Charles X Gustav

Charles X Gustav
Portrait by Sébastien Bourdon
King of Sweden
Duke of Bremen and Verden
Reign6 June 1654 – 13 February 1660
PredecessorChristina
SuccessorCharles XI
Born(1622-11-08)8 November 1622
Nyköping Castle, Sweden
Died13 February 1660(1660-02-13) (aged 37)
Gothenburg, Sweden
Burial4 November 1660
Spouse
IssueCharles XI
Gustaf Carlson, Count of Börringe and Lindholm (ill.)
HousePalatinate-Zweibrücken
FatherJohn Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg
MotherCatherine of Sweden
ReligionLutheran
SignatureCharles X Gustav's signature
Image of King Charles X Gustav on a wall of Stockholm Palace.

Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (Swedish: Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who bore his son and successor, Charles XI. Charles X Gustav was the second Wittelsbach king of Sweden after the childless king Christopher of Bavaria (1441–1448) and he was the first king of the Swedish Caroline era, which had its peak during the end of the reign of his son, Charles XI. He led Sweden during the Second Northern War, enlarging the Swedish Empire. By his predecessor Christina, he was considered de facto Duke of Eyland (Öland),[1] before ascending to the Swedish throne. From 1655 to 1657, he was also Grand Duke of Lithuania.[2]

His numbering as Charles X derives from a 16th-century invention. The Swedish king Charles IX (1604–1611) chose his numeral after studying a fictitious history of Sweden. This king was the fourth actual King Charles,[3] but has never been called Charles IV.

  1. ^ Paul Meijer Granqvist in Carl X Gustaf "den förste pfalzaren Askerbergs, Stockholm 1910 pp. 56–57
  2. ^ Kontljarchuk, A. (2006). In the Shadows of Poland and Russia: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden in the European Crisis of the mid-17th Century. JSTOR. ISBN 91-89315-63-4.
  3. ^ Article Karl in Nordisk familjebok