Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten

Gustav Adolf
Prince of Sweden,
Duke of Westrobothnia. Swedish Royalty
House of Bernadotte Charles XIV JohnChildren Oscar I Oscar IChildren Charles XV Gustaf, Duke of Upland Oscar II Princess Eugenie August, Duke of Dalarna Charles XVChildren Lovisa, Queen of Denmark Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland Oscar IIChildren Gustaf V Oscar, Duke of Gotland Eugén, Duke of Närke Carl, Duke of VästergötlandGrandchildren Princess Margaretha Märtha, Crown Princess of Norway Astrid, Queen of Belgium Carl, Duke of Östergötland Gustaf VChildren Gustaf VI Adolf Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland Erik, Duke of Västmanland Gustaf VI AdolfChildren Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Sigvard, Duke of Uppland Ingrid, Queen of Denmark Bertil, Duke of Halland Carl Johan, Duke of DalarnaGrandchildren Princess Margaretha Princess Birgitta Princess Désirée Princess Christina Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI GustafChildren Crown Princess Victoria Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

Gustav Adolf, Gustav Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund (April 22, 1906–January 26, 1947), Prince of Sweden, Duke of Västerbotten, was the eldest son of Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught. His mother was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria since she was the daughter of HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and his wife, Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia.

1 Marriage and family
2 Politics and World War II
3 Scouting
4 Death
5 Ancestry
6 References

Marriage and family

On October 19, 1932, he married his second cousin, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, daughter of Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Princess Sibylla was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, a granddaughter of HRH Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. They had five children:

Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (1934-)
HRH Princess Birgitta (1937-)
Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (1938-)
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson (1943-)
HM King Carl XVI Gustaf (1946-)

Politics and World War II

Prince Gustav Adolf, Hermann Göring and King Gustav V in Berlin 1939

Some recent journalists and historians[who?] portray Gustav Adolf as sympathetic towards the Nazi movement in Germany in the 1930s, an opinion which has been highly debated and criticized. It is a fact that Gustav Adolf as an official representative of Sweden met with many Nazi leaders, including Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring (the latter had lived in Sweden and had many friends among the Swedish upper class). As the prince very rarely spoke of political matters and left no written evidence of any political sympathies of any kind, the subject is very much a matter of speculation.

These rumours however made him unpopular among many Swedes during his life time. The public called him tyskprinsen (the German prince).[citation needed] However, according to journalist and author Staffan Skott in his book Alla dessa Bernadottar (All these Bernadottes; Albert Bonniers press), these rumors are disproved by letters and diary entries by influential Swedes of decidedly anti-Nazi persuasion, including the diplomat Sven Grafström and the wife of a government minister Gustav Möller, as well as the stepson of Hermann Göring who said that a visit by the prince to Göring's home was a complete failure and that Göring and Gustav Adolf did not get along well. Also, the anti-Nazi newspaper Expressen said that the rumors had been denied by "plausible witnesses who were also strongly pro-democracy". The Swedish Royal Court also has made a statement denying any knowledge of Nazi-sympathies. [1]

Scouting

Gustav Adolf was a Boy Scout, later he was a Scoutmaster who ran his own troop. He earned his Woodbadge in Gilwell Park. When the Svenska Scoutrådet was formed he served as first president. He was leader of the Swedish contingent at the 5th World Scout Jamboree in 1937 and to the World Scout Moot in 1939. He served on the World Scout Committee from May 1937 until his death.[1] [2]

Death

Prince Gustav Adolf was killed in a plane crash on the afternoon of January 26, 1947, at Kastrup, Denmark. The prince, along with two companions, was returning to Stockholm from a hunting trip and visit to Crown Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. The delayed KLM flight from Amsterdam had landed at Copenhagen for a routine stop before continuing to Stockholm. Soon after the Douglas DC-3 aircraft took off, it climbed to an altitude of about 50 meters (150 feet), stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded on impact. All 22 people aboard the plane (16 passengers and six crew members) were killed. Also aboard the ill-fated flight was American singer and actress Grace Moore. The investigation showed that the crash had been caused by a forgotten gust lock to the elevator. Short of time, the captain had failed to perform the checklist properly and took off not realizing the lock was still in place.

At the time of his death, Prince Gustav Adolf had been second in line to the Swedish throne behind his father, who in 1950 became King Gustav VI Adolf. The younger Gustav Adolf was succeeded as second in line by his young son, Carl Gustav, who would later succeed his grandfather as King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Ancestry

16. Oscar I of Sweden 8. Oscar II of Sweden 17. Josephine of Leuchtenberg 4. Gustav V of Sweden 18. Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau 9. Sofia of Nassau 19. Princess Pauline of Württemberg 2. Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden 20. Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden 10. Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden 21. Princess Sophie of Sweden 5. Victoria of Baden 22. William I, German Emperor 11. Princess Louise of Prussia 23. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar 1. Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten 24. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 12. Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 25. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 6. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught 26. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 13. Victoria of the United Kingdom 27. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 3. Princess Margaret of Connaught 28. Prince Charles of Prussia 14. Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia 29. Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar 7. Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia 30. Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau 15. Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt 31. Princess Friederike of Prussia

Styles of
Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden Image:Sweden greater arms.png Reference style His Royal HighnessSpoken style Your Royal Highness Alternative style Sir

References

^ Kroonenberg, Piet J. (1998). The Undaunted- The Survival and Revival of Scouting in Central and Eastern Europe. Geneva: Oriole International Publications, 31. ISBN 2880520037.
^ Kroonenberg, Piet J. (2003). The Undaunted II–The Survival and Revival of Scouting in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Las Vegas: Las Vegas International Scouting Museum, 77. ISBN 097464790X.