page_title: Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Prince Carl Philip of Sweden (1601-1622) on one of his medallions
context_page_description: Prince Charles Philip of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland, was a Swedish prince, Duke of Södermanland, Närke and Värmland. Charles Philip was the second surviving son of King Charles IX of Sweden and his second spouse, Duchess Christina of Holstein-Gottorp.
context_section_description: He was born at Reval Castle during his parents' visit to Swedish Estonia in 1601. His father, youngest son of King Gustav I who founded Sweden's Vasa dynasty, was Duke of Södermanland and regent of the kingdom at the time, having forced his Catholic nephew, King Sigismund, to restrict his personal rule to his other kingdom, Poland, where most of his subjects were likewise Catholic. But in 1604, Duke Charles deposed Sigismund and donned Sweden's crown himself, assuring the nation that his branch of the Vasas would remain Protestant.
  Along with his elder brother, Crown Prince Gustavus Adolphus, Prince Charles Philip was educated to be a staunch Lutheran under the tutelage of Johan Skytte. He was formally made duke by his father in 1609 who, however, died in 1611. His elder brother, the new King Gustavus II Adolphus felt genuine affection for him, as it was said, for his "many excellent qualities and his noble character". He was also a favourite of his mother, now queen dowager, who defended his interests against her elder son: at the coronation of 1617, she insisted his brother confirm the ducal rights in the three provinces Charles Philip held as fiefs in appanage.
  In 1611, during the Time of Troubles in Russia, Jacob de la Gardie proposed Charles Philip to Novgorod and northwestern Russia as a candidate for election by the Zemsky Sobor as the next tsar. But when his father died shortly afterward, his mother refused to let the ten-year-old boy leave for Russia, nor did his elder brother, the new king, believe the Russians were seriously considering the proposal. In 1613, Charles Philip left for Viborg, where he was to discuss the terms of the tsardom, but after Russia appointed another tsar, Michael Romanov, he returned to Sweden.
  As duke of Södermanland, the appanage held by his father before becoming king, Carl Philip was expected to eventually take up residence in its capital town, Nyköping. But during his minority, the duchy was administered by his mother and Carl Philip remained at the royal court in Stockholm. In 1617, he visited Denmark, Germany and France. He later joined the army, and accompanied his brother in 1621 as he waged war on Livonia.  He distinguished himself during the siege of Narva in 1622, but succumbed to an illness there and died. It has been shown that his brother deeply mourned him.
  At the time of his death in 1622, Charles Philip was the last feudal duke in Sweden. When Gustav III re-introduced the title for a royal prince in 1772, it was a mere honorary title, carrying no provincial authority.
caption: Carl Philip on a contemporary medallion
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