Gustaf VI Adolf was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death. He was the eldest
son of King Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden, and had been Crown Prince of Sweden
for the preceding 43 years in the reign of his father.
Gustaf VI Adolf was a lifelong amateur archeologist particularly interested in Ancient Italian
cultures. Later in his life he was a keen supporter of civil rights, meeting with Martin
Luther King, Jr. in Stockholm.
Birth
He was born at the Royal Palace in Stockholm and at birth created Duke of Skåne. A patrilineal
member of the Bernadotte, he was also a descendant of the House of Vasa through maternal lines.
Through his mother Victoria, he was a descendant of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden of the deposed
House of Holstein-Gottorp. Crown Prince
Gustaf Adolf became Crown Prince of Sweden on 8 December 1907, at the death of his grandfather,
King Oscar II. In 1938 he was elected an honorary member
of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati. Reign
On 29 October 1950, Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf became king at age 67 upon the death of his
father, King Gustaf V. He was at the time the world's oldest heir apparent to a monarchy.
His personal motto was Plikten framför allt, "Duty before all".
During Gustaf VI Adolf's reign, work was underway on a new Instrument of Government – eventually
taking effect in 1975 after the king's death – to replace the 1809 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 made him respected, as did his informal and modest
nature and his purposeful avoidance of pomp. The monarchy was, however, made subordinate
to a democratic state. Additional powers of the monarch were removed when Sweden's constitutional
reform became complete in 1975. The King died in 1973, ten weeks shy of his
91st birthday, at the old hospital in Helsingborg, Scania, close to his summer residence, Sofiero
Castle, after a deterioration in his health that culminated in pneumonia. He was succeeded
on the throne by his 27-year-old grandson Carl XVI Gustaf, son of the late Prince Gustaf
Adolf. His death came only days before the election of 1973, which is suggested to have
swayed it in support of the incumbent Social Democratic government. In a break with tradition,
he was not buried in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm, but in the Royal Cemetery in Haga
alongside his two deceased wives. Personal interests
The King's reputation as a "professional amateur professor" was widely known; nationally and
internationally, and among his relatives. Gustaf VI Adolf was a devoted archaeologist,
and was admitted to the British Academy for his work in botany in 1958. Gustaf VI Adolf
participated in archaeological expeditions in China, Greece, Korea and Italy, and founded
the Swedish Institute at Rome. Gustaf VI Adolf had an enormous private library
consisting of 80 000 volumes and – nearly more impressively – he actually had 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 was botany, concentrating in flowers and gardening. He was considered
an expert on the Rhododendron flower. At Sofiero he created one of the very finest Rhododendron
collections. Like his son, Prince Bertil, Gustaf VI Adolf
maintained wide, lifelong interests in sports. He enjoyed tennis and golf, and fly fishing
for charity. Family and issue
Gustaf Adolf married Princess Margaret of Connaught on 15 June 1905 in St. George's
Chapel, at Windsor Castle. Princess Margaret was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of
Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the United Kingdom.
Crown Princess Margaret died suddenly on 1 May 1920 of an infection following surgery.
At the time, she was eight months pregnant and expecting her sixth child.
He married Lady Louise Mountbatten, formerly Princess Louise of Battenberg, on 3 November
1923 at St. James's Palace. She was the sister of Lord Mountbatten and aunt of Prince Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh. It was Lady Louise who became Queen of Sweden. Both Queen Louise
and her stepchildren were great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
King Gustaf VI Adolf and Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden had five children:
Gustaf Adolf's second marriage to Louise 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 with operetta star Rosa
Grünberg. Swedish vocalist Carl-Erik Olivebring 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.
King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden was the grandfather of both his direct successor King Carl XVI
Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Titles, styles, honours and arms Titles and styles
11 November 1882 – 8 December 1907:His Royal Highness The Duke of Skåne, Prince of Sweden.
8 December 1907 – 29 Oktober 1950:His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Sweden, Duke
of Skåne. 29 Oktober 1950 – 15 September 1973: His
Majesty The King of Sweden. His title used in official documents was:
Gustaf Adolf, by the Grace of God, Sweden's, Gothia's and Wendia's King.
Honours This article incorporates information from
the equivalent article on the Italian Wikipedia. Swedish
Official Orders Lord and Master of the Order of the Seraphim
Lord and Master of the Order of the Sword Lord and Master of the Order of the Polar
Star Lord and Master of the Order of Vasa
Lord and Master of the Order of Charles XIII Quasi-Official Orders
High Protector of the Order of Saint John in Sweden
Official Medals King Oscar II:s Jubilee Commemorative Badge
King Oscar II:s and Sophia's Golden Wedding Commemorative Badge
King Gustaf V:s Commemorative Badge for his 70th birthday
King Gustaf V:s Commemorative Badge for his 90th birthday
Crown Prince Gustaf's and Victoria's Silver Wedding Commemorative Badge
The Medal Illis Quorum Meruere Labores of the 18th size
Foreign Austria
Great Star of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
Knight of the Order of the Elephant Grand Commander of the Order of Dannebrog
Collar of the Order of Mohammed Ali Commander Grand Cross with Collar of the Order
of the White Rose Knight Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Germany Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of
Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle
Commander of the Order of the Red Eagle Knight Grand Cross of the House Order of Fidelity
House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis Knight Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House
Order Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Rue
Crown
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer Knight Grand Cross decorated with Collar of
the Order of the Falcon Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi
Order of Al Rafidain Italy
Knight Grand Cross decorated with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy
Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands
Lion
Commander of the Order of St. Olav Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Norwegian
Lion
Knight of the Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class Order of the Sun with diamonds
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword
Knight of the Order of St. Andrew Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stanislaus Knight of The Class of the Order of St. Anna,
1st class Knight of the Order of the White Eagle
Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece Royal Knight of the Order of the Royal House
of Chakri
Stranger Knight of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Royal Victorian Chain Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian
Order
Honorary degrees
In 1918, Gustaf VI Adolf received an honorary doctorate at Lund University, in 1926 an Honorary
Doctorate at Yale, Princeton and Clark Universities, at Cambridge in 1929 and in 1932 at the University
of Dorpat. Arms
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 the Riddarsholmskyrkan in Sweden, but also the Frederiksborg Chapel
in Copenhagen, Denmark, as an Knight of the Danish Order of the Elephant. Upon his accession
to the throne in 1950, he assumed the Arms of Dominion of Sweden.
Ancestors