Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
| Prince Gustaf Adolf | |||||
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| Duke of Västerbotten | |||||
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| Born |
22 April 1906 , , Sweden |
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| Died | 26 January 1947 (aged 40) Kastrup Airfield, Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Burial | Royal Cemetery | ||||
| Spouse | Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (m. 1932) | ||||
| Issue |
Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler Princess Birgitta Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden |
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| House | Bernadotte | ||||
| Father | Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden | ||||
| Mother | Princess Margaret of Connaught | ||||
| Full name | |
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| Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund |
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Styles of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden |
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| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
Prince Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund, Duke of Västerbotten (22 April 1906 – 26 January 1947) was a Swedish prince and heir to the Swedish throne. Born in , he was the eldest son of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (the future King Gustaf VI Adolf) and his first wife Princess Margaret of Connaught and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Gustaf Adolf was the father of the current king, Carl XVI Gustaf. He was known by his last given name, Edmund, in the family.
The prince was killed on 26 January 1947 in an airplane crash at Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Some recent journalists and historians portray Gustaf Adolf as sympathetic towards the Nazi movement in Germany in the 1930s, a highly debated and criticised opinion. As an official representative of Sweden, Gustaf Adolf met with many Nazi leaders, including Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring (the latter had lived in Sweden and had many friends among the Swedish upper class). As the prince very rarely spoke of political matters and left no written evidence of any political sympathies of any kind, the subject remains very much a matter of speculation.
These rumours however made him unpopular among many Swedes during his lifetime. The public called him tyskprinsen (the German prince). However, according to journalist and author Staffan Skott in his book Alla dessa Bernadottar (All these Bernadottes), letters and diary entries by influential Swedes of decidedly anti-Nazi persuasion disprove the rumors. Such documents include those of the diplomat Sven Grafström and of the wife of the cabinet minister Gustav Möller, as well as of the stepson of Hermann Göring, who said that a visit by the prince to Göring's home was a complete failure and that Göring and Gustaf Adolf did not get along well. The newspaper Expressen said that "plausible witnesses who were also strongly pro-democracy" had denied the rumors. The Swedish Royal Court made a statement denying any knowledge of Nazi sympathies.
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Wikipedia