Charles XIII[21]
Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold[21]
Knight of theOrder of the Elephant[21]
Order of the Cross of the Eagle, 1st class[21]
Grand Cross of theOrder of the White Rose of Finland[21] First Class of theOrder of the Cross of Liberty with swords, oak leaf and star[21]
Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary[21]
Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion[21]
Grand Cross of theOrder of St. Olav with Collar[21]
Grand Cross of theSaxe-Ernestine House Order[21]
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of theRoyal Victorian Order[21] Recipient of theKing George VI Coronation Medal[21]The arms of Prince Gustaf Adolf were those of the Kingdom of Sweden, with a quarter with the arms ofVästerbotten in base.
| Ancestors of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten |
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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