by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden was the father of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and would have himself become King of Sweden had he not died tragically in an airplane crash at the age of 40. He was born on April 22, 1906, at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the eldest son of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and Princess Margaret of Connaught. He had four younger siblings:

• Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland, later Sigvard Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (1907 – 2002) – married (1) Erica Patzek, no issue; (2) Sonja Robbert, had issue
• Princess Ingrid, Queen of Denmark (1910 – 2000) – married King Frederik IX of Denmark, had issue
• Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1912 – 1997) – married Lilian Davies, no issue
• Prince Carl Johan, Duke of Dalarna, later Carl Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (1916 – 2012) – married (1) Kerstin Wijkmark, two adopted children; (2) Countess Gunilla Wachtmeister af Johannishus, no issue

Gustaf Adolf’s mother Princess Margaret of Connaught was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s third son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. She married the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in 1905. The marriage was a happy one but was tragically cut short when Margaret died from an infection after a mastoid operation in 1920. She was eight months pregnant with her sixth child who also died.

Gustaf Adolf grew up at the Royal Palace in Stockholm and spent summers at Sofiero Castle and at his maternal grandparents’ home Bagshot Park, in England. With his siblings, he began his education privately at home, before attending the Lundbergs School, a private boarding school in Värmland. Along with his studies, the prince excelled at fencing and horse riding. He was the Swedish champion in saber fencing, and in 1936, competed in show jumping at the Olympic Games held in Berlin. He would later serve as President of the Swedish Olympic Committee from 1933 until he died in 1947. He was also very involved in the Scouting movement, both as a child and an adult.

Graduating from Lundbergs School in 1925, Gustaf Adolf began his military career, entering the cavalry. He later attended the Military Academy Karlberg, becoming a lieutenant in the Life Guards. In 1927, he attended the War College and attained the rank of Captain in the Mounted Life regiment. He later attended Uppsala University and the Stockholm School of Economics, in preparation for his future role in the monarchy.

In November 1931, while attending the wedding of Lady May Cambridge in London, Gustaf Adolf’s sister Ingrid introduced him to one of the other bridesmaids Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Sibylla was the daughter of Prince Carl Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein. Gustaf Adolf and Sibylla were second cousins, through their mutual descent from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. A romance quickly began and they were engaged on June 16, 1932.

Gustaf Adolf and Sibylla married in a civil ceremony on October 19, 1932, at Veste Castle in Coburg. The following day, a religious ceremony was held at St. Moritz Church.

• Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

After extensive renovations, they took up residence at Haga Palace, and had five children:

• Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler (born 1934) married John Ambler, had one daughter and two sons
• Princess Birgitta of Sweden (1937 – 2024) married Prince Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, had two sons and one daughter
• Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld (born 1938) married Baron Nils-August Silfverschiöld, had one son and two daughters
• Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson (born 1943) married Tord Magnuson, had three sons
• King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (born 1946) married Silvia Sommerlath, had two daughters and one son

Along with his participation in the Olympic committee, Prince Gustaf Adolf also served as Chairman of the Swedish Guide and Scout Council, President of the International Scout Committee, Chairman of the Swedish Sports Confederation, and Chairman of the Swedish Hunters Association, among others.

Prince Gustaf Adolf was killed in a commercial airplane crash on January 26, 1947, at the Kastrup Airport in Kastrup, Denmark, near Copenhagen. He was returning from a hunting trip and a visit to Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. The plane had landed at Kastrup for a routine stop before continuing to Stockholm. After taking off, the plane climbed to an altitude of only 150 feet, stalled, and plummeted nose-first to the ground, where it exploded upon impact. All 22 people aboard the plane were killed. Also killed in the accident were the prince’s aide, Count Albert Stenbock, Danish actress Gerda Neumann, and American opera singer Grace Moore.

Following a funeral held at the Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral) in Stockholm, Sweden on February 4, 1947, Prince Gustaf Adolf was buried at the Royal Burial Ground in Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. His only son, nine-month-old Carl Gustaf, became second in the line of succession and would succeed his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Sweden Index
• Swedish Orders and Honours
• Swedish Royal Dates
• Swedish Royal Burial Sites: House of Bernadotte, 1818-present
• Swedish Royal Christenings
• Swedish Royal FAQs
• Swedish Royal Residences
• Swedish Royal Weddings
• Line of Succession to the Throne of Sweden
• Profiles of the Swedish Royal Family