34 Facts About Gustav III

Gustav III was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden.

An admirer of Voltaire, Gustav III legalised Catholic and Jewish presence in Sweden, and enacted wide-ranging reforms aimed at economic liberalism, social reform and the restriction, in many cases, of torture and capital punishment.

Gustav III was a patron of many cultural figures, including Alexander Roslin and Carl Michael Bellman, and is often considered one of the most important figures in the history of Swedish art, music and architecture.

Gustav III was well liked by the Swedish population and was mourned upon his death.

In 1777, Gustav III was the first formally neutral head of state in the world to recognise the United States during its war for independence from Great Britain.

Gustav III was known in Sweden and abroad by his royal titles, or styles:.

Gustav III was placed under the tutelage of Hedvig Elisabet Stromfelt until the age of five, then educated under the care of two governors who were among the most eminent Swedish statesmen of the day: Carl Gustaf Tessin and Carl Fredrik Scheffer.

Gustav III's parents taught him to despise the governors imposed upon him by the Riksdag, and the atmosphere of intrigue and duplicity in which he grew up made him precociously experienced in the art of dissimulation.

Gustav III was first impressed by Sophia Magdalena's beauty, but her silent nature made her a disappointment in court life.

Gustav III's mother supported rumors that he was not the father of his first son and heir.

The close personal relationships that he formed with two of his courtiers, Count Axel von Fersen and Baron Gustav III Armfelt, were alluded to in that regard.

King Gustav III was especially fond of him and suffered obvious and severe mental and physical reactions to the baby's illness and death.

Gustav III's visit to the French capital was no mere pleasure trip; it was a political mission.

On his way home, Gustav III paid a short visit to his uncle, Frederick the Great, at Potsdam.

On his return to Sweden, Gustav III tried unsuccessfully to mediate between the two groups.

Gustav III stressed the need for all parties to sacrifice their animosities for the common good, and volunteered, as "the first citizen of a free people," to be the mediator between the contending factions.

Gustav III was approached by Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten, a Finnish nobleman, who had incurred the enmity of the Caps, with the prospect of a revolution.

Gustav III undertook to seize the fortress of Sveaborg in Finland by a coup de main.

Gustav III thereupon resolved to strike the decisive blow without waiting for Sprengtporten's arrival.

Gustav III then dictated a new oath of allegiance, and everyone signed it without hesitation.

Gustav III worked towards reform in the same direction as other contemporary sovereigns of the Age of Enlightenment.

Gustav III took an active part in every department of business, but relied heavily on extra-official counsellors of his own choosing rather than upon the Privy Council of Sweden.

Gustav III even designed and popularized a Swedish national costume, which was in general use among the upper classes from 1778 until his death.

The consequence was that nearly all the royal propositions were either rejected outright or so modified that Gustav III himself withdrew them.

In embarking on a war of aggression without the consent of the estates, Gustav III violated his own constitution of 1772, which led to a serious mutiny, the Anjala Conspiracy, among his aristocratic officers in Finland.

In return, Gustav III abolished most of the old privileges of the nobility.

Gustav III next aimed at forming a league of princes against the revolutionary government in France, and subordinated every other consideration to this goal.

Gustav III was hampered by financial restrictions and lack of support from the other European powers.

Gustav III had arrived earlier that evening to enjoy a dinner in the company of friends.

Gustav III was very fond of the performing and visual arts, as well as literature.

Gustav III is largely credited with creating the Royal Theatre, where his own historical dramas were performed, and he promoted the careers of many native singers and actors, among them the dramatic stars Fredrique Lowen and Lars Hjortsberg and the operatic stars Elisabeth Olin and Christoffer Christian Karsten, by letting them perform in his plays or in his commissioned operas, respectively.

Gustav III then founded a separate entity for spoken drama, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, with a new building behind the Royal Swedish Opera house.

Gustav III became a Freemason in 1780, and introduced the Rite of Strict Observance into Sweden.

Notable opera composers under Gustav III's reign were three artists originally from Germany: Johann Gottlieb Naumann, Georg Joseph Vogler and Joseph Martin Kraus.