View source for Gustav IV Adolf

{{Short description|King of Sweden from 1792 to 1809}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2022}}
{{stack begin}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name                 = Gustav IV Adolf
| title                =
| succession           = [[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]
| image                = Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.jpg
| caption              = Portrait by [[Per Krafft the Younger]], 1809
| reign                = 29 March 1792 – 29 March 1809
| coronation           = 3 April 1800
| full name            =
| predecessor          = [[Gustav III]]
| successor            = [[Charles XIII]]
| regent = [[Charles XIII|Charles, Duke of Södermanland]]<br>(later Charles XIII)<br>(1792–1796)
| spouse               = {{marriage|[[Frederica of Baden]]|1797|1812|end=div}}
| issue                = {{plain list|
* [[Gustav, Prince of Vasa]]
* [[Princess Sophie of Sweden|Sophie, Grand Duchess of Baden]]
* [[Princess Amalia of Sweden|Princess Amalia]]
* [[Princess Cecilia of Sweden (1807–1844)|Cecilia, Grand Duchess of Oldenburg]]
}}
| religion             = [[Lutheran]]
| house                = [[House of Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line)|Holstein-Gottorp]]
| father               = [[Gustav III]]
| mother               = [[Sophia Magdalena of Denmark]]
| birth_date           = {{birth date|1778|11|01|df=y}}
| birth_place          = [[Stockholm Palace]], [[Gustavian era|Kingdom of Sweden]]
| death_date           = {{Death date and age|1837|02|07|1778|11|01|df=y}}
| death_place          = [[St. Gallen]], [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland|Swiss Confederacy]]
| date of burial       = 29 May 1884
| place of burial      = [[Riddarholm Church]], Stockholm
| signature            = Signature of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.svg
}}
{{House of Holstein-Gottorp (Sweden)}}
{{stack end}}
'''Gustav IV Adolf''' or '''Gustav IV Adolph'''<ref>David Williamson in ''Debrett's Kings and Queens of Europe'', {{ISBN|0-86350-194-X}}, pp. 125, 134, 194, 207.</ref> (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was [[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]] from 1792 until he [[Coup of 1809|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 overthrow, violently initiated by officers of his own army. Following his abdication on 29 March 1809, an [[Instrument of Government (1809)|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]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cronholm |first=Neander N. |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924071200822 |title=A History of Sweden from the Earliest Times to the Present Day |year=1902}}, ch. 37, pp. 203–219.</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:Gustav III & Sophia Magdelene.jpg|thumb|left|Gustav Adolf's parents, King Gustav III and Queen Sophia Magdalena]]
[[File:Gustav Adolf Vierte Schweden Kind.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Gustav Adolf at the age of 7.]]
Gustav Adolf was born in [[Stockholm]] on 1 November 1778 as the son of [[Gustav III]] and queen [[Sophia Magdalena of Denmark|Sophia Magdalena]]. His mother was the eldest daughter of [[Frederick V of Denmark]] and [[Louise of Great Britain]].

Gustav Adolf was under the tutelage of [[Hedvig Sofia von Rosen]] and her deputies Brita Ebba Celestina von Stauden and [[Maria Aurora Uggla]] until the age of 4. He was then raised under the tutelage of his father and the liberal-minded Nils von Rosenstein. Upon Gustav III's assassination in March 1792, Gustav Adolf succeeded to the throne at the age of 13, under the regency of his uncle, [[Charles XIII|Prince Charles, Duke of Södermanland]], who was later to become King Charles XIII 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 [[Saint Petersburg]]. The intention was to arrange a marriage between the young king and [[Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna]], a granddaughter of [[Catherine II of Russia|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.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

==Politics==
Gustav Adolf's prompt dismissal of the generally detested [[Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm]], the duke-regent's leading advisor, added still further to his popularity. On 31 October 1797, Gustav married [[Frederica of Baden|Friederike Dorothea]], granddaughter of [[Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden|Karl Friedrich]], Margrave of [[Baden]], a marriage which seemed to threaten war with [[Russia]] but for the fanatical hatred of the [[French First Republic|French republic]] shared by the [[Paul I of Russia|Emperor Paul of Russia]] and Gustav IV Adolf, which served as a bond between them. Indeed, the king's horror of [[Jacobinism]] was intense, and drove him to become increasingly committed to the survival of Europe, to the point where he postponed his coronation for some years, so as to avoid calling together a [[Diet (assembly)|diet]]. Nonetheless, the disorder of the state finances, largely inherited from Gustav III's [[Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)|war against Russia]], as well as widespread crop failures in 1798 and 1799, compelled him to summon the [[Riksdag of the Estates|estates]] to [[Norrköping]] in March 1800 and on 3 April the same year.{{sfn|Bain|1911}} When the king encountered serious opposition at the Riksdag, he resolved never to call another.

==Loss of Finland==
{{Main|Finnish War}}
His reign was ill-fated and was to end abruptly. In 1805, he joined the [[War of the Third Coalition|Third Coalition]] 
against [[Napoleon]]. His campaign went poorly and the French occupied [[Swedish Pomerania]]. When his ally, Russia, made peace and concluded an alliance with [[Treaties of Tilsit|France at Tilsit]] in 1807, Sweden and [[Portugal]] were left as [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]]'s only allies on the European continent. On 21 February 1808, [[Finnish War|Russia invaded Finland]], which was ruled by Sweden, on the pretext of compelling Sweden to join Napoleon's [[Continental System]]. [[Denmark–Norway|Denmark]] likewise declared war on Sweden.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} In just a few months, almost all of Finland was lost to Russia. As a result of the war, on 17 September 1809, in the [[Treaty of Fredrikshamn]], Sweden surrendered the eastern third of Sweden to Russia. Following which the autonomous [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] was established within [[Imperial Russia]].

==Coup d'état and abdication==
[[Image:Gustavarrest.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Gustav IV Adolf's arrest]]
Gustav Adolf was deposed by a conspiracy of army officers.

On 7 March 1809, [[lieutenant-colonel]] [[Georg Adlersparre]], commander of a part of the so-called western army stationed in [[Värmland]], triggered the [[Coup of 1809]] by raising the flag of rebellion in [[Karlstad]] and starting to march upon Stockholm. To prevent the king from joining loyal troops in Scania, on 13 March 1809 seven of the conspirators led by [[Carl Johan Adlercreutz]] broke into the royal apartments in the palace, seized the king, and imprisoned him and his family in [[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]].{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

On 29 March, Gustav IV Adolf, to save the crown for his son, voluntarily abdicated; but on 10 May, the [[Riksdag of the Estates]], dominated by the [[Swedish Army|army]], declared that not merely Gustav but his whole family had forfeited the throne,{{sfn|Bain|1911}} perhaps an excuse to exclude his family from succession based on the rumours of his illegitimacy. A more likely cause, however, was that the revolutionaries feared that Gustav Adolf's son, if he inherited the throne, would avenge his father's deposition when he came of age. On 5 June, Gustav Adolf's uncle was proclaimed King [[Charles XIII]], after accepting a new liberal [[Swedish constitution of 1809|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 [[House of Holstein-Gottorp|Gottorp]] and Duke of [[House of Holstein-Gottorp|Holstein-Eutin]], and finally settled at [[St. Gallen]] in [[Restoration and Regeneration (Switzerland)|Switzerland]] where he lived in a small hotel in great loneliness and indigence,{{sfn|Bain|1911}} under the name of Colonel Gustafsson. It was there that he suffered a stroke and died on 7 February 1837. He was buried in [[Moravia]]. At the suggestion of King [[Oscar II]] and Norway, his body was finally brought to Sweden and interred in [[Riddarholm Church]]. Gustav Adolf was the 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]].

{{clear|right}}

== Arms ==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
| [[File:Armoiries du Roi Gustave IV Adolphe de Suède et Finlande.svg|center|190px]]{{center|Coat of arms of King Gustav IV Adolf}}
|}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Gustav IV Adolf'''
|2= 2. [[Gustav III]]
|3= 3. [[Sophia Magdalena of Denmark]]
|4= 4. [[Adolf Frederick of Sweden|Adolf Frederick]]
|5= 5. [[Louisa Ulrika of Prussia]]
|6= 6. [[Frederick V of Denmark]]
|7= 7. [[Louise of Great Britain]]
|8= 8. [[Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin|Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach|Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach]]
|10= 10. [[Frederick William I of Prussia]]
|11= 11. [[Sophia Dorothea of Hanover]]
|12= 12. [[Christian VI of Denmark]]
|13= 13. [[Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach]]
|14= 14. [[George II of Great Britain]]
|15= 15. [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]
}}

==Family==
[[File:Framsida av medalj med bild av Gustav IV Adolf och Fredrika Wilhelmina i profil samt text - Skoklosters slott - 99537.tif|thumb|Gustav Adolf's and Frederica's coronation medal of 1800.]]
[[File:G IV A.jpg|thumb|Walking with his wife Queen Frederica.]]
On 31 October 1797, he married [[Frederica of Baden|Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Baden]], with whom he had five children:

# [[Gustav, Prince of Vasa|Crown Prince Gustav]], after 1809 known as ''Gustaf Gustafsson, Prince of Vasa'' (9 November 1799 – 4/5 August 1877). He served as an officer in the service of the [[Habsburg]]s of [[Austria]], and with his wife [[Princess Louise Amelie of Baden]], fathered a son who died in infancy, and a daughter, [[Carola of Vasa|Carola]], the wife of [[Albert, King of Saxony]]. She died childless.
# [[Princess Sophie of Sweden|Princess Sofia Wilhelmina]] (21 May 1801 – 6 July 1865). She married Grand Duke [[Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden|Leopold of Baden]], and their granddaughter [[Victoria of Baden]] married the [[House of Bernadotte|Bernadotte]] king [[Gustaf V]]. (The present King [[Carl XVI Gustaf]] is thus a descendant of Gustav IV Adolf).
# Prince Carl Gustaf, Grand Duke of Finland (2 December 1802 – 10 September 1805)
# [[Princess Amalia of Sweden|Princess Amalia]] (22 February 1805 – 31 August 1853); unmarried and without issue
# [[Princess Cecilia of Sweden (1807–1844)|Princess Cecilia]] (22 June 1807 – 27 January 1844). She married [[Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg]], and had issue.

By 1812, Gustav Adolf divorced his consort, and had several mistresses thereafter, among them Maria Schlegel, who gave him a son, Adolf Gustafsson (1820–1907), styled Count Gustafson, married in 1856 to Ernestine Simon (1823–1911), no children.

==See also==
* [[Gustavian era]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* H. Arnold Barton, ''Scandinavia in the Revolutionary Era, 1760–1815'', 1986, {{ISBN|0-8166-1392-3}}.
* Sten Carlsson, ''Gustaf IV Adolf'', 1946.
* {{EB1911 |last=Bain |first=Robert Nisbet |author-link=Robert Nisbet Bain |wstitle=Gustavus IV. |volume=12|page=738}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Gustavus IV. Adolphus |short=x}}
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Gustavus IV., Adolphus |short=x}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line)|House of Holstein-Gottorp]]|1 November|1778|7 February|1837|[[House of Oldenburg]]|name=Gustav IV Adolf}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Gustav III]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]|years=1792–1809}}
{{s-vac|next=[[Charles XIII]]}}
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{{Monarchs of Sweden}}
{{Swedish princes}}
{{SwedishThroneHeirs}}
{{Napoleonic Wars}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustav 04 Adolf}}
[[Category:1778 births]]
[[Category:1837 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Swedish monarchs]]
[[Category:19th-century Swedish monarchs]]
[[Category:Monarchs who abdicated]]
[[Category:Royalty from Stockholm]]
[[Category:Crown princes of Sweden]]
[[Category:House of Holstein-Gottorp]]
[[Category:Child monarchs from Europe]]
[[Category:Swedish people of German descent]]
[[Category:Burials at Riddarholmen Church]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]
[[Category:Royal reburials]]
[[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]]
[[Category:People of the Franco-Swedish War]]