Gustav V

The five children of Gustav Adolf and Princess Margaret of Connaught (Paternal Grandchildren)
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (daughter in law)
Jeanne de Tramcourt (Daughter in Law)

## Military Fighter

### Wars

World War I

Gustav V is the King of the Kingdom of Sweden who was the second King of Sweden after it's dissolution with Norway. Gustav V is the eldest son of Oscar II, the King of Sweden who was the last king of the Norway-Sweden Union until it's dissolution.

## History

### Early Life

Gustaf V was born in Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö, Stockholm County, the son of Prince Oscar and Princess Sofia of Nassau. At birth Gustaf was created Duke of Värmland. Upon his father's accession to the throne in 1872, Gustaf became crown prince of both Sweden and Norway. On 8 December 1907, he succeeded his father on the Swedish throne.

On 20 September 1881 he married Princess Victoria of Baden in Karlsruhe, Germany.

### Ruler of Sweden

When he ascended the throne, Gustaf V was, at least on paper, a near-autocrat. The 1809 Instrument of Government made the king both head of state and head of government, and ministers were solely responsible to him. However, his father had been forced to accept a government chosen by the majority in Parliament in 1905. Since then, prime ministers had been *de facto* required to have the confidence of the Riksdag to stay in office.

Early in his reign, in 1910, Gustaf V refused to grant clemency to the convicted murderer Johan Alfred Ander, who thus became the last person to be executed in Sweden.

At first, Gustaf V seemed to be willing to accept parliamentary rule. After the Liberals won a massive landslide in 1911, Gustaf appointed Liberal leader Karl Staaff as Prime Minister. However, during the runup to World War I, the elites objected to Staaff's defence policy. In February 1914, a large crowd of farmers gathered at the royal palace and demanded that the country's defences be strengthened. In his reply, the so-called Courtyard Speech—which was actually written by explorer Sven Hedin, an ardent conservative—Gustaf promised to strengthen the country's defences. Staaff was outraged, telling the king that parliamentary rule called for the Crown to stay out of partisan politics. He was also angered that he had not been consulted in advance of the speech. However, Gustaf retorted that he still had the right to "communicate freely with the Swedish people." The Staaff government resigned in protest, and Gustaf appointed a government of civil servants headed by Hjalmar Hammarskjöld (father of future UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld) in its place.

### Pro-German Crisis

The 1917 elections showed a heavy gain for the Liberals and Social Democrats, who between them held a decisive majority. Despite this, Gustaf initially tried to appoint a Conservative government headed by Johan Widén. However, Widén was unable to attract enough support for a coalition. It was now apparent that Gustaf could no longer appoint a government entirely of his own choosing, nor could he keep a government in office against the will of Parliament.

Sadly the Pro-German Nationalist Military Party led by Martin Ekström ousted the Liberals and Social Democrats elected by the people with the aid of Germany who desired to have Sweden dependent on German trade to prevent Denmark and Norway from having an ally that could cause trouble for the Germans, especially a Scandinavian country with tons of ore.

Benefiting heavily from Sweden's growing dependence on German trade, Martin Ekström and his Nationalist Military Party had made Sweden a Pro-German Nationalist and Military State that has been known for banning elections and rounding up Liberals and executing them with their families as traitors of the country and it has ruined relations with Denmark and Norway.

## Marriage

The King has married Princess Victoria of Baden in Karlsruhe and they have three children.

* Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (b. 1882), married Princess Margaret of Connaught (b. 1882) and is the father of five children
	+ Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (b. 1906), married Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1908), no issue
	+ Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (b. 1907), married Erica Maria Patzek in 1933, no issue.
	+ Princess Ingrid (b. 1910), married Fredrick, Crown Prince of Denmark (b. 1899), no issue
	+ Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (b. 1916) married Carmen Silva (b. 1916), no issue
	+ Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna (b. 1916) married Margaretha Wijkmark (b. 1910)
* Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Sodermanland (b. 1884) married Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (b. 1890), they have one son
	+ Prince Lennart, Duke of Småland (b. 1909) married Karin Nissvandt (b. 1911), no issue
* Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (1889-1918), never married, no issue, had epilepsy