Gustav V of Sweden

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Gustav V
King of Sweden
Reign	8 December 1907 - 29 October 1950
Full name	Oscar Gustav Adolf Bernadotte
Titles	Duke of Värmland
Born	16 June 1858
Birthplace	Drottningholm Palace
Died	29 July 1950 (aged 92)
Place of death	Drottningholm Palace
Buried	Riddarholmen Church
Predecessor	Oscar II
Successor	Gustav VI Adolf
Consort	Victoria of Baden
Issue	Prince Gustav Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland
Royal House	Bernadotte
Father	Oscar II
Mother	Sofia of Nassau

Gustav V (Oscar Gustav Adolf) (16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 1907 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe I, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

[edit] Early life

Gustav V was born in Drottningholm Palace and at birth was created Duke of Värmland. On December 8, 1907 he succeeded his father on the Swedish throne, which had been separated from the Norwegian throne two years earlier.

He married Princess Victoria of Baden on September 20, 1881. She was the granddaughter of Sofia of Sweden, and her marriage to Gustav V united by a real blood link (and not only so-called adoption) the reigning Bernadotte dynasty with the former royal house of Holstein-Gottorp.

[edit] Public life

Gustav V was the last Swedish king to intervene directly in the politics of the country, in 1914 on the disputes over defence budgets. He was a conservative man, who did not approve of the democratic movement and the demands for workers' rights. Gustav V was also the last Swedish king to be Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces (between 1907 and 1939).

Gustav V was considered to have German sympathies during World War I. His political stance during WWI was highly influenced by his domineering wife, who felt a strong connection to her German homeland. On the 18th December 1914 he sponsored a meeting with the other two kings of Scandinavia to demonstrate unity within and between the Scandinavian countries. Another of Gustav V's objectives with this, three-king conference was to dispel suspicions that he wanted to bring Sweden into the war on Germany's side.

Both the king and his grandson Prince Gustav Adolf, had socialized with certain Nazi leaders before World War II, though arguably for diplomatic purposes. Gustav V attempted to convince Hitler during a visit to Berlin to soften his persecution of the Jews, according to historian Jörgen Weibull. (Weibull, Bernadottes on Sweden's Throne) [1]. He was also noted for appealing to the leader of Hungary to save its Jews "in the name of humanity." [2] At the behest of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gustav V appealed to Hitler for peace negotiations in 1938, "in the interest of peace". [3]

When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in October 1941, Gustav V tried to write a private letter to Hitler thanking him for taking care of the "Bolshevik pest" and congratulating him on his "already achieved victories".(Dagens Nyheter 070729)[4]. He was stopped from doing so by the prime minister Hansson . Never the less the king sent the message to Hitler (trough a telegram by the German ambassy in Stockholm) behind the back of the government.

According to Prime Minister Hansson the king had, during a private conversation, threatened to abdicate if the government did not approve of the German request for permission to transfer one armed division (Engelbrecht mountain ranger division) through Swedish territory from northern Norway to northern Finland in June 1941. The accuracy of this claim is debated, and the king's stated intention (if he did in fact make this threat) was to avoid conflict with Germany, according to Hansson (Wahlbäck, Regeringen och kriget. Ur statsrådens dagböcker 1939-41). [5] According to Ernst Wigforss, both Gustav V and Prince Gustav Adolf attempted to persuade the Swedish government to allow the Allies to transport troops through Sweden, though this was rejected by the government because it was felt it would cause retributions from Germany. [6]

[edit] Personal life

Swedish Royalty
House of Bernadotte

Charles XIV John Children    Oscar I Oscar I Children    Charles XV    Gustaf, Duke of Upland    Oscar II    Princess Eugenie    August, Duke of Dalarna Charles XV Children    Lovisa, Queen of Denmark    Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland Oscar II Children    Gustaf V    Oscar, Duke of Gotland    Eugén, Duke of Närke    Carl, Duke of Västergötland Grandchildren    Princess Margaretha    Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway    Astrid, Queen of Belgium    Carl, Duke of Östergötland Gustaf V Children    Gustaf VI Adolf    Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland    Erik, Duke of Västmanland Gustaf VI Adolf Children    Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten    Sigvard, Duke of Uppland    Ingrid, Queen of Denmark    Bertil, Duke of Halland    Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna Grandchildren    Princess Margaretha    Princess Birgitta    Princess Désirée    Princess Christina    Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf Children    Crown Princess Victoria    Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland    Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

Gustav V was tall and thin. He wore pince-nez eyeglasses and sported a pointed goatee and mustache for most of his teen years. The king was accused of being homosexual by a man named Kurt Haijby and the royal court paid Haijby a substantial sum of money for his silence, this came to public notice through the Haijby affair.

Gustav V was a devoted tennis player, appearing under the pseudonym Mr G. As a player and promoter of the sport, Gustav was elected in to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980. Gustav learned the sport during a visit in Britain in 1876 and founded Sweden's first tennis club on his return home. In 1936 he founded the King's Club. During his reign, Gustav was often seen playing on the Riviera. During a visit in Berlin, Gustav went straight from a meeting with Hitler to a tennis match with the Jewish player Daniel Prenn. [7] During World War II he interceded to obtain better treatment for Davis Cup stars Jean Borotra of France and Gottfried von Cramm of Germany, who had been imprisoned by the German government.

Portrait Crown Prince Gustav and Crown Princess Victoria in the early 1880s

Portrait Crown Prince Gustav in his 20s

Gustav V making his famous Courtyard Speech at Stockholm Palace in 1914

Speaking with Hjalmar Branting around 1920

Prince Gustav Adolf, Göring and Gustav V in Berlin 1939.

Gustav V, Crown Prince Gustav Adolf and Prince Bertil published in 1943

Gustav V accepting flowers

[edit] Children

1. HRH Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Skåne and later succeeded his father as HM King Gustav VI Adolf (1882-1973)
2. HRH Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland (1884-1965)
3. HRH Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (1889-1918)

[edit] Ancestors

[edit] Other notes

1. Opener of the 1912 Summer Olympics

[edit] See also

• Haijby affair

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Gustav V of Sweden

• Gustav V profile at the International Tennis Hall of Fame website