Gustav IV Adolf

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Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
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Gustav IV Adolf
Riddarholm Church, Sweden-Norway
Spouse
(m. 1797; div. 1812)
Issue
Lutheran
SignatureGustav IV Adolf's signature

Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph[1] (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland.

The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 by Russian forces was the immediate cause of Gustav Adolf's violent overthrow by officers of his own army. Following his abdication on 29 March 1809, an Instrument of Government was hastily written, which severely circumscribed the powers of the monarchy. The "Instrument" was adopted in 1809 on 6 June, the National Day of Sweden now as well as in his time. It remained in force until replaced in 1974. The crown, now with strictly limited powers, passed to Gustav Adolf's uncle Charles XIII.[2]

Early life

Gustav Adolf at the age of seven

Gustav Adolf was born in

Gustav III of Sweden by his wife queen Sophia Magdalena. His mother, Sophia Magdalena, was eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain
.

Gustav Adolf was under the tutelage of

Prince Charles, Duke of Södermanland
, who was later to become King Charles XIII of Sweden when his nephew was forced to abdicate and was banished from the country in 1809.

In August 1796, his uncle the regent arranged for the young king to visit

Catherine the Great. However, the whole arrangement foundered on Gustav Adolf's unwavering refusal to allow his intended bride liberty of worship according to the rites of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nobody seems to have suspected the possibility at the time that emotional problems might lie at the root of Gustav Adolf'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.[3]

Politics

Gustav Adolf's prompt dismissal of the generally detested

war against Russia, as well as widespread crop failures in 1798 and 1799, compelled him to summon the estates to Norrköping in March 1800 and on 3 April the same year.[3]
When the king encountered serious opposition at the Riksdag, he resolved never to call another.

Loss of Finland

His reign was ill-fated and was to end abruptly. In 1805, he joined the Third Coalition against

Imperial Russia
.

Coup d'état and abdication

Gustav IV Adolf's arrest

Gustav Adolf was arrested through a conspiracy of army officers.

On 7 March 1809,

Gripsholm Castle; the king's uncle, Duke Charles (Karl), accepted the leadership of a provisional government, which was proclaimed the same day; and a diet, hastily summoned, solemnly approved of the revolution.[3]

On 29 March Gustav IV Adolf, to save the crown for his son, voluntarily abdicated; but on 10 May the

constitution
, which was ratified by the diet the next day. In December, Gustav Adolf and his family were transported to Germany. In 1812, he divorced his wife.

In exile Gustav Adolf used several titles, including Count

Riddarholm Church. Gustav Adolf was a great-grandfather of Victoria of Baden, Oscar's new daughter-in-law at the time and eventually Queen of Sweden as consort to Oscar's son Gustaf V
.

Arms

Coat of Arms of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden

Ancestry

Family

Gustav Adolph's and Frederica's coronation medal of 1800
Walking with his wife Queen Frederica

In 1797 he married Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Baden, with whom he had five children:

  1. Crown Prince
    Habsburgs of Austria, and with his wife Princess Louise Amelie of Baden, fathered a son who died in infancy, and a daughter, Carola, the wife of Albert, King of Saxony
    . She died childless.
  2. Princess
    Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
    is thus Gustav IV's heir.)
  3. Prince Carl Gustaf, Grand Duke of Finland (2 December 1802 – 10 September 1805)
  4. Princess Amalia (22 February 1805 – 31 August 1853); unmarried and without issue
  5. Princess Cecilia (22 June 1807 – 1844); married Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, and had issue.

By 1812, Gustav Adolf divorced his consort, and following this he had several mistresses, among them Maria Schlegel, who gave him a son, Adolf Gustafsson.

See also

Notes

References

External links

Gustav IV Adolf
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 1 November 1778 Died: 7 February 1837
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Gustav III
King of Sweden
1792–1809
Vacant
Title next held by
Charles XIII