Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) wasKing of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son ofGustaf V and his wife,Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Adolf acceded to the throne, he wascrown prince for nearly 43 years during his father's reign. As king, and shortly before his death, he gave his approval to constitutional changes which removed the Swedish monarchy's last political powers. He was a lifelong amateurarcheologist particularly interested inAncient Italian cultures.
In 1926, the Crown Prince and Crown PrincessLouise visited the United States. They included a trip to San Francisco, where the Crown Prince visitedBohemian Grove to see theGrove PlayTruth by poetGeorge Sterling.
From September to December 1934, the Crown Prince, Crown PrincessLouise, PrincessIngrid and PrinceBertil visited a number of countries in theNear East. The journey began on 13 September from Stockholm. The journey went by rail viaMalmö,Berlin andRome toMessina, where the royals boarded the Swedish Oriental Line motor shipVasaland, destined forGreece. They stopped atPatras and then the journey continued to Aegion.[1] On 20 September, they arrived inPiraeus, from where the royals took a train toAthens, where they were received by thePresident of Greece and representatives of government agencies. Furthermore, an excursion was made toDelphi,Nafplio andDelos with the cruiserHellas. After returning to Athens,Vasaland departed forThessaloniki on 28 September, where the international fair was visited. On 2 October, they arrived inIstanbul. After the ship dropped anchor, the royals were landed on the Asian side of the strait. The sloop docked at the quay in front ofHaydarpaşa railway station. At the platform, PresidentMustafa Kemal Atatürk's caravan waited, in which the journey continued toAnkara. At the station, the guests were received by Atatürk, members of the government and the administration. After his arrival, the Crown Prince visited Atatürk as well as Foreign MinisterTevfik Rüştü Aras. The visit to Ankara lasted from 3 to 5 October. On 5 October, a two-day visit toBursa was made. The stay in Turkey ended with a four-day incognito break in Istanbul, during which several receptions were held at the Swedish legation.[1]
On 10 October, the royal travelers continued withVasaland, which arrived on 12 October inİzmir. From here, the departure took place on 15 October with the president's own train and on 17 October it arrived inAleppo, after Prince Bertil and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the party on the way. In Aleppo, the stay was extended to about 14 days, when the Crown Prince contracted a mild intestinal catarrh due to the stressful climate. On 1 November, the journey continued. The Crown Prince Couple, Princess Ingrid and Prince Bertil then boarded a British military plane and arrived inBaghdad on the same day. The KingGhazi of Iraq met at his country retreat Kasr-el-Zuhoor, from where he accompanied his guests to Bilatt Castle. At all the official events that followed, except for King Ghazi of Iraq, his uncle and father-in-law, KingAli of Hejaz, the President of the Council and members of the Cabinet, the President of the Senate and others.[1] On 6 November, the royals left by train forKhanaqin, where cars were ready to take them toTehran. At the border, they were received by a representative of the Persian government and in Tehran by the Foreign Minister and the Grand Master of the Ceremonies, as well as representatives of government agencies. The Crown Prince's family went in a procession to the castle, where the Shah for the Crown Prince represented the council president and others were present. The Shah then accompanied the Crown Prince to theGolestan Palace. After several days in the Persian capital, he left forMazandaran Province to study for three days the ongoing construction work for theTrans-Iranian Railway. He then returned to Tehran to say goodbye to the Shah. The Crown Prince's family then left on 17 November in Volvo cars forIsfahan andPersepolis. In the latter place, the royals lived in the so-called Xerxes' harem and visited the city under the leadership of ProfessorErnst Herzfeld. On 25 November, the return journey to Baghdad began over the snowy passes along the Kum-Sultanabad-Kermanshah road, a three-day uninterrupted journey by car.[1]
After a week-long unofficial stay in Baghdad with visits to modern factories and excursions toUr andBabylon, the Crown Prince Couple and Princess Ingrid left forDamascus on 5 December by plane. Prince Bertil accompanied the car caravan through the desert, wherecamel troops paraded at Rutbah station. On 6 December, thePresident of the Syrian Republic hosted a banquet for the Crown Prince's family, who stayed in Syria for four days. During the return journey toBeirut,Baalbek and the ruins of the old sun city were visited. In Beirut, the royals were received with military honors and were guests of the French government. TheHigh Commissioner of the Levant, with whom the Crown Prince and Crown Princess stayed, hosted a dinner, as did thePresident of the Lebanese Republic.[1] The Crown Prince also visited the new port facilities in Beirut and visited the offices of the Swedish Oriental Line,Volvo andSKF. Furthermore, the journey went toJerusalem. The royals arrived on 11 December by car inPalestine and met at the border by the British Commissioner for the Northern District. A two-day break was made inHaifa, where the royals lived in the government building onMount Carmel. Visits were made on board the Swedish Orient Line's motor shipHemland. During his stay inHaifa, the Crown Prince laid a wreath at the monument to KingFaisal I of Iraq. Excursions were made toCapernaum,Acre,Nazareth andNablus as well as the modern Jewish cooperative colony of Nahallah. The Crown Prince's family arrived in Jerusalem on 13 December and immediately went to their residence during their stay there, the residence of the BritishHigh Commissioner. The program for the following days included a two-day break inJaffa andTel Aviv. Visits were made to the offices of Volvo, SKF,ASEA and other Swedish companies.[1] A two-day excursion was made around 20 December toJericho, theDead Sea,Transjordan's capitalAmman andPetra. The travelers were received by theEmir of Transjordan. After their return to Jerusalem, the royals continued immediately with train toCairo, where they were guests of the Egyptian government. Due toKing Fuad's illness, thePrime Minister hosted the reception banquet at Zafaran Palace on 22 December. The royal guests spent Christmas in stillness, partly in a villa at the foot of the pyramids, partly on the Swedish legation. The Crown Prince and Prince Bertil then visited for a couple of daysAlexandria. The Swedish consulCarl Wilhelm von Gerber arranged a reception for the governor, the chief officials, the consuls and the judiciary and the Swedish deputy consul and such for the leading trade representatives.[1]
On 29 October 1950, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf became king a few days before his 68th birthday, upon the death of his father,King Gustaf V. He was at the time the world's oldest heir apparent to a monarchy (this in turn was broken by his grandnephewCharles, Prince of Wales on 2 November 2016). On 30 October he took the regal assurance and was enthroned on Queen Christina's Silver Throne. He then delivered his accession speech and adoptedPlikten framför allt ("Duty before all"), as his personal motto.
During Gustaf VI Adolf's reign, work was underway on a newInstrument of Government to replace the1809 constitution and produce reforms consistent with the times. Among the reforms sought by some Swedes was the replacement of the monarchy or at least some moderation of the old constitution's provision that "The King alone shall govern the realm."
Gustaf VI Adolf's personal qualities made him popular among the Swedish people and, in turn, this popularity led to strong public opinion in favour of the retention of the monarchy. Gustaf VI Adolf's expertise and interest in a wide range of fields (architecture and botany being but two) made him respected, as did his informal and modest nature and his purposeful avoidance of pomp. While the monarchy had beende facto subordinate to the Riksdag and ministers since the definitive establishment of parliamentary rule in 1917, the king still nominally retained considerablereserve powers. With few exceptions, though, Gustaf Adolf limited himself to a representative and ceremonial role, and chose to act on the advice of the ministers.
The most notable occasion when Gustaf Adolf personally exercised his political power was during the 1957 government crisis that started as a result of a split within the government over pension reform. This split had caused the Center Party to leave the coalition with the Social Democrats. Gustaf Adolf then attempted to form a center-right coalition government. The leader of the Center Party, however, refused to be part of a right wing government and instead supported a Social Democratic minority government, which the King ended up appointing. His handling of the situation was seen as correct from a parliamentary standpoint.[2]
The King died in 1973, at the old hospital inHelsingborg,Scania, close to his summer residence,Sofiero Castle, after a deterioration in his health that culminated inpneumonia. He was succeeded on the throne by his 27-year-old grandsonCarl XVI Gustaf, son of the latePrince Gustaf Adolf. He died the day before theelection of 1973, which is suggested to have swayed it in support of the incumbent Social Democratic government.[3] In a break with tradition, he was not buried inRiddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm, but in theRoyal Cemetery inHaga alongside his wives.
Not long before his death, Gustaf Adolf approved a new constitution that stripped the monarchy of its remaining political powers. The new document took effect in 1975, two years after Gustaf Adolf's death, leaving his grandson as a ceremonial figurehead.
Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf meets some English footballers (c. 1910–1914).
The King's reputation as a "professional amateur professor" was widely known; nationally and internationally, and among his relatives. Gustaf VI Adolf was a devotedarchaeologist, and was admitted to theBritish Academy for his work in botany in 1958. Gustaf VI Adolf participated in archaeological expeditions in China, Greece, Korea and Italy, and founded theSwedish Institute in Rome.
Gustaf VI Adolf had an enormous private library consisting of 80,000 volumes and – nearly more impressively – he actuallyhad read the main part of the books. He had an interest in specialist literature on Chinese art and East Asian history. Throughout his life, King Gustaf VI Adolf was particularly interested in the history of civilization, and he participated in several archaeological expeditions. His other great area of interest wasbotany, concentrating in flowers and gardening. He was considered an expert on theRhododendron flower. AtSofiero Castle (the king's summer residence) he created an admired Rhododendron collection.
According to all six books of memoires by his sons Sigvard[4] and Carl Johan,[5] nephewLennart[6] and of wives of the two sons,[7] Gustaf Adolf from the 1930s on took a great and abiding interest in removing their royal titles and privileges (because of marriages that were unconstitutional at the time), persuaded his father Gustaf V to do so and to have the Royal Court call the three family members onlyMr. Bernadotte.
Crown Princess Margaret died suddenly on 1 May 1920 with her cause of death given as an infection following surgery. At the time, she was eight months pregnant and expecting their sixth child.
His second marriage produced only one stillborn daughter on 30 May 1925.
While his first wife visited her native Britain in the early years of their marriage, it was widely rumored in Sweden that Gustaf Adolf had an affair there withoperetta star Rosa Grünberg.[9] Swedish vocalistCarl E. Olivebring (1919–2002) in a press interview claimed to be an extramarital son of Gustaf VI Adolf, a claim taken seriously by the king's biographer Kjell Fridh (1944–1998).[10]
Via his son Gustaf Adolf and his daughter Ingrid, respectively, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden was the grandfather of his direct successor King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and QueenMargrethe II of Denmark (who is herself the mother of King Frederik X of Denmark).
Society for the Promotion of Ski Sport and Open Air Life Royal Jubilee Medal (Skid- och friluftsfrämjandets kungliga jubileumsmedalj),1967[12]
Swedish Association of Conscript Non-Commissioned Officers Medal of Merit in gold (Värnpliktiga underofficerares riksförbunds förtjänstmedalj i guld)[12]
Upon his creation as Duke of Skåne, Gustaf Adolf was granted a coat of arms with the arms of Skåne in base. These arms can be seen on his stall-plates both as Knight of the Swedish order of the Seraphim in theRiddarholm Church in Sweden, but also theFrederiksborg Chapel in Copenhagen, Denmark, as a Knight of the DanishOrder of the Elephant. Upon his accession to the throne in 1950, he assumed the Royal Arms of Sweden.
As prince of Sweden and Norway and Duke of Scania 1882 to 1905
As crown prince of Sweden and Duke of Scania 1907 to 1950
^Elgklou, Lars (1978).Bernadotte: historien - och historier - om en familj (in Swedish). Stockholm: Askild & Kärnekull. p. 170.ISBN91-7008-882-9.SELIBR7589807.
^Fridh, Kjell (1995).Gamle kungen: Gustaf VI Adolf : en biografi (in Swedish). Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand.ISBN91-46-16462-6.SELIBR7281986.
^Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1969) [1st pub.:1801].Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1969 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1969](PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. pp. 18, 20. Retrieved29 May 2020 – viada:DIS Danmark.
1Also prince of Norway 2Also prince of Poland and Lithuania 3Lost his title due to an unequal marriage 4Not Swedish prince by birth, but created prince of Sweden
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