1. Oscar II was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905.
22 Facts About Oscar II
1. 2.
Oscar II inherited the Swedish and Norwegian thrones when his brother died in 1872.
3.
Oscar II ruled during a time when both countries were undergoing a period of industrialization and rapid technological progress.
4.
Oscar II's reign saw the gradual decline of the Union of Sweden and Norway, which culminated in its dissolution in 1905.
5.
Oscar II Fredrik was born at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on 21 January 1829, the third of four sons of Crown Prince Oscar II and Josephine of Leuchtenberg.
6.
Prince Oscar II entered the Royal Swedish Navy as a midshipman at the age of 11, and was appointed junior lieutenant in July 1845.
7.
On 6 June 1857, Prince Oscar II married Princess Sophia of Nassau at the Biebrich Palace, the ducal residence of the Duchy of Nassau, with whom he had four sons.
8.
Oscar II became King on 18 September 1872, upon the death of his brother, Charles XV who died without an heir.
9.
Oscar II won many friends in the United Kingdom by his outspoken and generous support of Britain at the time of the Second Boer War, expressed in a declaration printed in The Times of 2 May 1900, when continental opinion was almost universally hostile.
10.
Oscar II remained a strong supporter of the Navy throughout his life, and frequently visited ships of the fleet.
11.
The most known and powerful first minister of the Crown during the reign of Oscar II was the conservative estate owner Erik Gustaf Bostrom.
12.
Oscar II was trusted and respected by Oscar II, who had much difficulty approving someone else as prime minister.
13.
Oscar II had a valuable collection of printed and manuscript music, which was readily accessible to the historical student of music.
14.
Oscar II once told playwright Henrik Ibsen that his Ghosts was "not a good play".
15.
Oscar II was a generous sponsor of the sciences and personally funded the Vega Expedition, which was the first Arctic expedition to navigate through the Northeast Passage, the sea route between Europe and Asia through the Arctic Ocean, and the first voyage to circumnavigate Eurasia.
16.
Oscar II was dethroned on 7 June 1905 by the Storting and renounced the Norwegian throne on 26 October.
17.
Oscar II declined, indeed, to permit any prince of his house to become king of Norway, but better relations between the two countries were restored before his death.
18.
Oscar II died in Stockholm on 8 December 1907 at 9:10 am.
19.
The other sons of Oscar II were Prince Carl, Duke of Vastergotland who married Princess Ingeborg of Denmark; and Prince Eugen, Duke of Narke, who was well known as an artist and remained a bachelor all his life.
20.
Oscar II is suspected to have had several extramarital children, of which at least five are named:.
21.
The name and portrait of Oscar II have been used as a trademark for King Oscar sardines in Norway since 1902 as well as gingerbread cookies and other bakery products made by Goteborgs Kex in Sweden.
22.
The culinary creation Veal Oscar II was named in his honor supposedly for his fondness for its ingredients: veal cutlet, crab meat, Bearnaise sauce, and asparagus.