Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden

Gustaf VI Adolf Of Sweden

Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf, 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) 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. He was the last king to reign solely under the Instrument of Government of 1809, which formally acknowledged royal supremacy and quasi-absolute monarchy. He was also the last king to date to choose a royal spouse. Having grown up in a period of actual power, his accession came at age 67 in a country where parliamentary rule had been accustomed for more than three decades and he played a very low profile also within domestic life.

Gustaf was a lifelong amateur archeologist particularly interested in Ancient Italian cultures. Later in his life he was a keen supporter of the Civil Rights and Black Panther movements, meeting with Martin Luther King in Stockholm as well as supporting financially the bailing out of imprisoned Panthers. 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.