Magnus IV

A portrait of Magnus IV

**Magnus IV**, sometimes known as **the Unready**, was the fourth monarch of post-Kalmar Union Sweden. He ascended to the throne on 27 November 1520 after the death of his brother Gustav II, and died on 4 August 1529 and was succeeded by his wife Anne I as Regent. He ascended to a Sweden rife with internal conflicts, and did his best to contain them but ultimately failed.

## Early life

Magnus IV was the youngest son of Gustav I and Christina I. He was third in the line of succession and was never expected to ascend to the throne. However, Gustav II never had any children, and neither did his other brother Sigismund. It was clear that Magnus would be the heir after Sigismund died of an unknown illness.

## Rule

### Revolts

Following the death of his brother, Magnus was crowned Magnus IV on 27 November 1520. Being the brother of Gustav II and not his son, Magnus IV had a very shaky claim to the throne. Some nobles argued that Gustav II had a bastard son who was secretly legitimized, but they had no evidence and all members of the court in Stockholm denied this. During his coronation, the Duke of Elfsborg Simon Hahn rose up as a pretender. The revolt was quickly crushed and Simon Hahn was executed, but the nation's stability had been shaken and many more revolts were soon to follow.

* On 5 April 1522, Swedish nobles in Bergslagen and Ostergotland revolted in protest of the new king. They hoped Magnus would be more loyal to them compared to Gustav II or Sigismund, but his reluctance to grant more land to the nobles showed he would be much like his predecessor. This revolt was finally crushed on 7 July, but the army was severely weakened.
* On 2 March 1523, Novgorodian separatists rose up in Ladoga and Gustavstad. These were also crushed.
* On 1 November 1523, Muscovite separatists rose up in Nya Stockholm (Moscow). These rebels joined other Muscovite separatists from Poland, leading to an overwhelming force of 43,000 separatists. These were narrowly defeated with a strategic sortie.
* On 4 March 1525, Tverian separatists rose up in Drakestad. Compared to the other revolts, this was small, and was crushed easily.

During this time he also further developed Stockholm, and made it into a world-class city.

### Conquest of Pomerania

*Main article: Pomeranian War*
After the revolts had ended, not caring much for diplomacy, King Magnus IV decided it was best to continue forcefully expanding Swedish influence on the Baltic Sea, and decided the next target would be Pomerania. As such, the Pomeranian War began, marking Sweden's first expansion into Germany. Emperor Karel VII Mitrovic of Bohemia did not protect Pomerania due to their high relations with Sweden. (more to be added)

Following the war, he entered into a strategic alliance with Bohemia to prevent any further conflicts with the Emperor.

### Death

King Magnus IV unexpectedly died on 4 August 1529. The exact cause of death is unknown; some said it was from a sickness he contracted while leading troops in Stettin, while others say he was poisoned by disloyal nobles. His wife Anne (see below) took over as Regent for the minority of their son Charles.

## Family

Shortly after his coronation, on 17 December 1520, Magnus IV married Anne of York, the younger sister of the English king Charles I. They soon had a son, Charles, named after the King of England.

## Personality

Magnus, upon becoming heir, was shown to be calm and even-tempered. Many people hoped he would be more peaceful compared to his brother. Upon his ascension though, he was shown to be very unskilled in diplomacy and often rushed in negotiations and made many *faux pas* when communicating with foreign powers.