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149-513: The Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar ("Swedish possessions") were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown , but never became fully integrated with Sweden . This generally meant that they were ruled by Governors-General under the Swedish monarch , but within certain limits retained their own established political systems, essentially their diets . Finland

298-696: A "fictitious nature" and therefore "highly unsatisfactory". Thus, the monarch lost all formal executive powers, becoming a ceremonial and representative figurehead . The monarch, while explicitly referred to as the "Head of State" ( Statschefen ) in the 1974 Instrument of Government, is not even the nominal chief executive. The Instrument of Government of 1974 does grant the person serving as king or queen regnant absolute immunity from criminal (but not civil) charges for as long as he or she remains in office. The monarch therefore cannot be prosecuted or otherwise held to account for his or her actions, both official and private, in judicial proceedings. None of

447-538: A Latin formula gente Lithuanus, natione Polonus ( Lithuanian by birth, Polish by nationality ) was common in Lithuania Proper and the former Samogitian Eldership . With Polish culture developing into one of the primary centers of resistance to the Russian Empire, Polonization in some regions actually strengthened in response to official policies of Russification . An even larger percentage of Lithuanian nobility

596-661: A bridgehead in 1628 . Brandenburg was torn apart by a quarrel between the Protestants and the Catholics. When Gustavus Adolphus began his push into northern Germany in June–July 1630, he had just 4,000 soldiers. But he was soon able to consolidate the Protestant position in the north, using reinforcements from Sweden and money supplied by France at the Treaty of Bärwalde . Gustavus Adolphus

745-486: A caretaker government, supported by the conservatives, led by legal scholar Hjalmar Hammarskjöld , which remained in power longer than expected due to the outbreak of World War I (in which Sweden remained neutral ) and increased defence spending was no longer a controversial issue. Nevertheless, in the year of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution , social tensions continued to rise; the general election in 1917 gave

894-479: A cousin of Charles Frederick, of the same house of Holstein-Gottrop, and a descendant of a sister of Charles X Gustav of Sweden was elected heir to the throne of Sweden by the Hat faction (Swedish: Hattarna ). The Hat faction wanted to obtain better conditions at the Treaty of Åbo from Empress Elizabeth of Russia , who had adopted his nephew as her heir . His mother, Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach (1682–1755),

1043-478: A crown prince previously elected in January 1810, Charles August , suddenly had died of a stroke during a military exercise. Although the 19th century Bernadotte monarchs that would follow Charles XIV John 's reign tried to defend the power and privileges they still had, the tide incrementally turned against "personal regal rule" ( Swedish : personlig kungamakt ) with the growth of the liberals, social democrats, and

1192-618: A judge and a priest at the Temple at Uppsala (see Germanic king ). However, there are thousands of runestones commemorating commoners, but no known chronicle about the Swedish kings prior to the 14th century (though a list of kings was added in the Västgöta Law ), and there is a relatively small number of runestones that are thought to mention kings: Gs 11 ( Emund the Old – reigned 1050–1060), U 11 ( Håkan

1341-457: A limited and small number of political families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden. The official continuous count usually begins with the kings who ruled both Svealand and Götaland as one kingdom. Sweden's monarchy is amongst the oldest in the world, with a regnal list stretching back to the tenth century, starting with Eric the Victorious ; the Swedish monarchy has, for

1490-486: A majority consensus in Swedish political discourse on the role of the monarchy within the constitutional framework. The official motive for the radical changes which came to pass in 1975 was for it to be as descriptive as possible of the workings of the state and clear on how decisions actually are made. Minister of Justice Lennart Geijer further remarked on the 1973 government bill that any continued pretensions of royal involvement in government decision making would be of

1639-478: A member by virtue of holding the relevant office. Possession of the princely title gave the right to participate in wider councils, called Sejm ( сеймь , сoймь ) a term borrowed from Polish. Their position grew especially during the period when the Grand Duke was also King of Poland and was away from the country for long periods. Crucial to this was the privilege of 1492, which gave the council enormous influence over

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1788-794: A political compromise reached at the summer resort of Torekov in 1971 (hence known as the Torekov compromise , Swedish : Torekovskompromissen ) by representatives of four of the parties in the Riksdag (the Social Democrats , the Centre Party , the Liberal People's Party , and the Moderate Party , that is all the parties except the Communists ). It mandated that the monarchy would remain largely as it

1937-423: A war with Denmark ( Kalmar War ) in the last year of his reign. Gustavus Adolphus inherited three wars from his father when he ascended to the throne. From 1612, when Count Axel Oxenstierna was appointed Lord High Chancellor , which he remained until Gustavus Adolphus's death, the two men struck a long and successful partnership and complemented each other well: In Oxenstierna's own words, his "cool" balanced

2086-426: Is Stockholm Palace , while Drottningholm Palace serves as the monarchy's private residence. Other notable residences include Gripsholm Castle and Ulriksdal Palace , as well as others throughout Sweden. Several large palaces and a considerable section of the Swedish capital of Stockholm have been at the disposal of the monarch since 1809. Scandinavian peoples have had kings since prehistoric times. As early as

2235-613: Is best characterized by foreign wars : first a lengthy campaign within Poland and then with Denmark. In the latter case, the risky 1658 March across the Belts which resulted in the Treaty of Roskilde , would prove to be the largest permanent territorial gain Sweden ever had: Skåne , Blekinge and Bohuslän now became Swedish provinces and have remained so ever since. Charles X Gustav was not satisfied, as he wanted to crush Denmark once and for all, but

2384-460: Is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden , by law a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system . There have been kings in what now is the Kingdom of Sweden for more than a millennium. Originally an elective monarchy , it became a hereditary monarchy in the 16th century during the reign of Gustav Vasa , though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to

2533-533: Is firmly located in the East. In the Second Polish Republic , Lithuanians lived mainly in the counties on the border with Lithuania: Święciany , Vilnius - Trakai and Suwałki , and almost all of them were rural people engaged in agriculture . At the beginning of the 20th century, descendants of former noble Lithuanians were most likely to call themselves Poles. Only a part of the nobility, openly referring to

2682-447: Is generally regarded as a constitutional monarch who stayed out of politics and controversy. In 1954, a royal commission began work on whether Sweden should undergo constitutional reform to adapt the 1809 Instrument of Government to current political realities, or whether a new one should be written; ultimately the latter idea was chosen. The future role of the monarchy was settled in a manner well known within Swedish political discourse:

2831-670: The Treaty of Nystad in 1721, which concluded the Great Northern War . Estonia placed itself under Swedish rule in 1561 to receive protection against Russia and Poland as the Livonian Order lost their foothold in the Baltic provinces. Territorially it represented the northern part of present-day Estonia. The area was significantly populated by Estonian Swedes , who inhabited the area for centuries after Sweden lost control of it. After

2980-680: The 1659 Assault on Copenhagen did not prove successful for the Swedes, largely due to the Dutch naval intervention to the aid of the Danes. Charles X Gustav died in Gothenburg in 1660 and as the Crown passed to his five-year-old son Charles XI , a new regency government would assume the responsibilities of the state. The regency government, composed of aristocrats and led by Chancellor Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie ,

3129-561: The Black Death , the union weakened, and Scania was captured by Denmark. In 1397, after the Black Death and domestic power struggles, Queen Margaret I of Denmark united Sweden (then including Finland ), Denmark and Norway (then including Iceland ) in the Union of Kalmar with the approval of the Swedish nobility . Continual tension within each country and the union led to open conflict between

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3278-485: The Cabinet Council ( skifteskonselj ) in a session that establishes the new government following a general election or major cabinet reshuffle and also chairs information councils ( informationskonselj ) approximately four times a year to get information from the assembled Government, apart from that given by ministers in individual audiences or through other means. Formally, it is the explicit responsibility of

3427-618: The Estates in 1599. In 1604, the Estates finally recognized the regent and de facto ruler as King Charles IX. His short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare. The hostility of Poland and the breakup of Russia involved him in overseas contests for the possession of Livonia and Ingria , the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611) and the Ingrian War , while his pretensions to claim Lapland brought on

3576-457: The Ingrian War . A century later Russia reconquered the area, providing an opportunity for Peter the Great to lay the foundations of his new capital, Saint Petersburg , in 1703. The area was then formally ceded in 1721 by the Treaty of Nystad . The Hanseatic city of Riga fell under Swedish control in the late 1620s. For the nearly hundred years that followed, Riga was the second largest city in

3725-624: The January Uprising , imperial officials announced that "Lithuanians are Russians seduced by Poles and Catholicism" and banned press in the Lithuanian language and started the Program of Restoration of Russian Beginnings . Over the course of time, the Lithuanian nobility increasingly developed a sense of belonging to the Polish nation. During the 19th century, a self-designation, often represented using

3874-486: The Lithuanian language was just a morphed Latin language. By that time, the upper nobility and the ducal court already used Polish as their first language. The last Grand Duke known to have spoken Lithuanian was Casimir IV Jagiellon (1440-1492). In 1595 Mikalojus Daukša addressed Lithuanian nobility calling for the Lithuanian language to play a more important role in state life. The usage of Lithuanian declined, and

4023-452: The Riksdag of the Estates , through Västerås arvförening , designated the sons of King Gustav I as the heirs to the Throne. Tax reforms took place in 1538 and 1558, whereby multiple complex taxes on independent farmers were simplified and standardised throughout the district and tax assessments per farm were adjusted to reflect ability to pay. Crown tax revenues increased, but more importantly

4172-562: The Royal Family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representative duties within Sweden and abroad. The monarch and his or her family play a central role in state visits to Sweden and conduct state visits to other nations on behalf of Sweden. Other members of the Royal Family may also represent the country abroad at lesser functions. Many of the Swedish general flag flying days have direct royal connections; among them are

4321-669: The Soviet Union 's Baltic offensive and re-occupation of Estonia in 1944, nearly all the Estonian Swedes fled to Sweden proper. Kexholm was a sparsely inhabited part of Karelia on the Western and Northern shores of Lake Ladoga , annexed by Sweden in 1605. At that time, most inhabitants were Finnish-speaking Orthodox Christians . During the 17th century, Lutheran persecution of Orthodox Christianity and an influx of Lutheran Finns from neighbouring province of Savonia converted most of

4470-787: The Swedish Empire , after Stockholm . Livonia was conquered from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1629 in the Polish-Swedish War . By the Treaty of Oliva between the Commonwealth and Sweden in 1660 following the Northern Wars the Polish-Lithuanian king renounced all claims to the Swedish throne and Livonia was formally ceded to Sweden. Swedish Livonia represents the southern part of present-day Estonia and

4619-605: The Union of Horodło (1413) forty-five Polish families adopted forty-seven Lithuanian Catholic families, lending them their coats of arms. It is assumed that the representatives of Lithuanian nobility gathered in Horodło constituted the elite of that time on which Vytautas based his authority. The adoption of Polish coats of arms, an important marker of nobility with a well-established tradition in Western Europe, elevated this narrow group above other privileged population groups. Despite

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4768-428: The absolute monarchy in Sweden, which his grandfather King Charles XI had created, made that marriage clause irrelevant. When Charles Frederick was confronted with Ulrika Eleonora, he was forced by Arvid Horn to greet her as queen. He asked to be granted the title Royal Highness and to be recognised as her heir, but when her husband, Frederick of Hesse , instead was given the title, he left Sweden in 1719. In 1723, he

4917-513: The economic sciences . Eriksgata was the name of the traditional journey of newly elected medieval Swedish kings through important provinces to have their election confirmed by local Things . The actual election took place at the Stone of Mora in Uppland and participation was originally restricted to the people of that area; hence, the need of having the election confirmed by the other parts of

5066-520: The exclave of Wildeshausen . All of them were ceded to Hanover in the peace treaty of 1719. By the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 Sweden received Swedish Pomerania , situated along the German Baltic Sea coast. The whole Duchy of Pomerania was under Swedish control already since the Treaty of Stettin (1630) , and in the Treaty of Stettin (1653) Sweden and Brandenburg agreed on the final terms of

5215-595: The heir apparent is crown prince ( kronprins ) or crown princess ( kronprinsessa ). The wife of a crown prince would also receive a corresponding title, but not the husband of a crown princess. The traditional official title used until 1980 for other dynastic male heirs was hereditary prince ( arvfurste ), although the word prince ( prins ) was used in constitutional legal texts such as the Act of Succession and also colloquially and informally. Female dynasts are titled princess ( prinsessa ). Lithuanian nobility Initially,

5364-503: The magnates and later, within the Russian Empire, of princes. Over time, the vast majority of the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania voluntarily became Polonized and recognized Polish national thought as a natural continuation of Greater Lithuanian national thought . Despite the term, Lithuanian nobility doesn’t mean the same as the nobility of todays Lithuania , as the terms "Lithuanians" and "Lithuanian" have changed over

5513-662: The name days of the King (28 January), the Queen (8 August), and the Crown Princess (12 March); the birthdays of the King (30 April), the Queen (23 December), and the Crown Princess (14 July); and Gustavus Adolphus Day ( Swedish : Gustav Adolfsdagen ), on 6 November, in memory of King Gustavus Adolphus , who was killed on that date ( old style ) in 1632 in the Battle of Lützen . None of these flag days are public holidays , however. Perhaps

5662-570: The prime minister (who, since 1975, is elected by the Riksdag ) was transferred to the Speaker of the Riksdag ; the prime minister appoints and dismisses the other ministers at his or her discretion. Furthermore, bills passed by the Riksdag become law without royal assent : the prime minister or any other cabinet minister signs them "On Behalf of the Government" ( På regeringens vägnar ). Although

5811-570: The 12th century, the consolidation of Sweden was still affected by dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans, which ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan and the House of Bjälbo was established on the throne. That dynasty formed pre- Kalmar Union Sweden into a strong state, and finally King Magnus Eriksson (reigned 1319–1364) even ruled Norway (1319–1343) and Scania (1332–1360). Following

5960-417: The 1720 Instrument in Government was later replaced by the 1772 Instrument of Government in a self-coup orchestrated by the King. On 17 September 1809 in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn , as a result of the poorly managed Finnish War , Sweden had to surrender Finland to Russia. King Gustav IV Adolf and his descendants were deposed in a coup d'état led by dissatisfied army officers. The childless uncle of

6109-449: The 1st century CE, Tacitus wrote that the Suiones had a king, but the order of Swedish regnal succession up until King Eric the Victorious (died 995), is known almost exclusively through accounts in historically controversial Norse sagas (see Mythical kings of Sweden and Semi-legendary kings of Sweden ). Originally, the Swedish king had combined powers limited to that of a war chief,

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6258-542: The Catholic Church had a Polish character, it became an element integrating both the conscious classes and the popular masses, who began to identify with Polishness through their religion. The January Uprising of 1863-1864 and the wave of post-uprising repressions were a great shock for the people of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, under the influence of painful experiences, the sense of community between Lithuanianness and Polishness became even stronger, and

6407-557: The Catholic faith were adopted by Polish noble families and received Polish coats of arms . With the Union of Lublin , nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the nobility of the Kingdom of Poland became a common entity of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , which had one of the largest percentages of nobility in Europe, with szlachta constituting close to 10% of the population, but in some constituent regions, like Duchy of Samogitia, it

6556-495: The Estates to sign the 1719 Instrument of Government , which ended the absolute monarchy and made the Riksdag of the Estates the highest organ of the state and reduced the role of monarch to a figurehead . The Age of Liberty ( Swedish : frihetstiden ) with its parliamentary rule, dominated by two parties – the Caps and the Hats – had begun. Ulrika Eleonora had had enough after a year on

6705-559: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and safeguarded its sovereignty vis-à-vis the Kingdom of Poland. Gradually Polonization spread to a broader population, and for the most part, the Lithuanian nobility became part of both nations’ szlachta . The middle nobility adopted the Polish language in the 17th century, while the minor rural nobles remained bilingual up to the period when the question of language related-nationality appeared. The Lithuanian nobles did preserve their national awareness as members of

6854-502: The Grand Duchy, and in most cases recognition of their Lithuanian family roots; their leaders would continue to represent the interests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the General sejm and in the royal court . Lithuanian language was used during Kościuszko Uprising in the proclamations calling to rise up For our freedom and yours . And Lithuanian nobles did rise to fight for the independence of their nation. In Lithuania proper ,

7003-473: The Holshansky played a significant role on the side of the grand dukes, starting from Jogaila and Vytautas, being in the strict power elite. Apart from them, these were the families descended from Gediminas family: Olelkovich , Belsky , Kobryński and Zasławski. The princes of ethnically Ruthenian origin were excluded from the strict power elite and found their place in it only at the end of the 15th century. Then

7152-651: The King's "heat". The war against Russia (the Ingrian War ) ended in 1617 with the Treaty of Stolbovo , which excluded Russia from the Baltic Sea. The final inherited war, the war against Poland , ended in 1629 with the Truce of Altmark , which transferred the large province of Livonia to Sweden and freed the Swedish forces for subsequent intervention in the Thirty Years' War in Germany, where Swedish forces had already established

7301-979: The Lithuanian language, subsequent to the partitions of the Commonwealth left most of the former Grand Duchy under control of the Russian Empire . The situation worsened during the years of tsar Nicholas I of Russia 's rule. After the November uprising imperial officials wanted to minimize the social base for another potential uprising and thus decided to reduce the noble class. During the period 1833–1860, 25,692 people in Vilna Governorate and 17,032 people in Kovno Governorate lost their noble status. They could not prove their status with monarchs' privileges or land ownership. They did not lose personal freedom, but were assigned as one steaders Russian : однодворцы in rural areas and as citizens in towns. In view of

7450-403: The Lithuanian nobility during the interbellum and after World War II emigrated to Poland, many were deported to Siberia during the years 1945–53 of Soviet occupation, many manors were destroyed. The Association of Lithuanian Nobility was established in 1994. Lithuanian and Samogitian families possessed heraldry predating formal Christianization. The most archaic type of post-1413 heraldry has

7599-414: The Polish language became the predominant administrative language in the 16th century, eventually replacing Ruthenian as the official language of the Grand Duchy in 1697. Nonetheless, spoken Lithuanian was still common in the Grand Duchy courts during the 17th century. At first, only Lithuanian magnate families were affected by Polonization, although many of them like the Radziwiłłs remained loyal to

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7748-419: The Polish nobility . The process accelerated after the Union of Lublin (1569), resulting in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Lithuanian nobility polonised , replacing Lithuanian and Ruthenian languages with Polish although the process took centuries. In the 16th century, a newly established theory amongst Lithuanian nobility was popular, claiming that Lithuanian nobility was of Roman extraction, and

7897-586: The Polish title "książę", which in Ruthenian texts was translated as "knyazhe". As a result, the poorer prince families that still used the title of knyaz fell completely into insignificance, and the Lithuanian magnate elite consisted of "princes and lords" ( Polish : "książąt i panów" ). Following his distribution of state land, the Grand Duke became dependent on powerful landowners, who began demanding greater liberties and privileges. The nobles were granted administrative and judicial power in their domains and increasing rights in state politics. The legal status of

8046-461: The Polonization of the nobility, gentry and townspeople was practically complete by the early 19th century, relegating the Lithuanian language to the status of a peasant's tongue. The processes of Polonization and russification were partially reversed with the Lithuanian National Revival . Despite origins from mostly the non-noble classes, a number of nobles re-embraced their Lithuanian roots. The lesser Lithuanian nobility, still partially preserving

8195-434: The Red – late 11th century) and U 861 ( Blot-Sweyn – reigned c. 1080). About 1000 A.D., the first king known to rule both Svealand and Götaland was Olof Skötkonung , but further history for the next two centuries is obscure, with many kings whose tenures and actual influence/power remains unclear. The Royal Court of Sweden, however, does count Olof's father, Eric the Victorious, as Sweden's first king. The power of

8344-401: The Royal Union of the Lithuanian Boyars ( Lithuanian : Lietuvos bajorų karališkoji sąjunga ) was established in Vilnius in 1994 which continues the interwar period Society traditions, perform legitimation processes of historical Lithuanian nobles, organize ceremonies of awarding acts of recognition of nobility and unites thousands of Lithuanian nobles. However, the criteria for belonging to

8493-454: The Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century led to prolonged rivalry between Denmark-Norway and Sweden (with Finland) for centuries to come. Catholic bishops had supported the King of Denmark , Christian II , but he was overthrown in a rebellion led by nobleman Gustav Vasa , whose father had been executed at the Stockholm bloodbath . Gustav Vasa (hereinafter referred to as Gustav I)

8642-424: The Swedish provinces and called them an Eriksgata , while those visits bear little resemblance to the medieval tradition. The full title of the Swedish monarch from 1523 to 1973 was: Translated as " By the Grace of God , King of the Swedes, the Goths , and the Wends " or "By the Grace of God, King of Sweden, of the Goths and Vandals ". During the reign of the House of Holstein-Gottorp from 1751 to 1818,

8791-415: The ages". Another opportunity to prove nobility were the military musterings, the first one organised in 1528, where a register of those capable to fight was prepared. A listing in such a register was legal proof of nobility. Initially, a group distinguished by prestige were the princely families, which members bore the title of knyaz . These were mostly, at least according to tradition, the descendants of

8940-421: The area into Lutheran faith. The Swedish law and the Swedish structure of local administration were used in the area which does not seem to have had any prior written legal tradition. Nowadays the county is divided between Finnish regions of North Karelia and South Karelia and the Russian Republic of Karelia . Russia ceded Ingria and southern Karelia to Sweden in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, following

9089-423: The belief in the identity of both elements became almost a patriotic axiom. Additionally, in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, the process of linguistic Polonization of the rural population accelerated rapidly, especially in the Vilnius region . In the consciousness of the general Polish society at that time, the multi-ethnic heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

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9238-443: The centuries . As cultural homogenization and linguistic Polonization of the nobility progressed, the concept of Lithuanian began to mean simply regional difference within the uniform political nation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . The main Polonizing factors, as in other areas of the First Republic of Poland , were the church , the manor and the city , where the lower social classes adopted and thereby took over

9387-408: The country's otherwise liberal leanings, has resulted in the Swedish monarchy being popular. In recent years, however, some of the most serious criticism ever published has taken place about the way his monarchy has developed under the current king's fifty-year reign. Sweden in the present day is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system based on popular sovereignty , as defined in

9536-501: The course of the 15th century, it changed its meaning to refer to the masses of ordinary nobility who could stand up to fight when called upon. There were also social groups that were personally free but had no military commitments. Such a group were, for example, putnie boyars, who served as grand-ducal envoys and were in charge of road maintenance. A significant group of boyars were service boyars who did not own allodial land, but only service estates, which they received and owned only by

9685-655: The course of wars in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some families became extinct, and with the restriction of the circle of inheritance, their estates were incorporated into the grand-ducal domain. In 1499 Alexander regulated the legal system of the few remaining appanages, the magnates ruling them were given the full ius ducale . This was of little political significance since the princes as a political class were of little importance. Regarding Lithuania proper, not counting descendants of Gediminas seven princely families are known: Borowski , Dowgowd, Giedraitis/ Giedrojć , Jamontowicz, Holshansky , Sudemund, Świrski . They also used

9834-488: The cultural patterns of the higher classes. Already in 1576, seven years after the conclusion of the Union of Lublin , Augustyn Rotundus , a historiographer of Greater Lithuania at that time, wrote that the Lithuanian language previously used by some citizens of Grand Duchy of Lithuania was used by peasants , while the nobility widely adopted Polish . However, it should be mentioned that this process took place without orders or prohibitions, without coercion, mainly under

9983-508: The current Instrument of Government (one of the four Basic Laws of the Realm which makes up the written constitution ). The monarch and the members of the royal family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representational duties within Sweden and abroad. The current king of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf , while his heir is Crown Princess Victoria . The Swedish monarch has numerous residences, primarily state-owned but some privately owned; their official residence and workplace

10132-460: The day to inform not only the head of state, but also the speaker and representatives of the opposition parties in the Riksdag, on foreign affairs issues in a confidential manner. While the monarch is no longer the commander-in-chief ( högste befälhavare ) of the Swedish Armed Forces , as he once was under the 1809 Instrument of Government, he is the foremost representative of the Swedish defence establishment and holds supreme rank in each of

10281-460: The death of King Gustav I in 1560, he was succeeded by his oldest son Eric XIV . His reign was marked by Sweden's entrance into the Livonian War and the Northern Seven Years' War . The combination of Eric's developing mental disorder and his opposition to the aristocracy led to the Sture Murders in 1567 and the imprisonment of his brother John (III) , who was married to Catherine Jagiellon , sister of King Sigismund II of Poland . In 1568 Eric

10430-407: The death of his father, Sigismund tried to rule Sweden from Poland , leaving Sweden under the control of a regent – his paternal uncle (Gustav I's youngest son) Charles (IX) – but was unable to defend his Swedish throne against the ambitions of his uncle. In 1598 Sigismund and his Swedish-Polish army were defeated at the Battle of Stångebro by the forces of Charles, and he was declared deposed by

10579-473: The defence budget cuts made by Prime Minister Karl Staaff and the cabinet just before the First World War in event known as the Courtyard Crisis accompanied by the Peasant armament support march ( Swedish : bondetåget ), it was seen as a deliberate provocation by conservatives and reactionaries against the uncodified norm of a parliamentary system supported by the liberals and the social democrats, leading to Staaff's resignation. Gustaf V then appointed

10728-512: The dynasties who accepted the authority of Gediminids. However, only those who owned land in Lithuania proper, who were of Lithuanian origin and who had accepted Catholicism in 1386, had any influence on central state policy. The Ruthenian princes had influence only on the local situation in their lands. They varied considerably in terms of wealth and importance, some of them wielding huge estates, while others possessed their land on service tenure from

10877-606: The establishment of a unified state, they gradually became subordinates to greater Dukes, and later to the King of Lithuania . After Mindaugas' death, all Lithuanian rulers held the title Grand Duke ( Lithuanian : Didysis kunigaikštis ), or king , which was the title sometimes used by Gediminas and several others. Ethnic Lithuanian nobility had different names than common people, as their names consisted of two stems . Greater noble families generally used their predecessor's Lithuanian pagan given names as their family names ; this

11026-633: The exclusive right to this term. However, attempts were made to create organizations of native Lithuanians of noble descent. On April 4, 1928, the Lithuanian Boyars Society ( Lithuanian : Lietuvos bajorų draugija ) was established, which operated until 1940. Upon adoption of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania in 1990 and this way ending the Soviet occupation of Lithuania ,

11175-464: The expansion of the franchise. The daughter of Gustav IV Adolph , Princess Sofia Wilhelmina (21 May 1801 – 1865) married Grand Duke Leopold of Baden , and their granddaughter Victoria of Baden married the Bernadotte king Gustaf V of Sweden . The present King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is thus Gustav IV's heir through his grandfather, Gustav VI Adolf . When King Gustav V publicly objected to

11324-448: The fact that some of them abandoned the Horodło coats of arms and replaced them with others, the political significance of this gesture did not lose its significance. In the system built by Vytautas, central offices were restricted to Catholics only, which excluded nobles of Ruthenian origin. The basis of the Grand Duke's power was the lands of Lithuania proper, basically the provinces of Trakai and Vilnius. Nobles from this region constituted

11473-692: The former king was almost immediately elected as King Charles XIII . The Instrument of Government of 1809 put an end to royal absolutism by dividing the legislative power between the Riksdag (primary) and the king (secondary), and vested executive power in the king when acting through the Council of State . The present Bernadotte dynasty was established in September 1810 when the Riksdag, convened in Örebro , elected French Marshal and Prince of Pontecorvo Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte as crown prince. This took place because Charles XIII had no legitimate heir, and

11622-712: The functioning and competing associations of the Lithuanian nobility gather in their ranks representatives of the minor nobility, most often descending from their families on the distaff side . Prior to the baptism by Mindaugas , lesser members of the nobility were called bajorai (singular - bajoras ) and greater nobles, kunigai (singular - kunigas ), related to the Old German : kunig , meaning "king", or Lithuanian : kunigaikštis , usually translated as duke , Latin : dux . These positions evolved from tribal leaders and were chiefly responsible for waging wars and organizing raids operations into enemy territories. Following

11771-456: The governance of the realm are vested in him. Carl XVI Gustaf became king on 15 September 1973 on the death of his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf and because of his father's early death has become the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history. His King's Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 2023. Leading up to that year and including it, beginning already in 2018, some of the most serious criticism ever published took place about Carl Gustaf and

11920-400: The grace of the Grand Duke. As the role and wealth of the great magnates increased, the service boyars put themselves at the service of the lords and princes in exchange for tenures. The process of the formation of the noble estate in Lithuania accelerated after the union with Poland when there arose a desire to equalize the legal system of both countries. Nobility, or szlachta , in Poland

12069-419: The grand duke or another prince (so-called 'service princes' - князя слчжбовiе ). The most powerful princes retained almost total power in their lands, recognising the supremacy of the grand dukes. Vytautas began a policy of limiting the power of the princes and incorporating their appanages into the domain. Many princes died in civil wars after his death. Many appanages, lying in the east, were lost to Moscow in

12218-645: The great Lithuanian families living in today's Lithuania, Stefania Maria Romer, died in 2012. Meanwhile, in Poland, about 2,000 Polish families with Lithuanian origins live and use the Polish language, including the Radziwiłł , Czartoryski , Tyszkiewicz , Sanguszko , Sapieha , Giedroyć , Piłsudski , Puzyna , Woroniecki and Romer families. The president of the Genealogical and Heraldic Society of Lithuania , Czesław Malewski, commented that currently there are no famous families left in Lithuania, and

12367-528: The history of the "peoples" inhabiting the eastern lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth constituted an integral part of the history of Poles. The local "peoples" (especially Lithuanians and Belarusians ) were perceived at best as "younger brothers", naturally subordinated to the Polish national interest. It was therefore necessary to educate them and guide them in the right direction, because they were not yet mature enough to make independent decisions. "Our Polish paternalism - writes Roman Wapiński -

12516-401: The influence of civilizational domination and administrative influence (there is also no evidence of administrative coercion). Polonization processes led to the fact that already in the 17th century, Lithuanian landowners called themselves gente Lithuani, natione Poloni ( Latin : Lithuanians by birth, Poles by nationality ). In 1697, in the entire Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at the request of

12665-551: The influence of the aristocracy by nationalizing estates and properties which had been handed out to them by his predecessors, introducing the Allotment system ( Swedish : indelningsverket ) which would form the basis of the armed forces until the 20th century, and with the support of the Estates he was declared in 1680 an absolute monarch . Charles XI was succeeded by his son, Charles XII , who would prove to be an extremely able military commander, defeating far larger enemies with

12814-528: The island of Rügen was ceded to Denmark, which in exchange ceded Norway to the king of Sweden under the Treaty of Kiel , which followed on War of the Sixth Coalition . However the treaty of Kiel never came into force: instead sovereignty of Western Pomerania passed to Kingdom of Prussia, which already held the eastern parts and merged them into the Province of Pomerania . Norway declared its independence, but

12963-456: The king was greatly strengthened by the introduction of Christianity during the 11th century, and the following centuries saw a process of consolidation of power into the hands of the king. The Swedes traditionally elected a king from a favored dynasty at the Stones of Mora , and the people had the right to elect the king as well as to depose him. The ceremonial stones were destroyed around 1515. In

13112-441: The liberals and social democrats greatly strengthened representation in both Riksdag chambers and a conservative government was no longer a defensible option. Following the definite breakthrough of parliamentarism in 1917, with the appointment of the coalition government of liberals and social democrats led by professor Nils Edén , the political influence of the King was considerably reduced and an unwritten constitutional precedent

13261-574: The local Lithuanian nobility, Polish was introduced as the official language instead of the previously existing Ruthenian language . In the 18th century, the Polonization of the lands within the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a completed process, and the Polonization of Vilnius was a state of affairs. Despite the lack of their own state, the conviction of the permanent nature of Lithuania's relationship with Poles and

13410-515: The modern national movements of Lithuania and Belarus and fought for Poland in 1918-1920. The landowning nobles in the new Lithuanian state saw themselves predominately as Poles of Lithuanian background. During the interbellum years the government of Lithuania issued land reform limiting manors with 150 hectares of land while confiscating land from those nobles who were fighting alongside the Polish in Polish-Lithuanian War . Many members of

13559-696: The most globally known ceremony in which the Royal Family annually participate is the Nobel Prize award ceremony held at the Stockholm Concert Hall (and the subsequent banquet in the Stockholm City Hall ), where the monarch hands out the Nobel Prizes on behalf of the Nobel Foundation for outstanding contributions to mankind in physics , chemistry , literature , physiology or medicine , and

13708-493: The new system was perceived as fairer. A war with Lübeck in 1535 resulted in the expulsion of the Hanseatic traders , who previously had had a monopoly on foreign trade. With its own burghers in charge, Sweden's economic strength grew rapidly, and by 1544 Gustav controlled 60% of the farmlands in all of Sweden. Sweden now built the first modern army in Europe, supported by a sophisticated tax system and an efficient bureaucracy. At

13857-533: The nobility and landed gentry and among the intelligentsia. The fall of the First Polish Republic and unsuccessful armed uprisings led to the strengthening of the Polonization processes of the small nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, identifying spiritually and culturally with Polish traditions. Post-uprising repression resulted in the Catholic Church becoming the mainstay of Polishness. Because

14006-445: The nobility grew and the burdens and freedoms of the peasantry were reduced, these linguistic differences began to gain importance. Around the beginning of the 16th century, groups of boyars spared no effort to prove their noble status. The grand ducal council resolved that nobility had to be attested by the testimony of two neighbours, of undoubtedly noble lineage, saying that the applicant's family had been "boyars and shliakhta through

14155-670: The nobility of this organization are treated liberally, accepting members who can prove their descent only through the female line . Therefore, the Royal Union of the Lithuanian Boyars has no chance of acceptance by international associations . According to Professor Grzegorz Błaszczyk , the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania belongs primarily to the descendants of old Greater Lithuanian families, most of whom were Polonized and still live in Poland today. The last representative of

14304-502: The nobility was almost all Lithuanian or Samogitian, with territorial expansion more Ruthenian families joined the nobility. As early as the 16th century, several Ruthenian noble families began to call themselves gente Ruthenus, natione Lithuanus . A good example is the Chodkiewicz family, which attributed its ancestry to the House of Gediminas . The term boyar , boiarstvo ( bajorai ) originally denoted all those who fought. Over

14453-652: The nobility was based on several privileges, granted by the Grand Dukes: Most of the nobility rights were retained even after the third partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The nobility was particularly numerous in the ethnically Lithuanian lands and is estimated to have constituted about 10-11%, while in the Ruthenian lands of the Grand Duchy only about 3-4%. The nobility in Samogitia

14602-531: The northern part of present-day Latvia ( Vidzeme region). During the Second Northern War , Lithuanian nobility signed a series of acts with the Swedish Empire and became its protectorate in 1655 with King Charles X Gustav serving as its Grand Duke . However, following Sweden's defeat at the Battle of Prostki and weak military presence in the region, the protectorate fell in 1657 and Lithuania

14751-554: The other members of the royal family or the employees the Royal Court enjoy similar immunity. At the request of the Speaker of the Riksdag, the monarch opens the annual session of the Riksdag ( Riksmötets öppnande ) in the chamber of the Riksdag building . The king or queen regnant also receives Letters of Credence of foreign ambassadors sent to Sweden and signs those of Swedish ambassadors sent abroad. The monarch also chairs

14900-406: The partition of the duchy, with Sweden keeping the western part ( Western Pomerania , Vorpommern) including Stettin . In 1720 the southern parts of Swedish Pomerania with the town of Stettin and the islands of Usedom and Wollin were ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia , following the Great Northern War . The capital was moved to Greifswald . In 1814 the remainder, with the town of Stralsund and

15049-455: The past thousand years, undergone cycles of decline and strengthening, culminating in the modern constitutional monarchy. The Swedish monarchy has been one of the key features in the development of Swedish culture, having for centuries patronized the arts and sciences. Several of Sweden's most prestigious academies and cultural institutions are under Swedish royal protection. This historical role politically, militarily and culturally, in spite of

15198-541: The peace treaties of Brömsebro (1645) and Roskilde (1658) the Realm of Sweden expanded to the south. Blekinge , Bohuslän (of Norway), Halland and Scania were ceded by Denmark in the latter and then successfully defended in the Scanian War (1675–1679). According to the peace treaties the provinces were to retain its old laws and privileges, and was initially administered as a dominion. A gradual process of incorporation

15347-473: The political elite of the country. New terms emerged for all those of noble birth: shliakhta (from Polish : szlachta ; Lithuanian : šlėkta ) in Ruthenian and nobiles in Latin. The term zemianin  [ pl ] ( Lithuanian : ziemionys ) began to denote the nobles who possessed land. Szlachta itself was stratified into several categories . As the privileges and political importance of

15496-476: The politics of the Grand Duchy. Practically giving it full control over the actions of the ruler. While in Poland at that time the limitation of royal power was associated with an increase in the role of the ordinary nobility, in the Grand Duchy, where nobility assemblies ( sejmiks ) did not exist, full power passed into the hands of the great lords. Grand Duchy of Lithuania offices were held almost exclusively by magnates. Potent Radziwiłł family (Radvila) received

15645-448: The population lived in the lands directly under the Grand Duke's rule, by 1528 this figure had fallen to 30%. It is estimated that 5% of the land was owned by the Church, while as much as 65% of the land was then in the hands of 13 thousand of noble families (6 thousand of them were of Lithuanian origin). Most of it was owned by a small group of several dozen families of lords, which constituted

15794-521: The prime minister to keep the monarch informed on the affairs of the realm; the failure to do so following the 2004 tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean (in which many Swedes perished) gave rise to wide criticism of Prime Minister Göran Persson for his handling of the matter. The monarch also chairs the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs ( Utrikesnämnden ), a body that enables the government of

15943-663: The privileged social group of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was called boyars . Boyars became part of the szlachta (nobility) during the Union of Horodło on October 2, 1413, initiating nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania following the Western European model (with a hereditary system of heraldic identification), as well as an increase in the position of the Greater Lithuanian nobility. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania adopted Polish institutions of castellans and voivodes , and 47 selected boyars of Grand Duchy of Lithuania of

16092-509: The realm. The Eriksgata gradually lost its importance when, as of the 14th century, representatives of other parts of Sweden began to participate in the election. After 1544, when hereditary monarchy was instituted, that meant that the Eriksgata had little practical importance. The last king to travel the Eriksgata according to the old tradition was Charles IX , whose reign began in 1604. Later, kings, up until present times, have made visits to all

16241-478: The regency, Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna wrote the 1634 Instrument of Government , which although never approved by any monarch, continued to have an important normative role in the state administration. Christina early on showed an interest in literature and the sciences and famously brought René Descartes to Sweden. Sweden continued to be involved in the Thirty Years' War during reign of Christina and that conflict

16390-425: The relatively few hereditary noble titles in the Kingdom of Poland were bestowed by foreign monarchs. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had one of the largest percentages of nobility in Europe, with szlachta (nobility) constituting close to 10% of the population, but in some constituent regions, like Duchy of Samogitia , it was closer to 12%. However, the high nobility was extremely limited in number, consisting of

16539-518: The representatives of powerful Volhynian families: Sanguszko , Czartoryski , Ostrogski and Zasławski found their place in the power elite. Since the reign of Vytautas, documents began to distinguish a group of great lords, calling them in Latin baro (pl. barones ), dominus (pl. domini ) or, in Ruthenian texts, "great boyars" ( боярe великie ). Soon, the borrowed from Polish term "pan" (plural "pany", пан ; ponai or didikai ), literally meaning "lord" gained popularity. This new elite

16688-443: The rights of landowners to pass on their estates. Although allodial land ownership was previously known in the Grand Duchy, its prevalence increased significantly in the following period. Similarly, the new law of inheritance led to a decline in the importance, outside Kaunas district and Samogitia, of clan kinships, in favour of more nuclear families. This led to a rapid change in the structure of land ownership. While in 1386 80% of

16837-510: The rule of the Riksdag of the Estates and reinstate absolute monarchy in Sweden. He nearly lost his throne in consequence. On the second occasion during the December Crisis of 1768 , under the guidance of his eldest son, Gustav , he succeeded in overthrowing the "Cap" (Swedish: Mössorna ) senate, but was unable to make any use of his victory. Adolf Frederick's son, King Gustav III , was more successful in restoring royal authority. In 1772,

16986-439: The ruling elite. The situation began to change in the 1430s when nobility privileges began to be extended to the Ruthenian nobility. The cementing of the new elite was strengthened by the emergence of the institution of the council. Initially, it had no institutionalized form but gathered the ruler's closest associates. However, from 1430 onwards, it began to take shape as a permanent institution, to which one automatically became

17135-454: The same time, he broke with the papacy and established a reformed state church : the Church of Sweden . Throughout his reign, Gustav I suppressed both aristocratic and peasant opposition to his ecclesiastical policies and efforts at centralisation, which to some extent laid the foundation for the modern Swedish unitary state . Legally Sweden has only been a hereditary monarchy since 1544 when

17284-525: The service arms. He ranks as a four star admiral in the Swedish Navy and general in the Swedish Army and Air Force . As part of his court, the monarch has a military staff , which is headed by a senior officer (usually a general or admiral, retired from active service) and includes active duty military officers serving as aides-de-camp to the monarch and his or her family. The monarch and members of

17433-725: The small but highly professional Swedish army. His defeat of the Russians at Narva when just 18 years old was to be his greatest victory. However his campaigning at the head of his army during the Great Northern War would ultimately lead to catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Poltava after which he spent several years in Turkey (now Moldova) . Some years later he was killed at the Siege of Fredriksten during an attempt to invade Norway. The Swedish Age of Greatness ( Swedish : stormaktstiden ) had ended. Charles XII's sister, Ulrika Eleonora , now claimed

17582-426: The state or ethnic sense. The Lithuanian nobility felt united with the Polish nobility as part of one political nation of the Commonwealth, enjoying privileges, freedom and equality. In this sense, they often referred to themselves as "Polish nobility" or outright "Poles". At the same time, separatism and the defense of Lithuanian national separateness within the federation state were very strong. The Lithuanian nobility

17731-429: The territorial integrity of their common, although enslaved, homeland was strengthening in the minds of all Poles. In the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the cultural unity of inhabitants was strengthening, and many traditionally understood Lithuanians discovered a modern national identity - they became Poles . It should be noted, however, that the described processes took place almost exclusively within

17880-685: The throne and abdicated in favor of her husband, Frederick , who had little interest in the affairs of state and was elected King by the Estates as King Frederick I, resulting in the 1720 Instrument of Government : content-wise almost identical to the one from 1719. Despite having many extra-marital affairs, Frederick I never sired a legitimate heir to the throne. After the death/impending death of King Frederick without heirs, Charles Frederick's heir, Charles Peter Ulrich, had become untenable in Sweden, as he had been taken to Russia by his aunt Elizabeth I of Russia , nominated as heir/Grand Duke, and became Emperor Peter III of Russia . In 1743, Adolf Frederick,

18029-558: The throne over her nephew and son of her elder sister, Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (see genealogy chart above). Charles Frederick had the claim of seniority within the family, but Ulrica Eleonora claimed that her elder sister had not "acquired the consent of the Parliamentary Estates " for her marriage to his father, according to laws of succession laid down in Norrköpings arvförening . The duke's party asserted that

18178-569: The title Heir to Norway ( Arvinge till Norge ) was also used, as well as other titles connected to the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp . When, after the Napoleonic Wars , Norway was in personal union with Sweden, the title included King of Norway , in older Swedish spellings: Sweriges, Norriges, Göthes och Wendes Konung . Upon his accession, Carl XVI Gustaf chose for his title simply Sveriges Konung (King of Sweden). The customary title of

18327-468: The title knyaz, which is probably a rendering of the Lithuanian kunigas , which in pagan times probably belonged to every person of noble status. It is not clear whether they owed their princely dignity to their former status as sovereigns or to their connection and affinity with the ruling family established in the 14th century (this is confirmed at least for the Gedraitis and Holshanskys). Among them, only

18476-720: The title of the prince ( German : Reichsfürst ; Polish : książę ) from the Holy Roman Emperor in 1518, similarly some other families received titles of counts ( Goštautai /Gasztołd in 1529/30; Ilinicz in 1553; Chodkiewicz in 1568; possibly Kęsgailos /Kieżgajło in 1547) from the Emperor. The elevation of the Radziwiłł family resulted in the abandonment of the title of "knyaz" by those Ruthenian families that still retained significant power, wealth and often appanages (for example Wiśniowiecki , Ostrogski , Zbaraski ). They adopted instead

18625-518: The traditions of historical Lithuania, trying to reconcile Lithuanianness with Polishness, called themselves " old Lithuanians ", " historical Lithuanians " or " The Mickiewicz's " (i.e. - such as in Adam Mickiewicz , from the first words of the invocation from the poem Pan Tadeusz: "O Lithuania, my country ... " ). In turn, the representatives of the former " Semigalian people ", now "nationalized", called themselves Lithuanians , additionally reserving

18774-464: The unwritten precedent was set in 1917, when Gustaf V had little choice but to support the idea of a parliamentary system and promised Prime Minister Nils Edén to stop seeking advice from secret advisors other than the duly appointed cabinet ministers and not to interfere in politics again; the Torekov compromise, struck in 1971 by the four major parties at the time, provided, and continues to provide,

18923-565: The way the monarchy has developed during his reign. When, on 1 January 1975, it replaced the Instrument of Government of 1809 as part of the Constitution of Sweden , the Instrument of Government of 1974 ( Swedish : 1974 års regeringsform ) transformed the advisory Council of State ( Statsrådet ) into the collegial Government ( Regeringen ), to which all executive power was transferred. Responsibility for nominating and dismissing

19072-420: Was Polonised and adopted Polish identity by the late 19th century. A Russian census in 1897 showed that 27.7% of nobility living within modern Lithuania's borders recognized Lithuanian as the mother language. This number was even higher in Kovno Governorate , where 36.6% of nobility identified the Lithuanian language as their mother language. Most descendants of the Lithuanian nobility remained ill-disposed to

19221-402: Was a descendant of earlier royal dynasties of Sweden, great-granddaughter of Princess Catherine of Sweden , mother of King Charles X of Sweden . On his mother's side, Adolf Frederick was descended from King Gustav Vasa and Christina Magdalena , a sister of Charles X of Sweden . He succeeded as King Adolf Frederick 8 years later on 25 March 1751. During his 20-year reign, Adolf Frederick

19370-505: Was already a well-established estate, its legal position was consolidated in the 14th century. At this point, it was basically impossible to enter the noble status otherwise than by birth. The development of the idea of corona regni aroused among the nobility a notion of being the main unifying force of the kingdom and responsible for its rule. Lithuanian nobles aspired to this position. Privileges of 1387 and 1413 gave legal security of tenure to holders of allodial land and recognized in law

19519-430: Was but would become entirely ceremonial, without any residual political powers left. Following the required double Riksdag votes that took place in 1973 and 1974, a new Instrument of Government was brought into effect. The monarch's functions and duties, as defined in the 1974 Constitution Act, include heading the special cabinet council held when there is a change of government, but no executive powers with respect to

19668-447: Was closer to 12%. However, the high nobility was extremely limited in number, consisting of the magnates and later, within the Russian Empire, of princes. Families of the nobility were responsible for military mobilization and enjoyed Golden Liberty ; some were rewarded with additional privileges for success on the battlefield. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ducal titles were mostly inherited by descendants of old dynasties while

19817-429: Was dethroned and succeeded by John III. In domestic politics John III showed clear Catholic sympathies, inspired by his queen, creating friction with the Swedish clergy and nobility. He reintroduced several Catholic traditions previously abolished, and his foreign policy was affected by his family connection to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , where his eldest son had been made King Sigismund III in 1587. Following

19966-632: Was elected King of Sweden by the estates of the realm , assembled in Strängnäs on 6 June 1523. Inspired by the teachings of Martin Luther , Gustav I used the Protestant Reformation to curb the power of the Roman Catholic Church . In 1527 he persuaded the estates of the realm , assembled in the city of Västerås , to confiscate church lands, which comprised 21% of the country's farmland. At

20115-551: Was forced after a short war into a personal Union with Sweden . Sweden received the German town of Wismar with the surrounding countryside in the Peace of Westphalia (1648). In 1803 Wismar was pawned, in exchange for a loan, and control was handed over to Mecklenburg . The loan defaulted in 1903, but Sweden rescinded its right to regain control of the German exclave and thereby nominally received its present territorial constitution. Monarchy of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden

20264-404: Was granted the title Royal Highness in his absence, but his pro-Russian policy at that time made him impossible as heir to the Swedish throne. His marriage in 1725 to Anna , the daughter of Peter of Great, did not help his case. His mother, and later Hedwig Eleonora, both supported and worked for his right to be considered heir of Sweden after his childless uncle. Ulrika Eleonora was forced by

20413-407: Was increasingly identified simply with Polish heritage. Such views were held by the most active and opinion-forming layer of the emerging nation. The intelligentsia grew up in an atmosphere of supremacy of nobility culture, so they easily identified with it. It adopted the nobility's way of perceiving the world, even if it came from other social groups. According to a commonly accepted interpretation,

20562-564: Was killed at the 1632 Battle of Lützen . Queen Maria Eleonora and the king's ministers took over the government of the Realm on behalf of Gustavus Adolphus' underage daughter Christina , until she reached the age of majority . Gustavus Adolphus is often regarded by military historians as one of the greatest military commanders of all time, with innovative use of combined arms . Christina succeeded her father aged six. A regency government ruled in her name until she turned 18 years of age. During

20711-459: Was little more than a figurehead , the real power being with the Riksdag of the Estates , often distracted by party strife. Twice he endeavored to free himself from the tutelage of the estates. The first occasion was in 1756. Stimulated by his consort Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (sister of Frederick the Great ), he tried to regain a portion of the attenuated prerogative through the Coup of 1756 to abolish

20860-490: Was more interested in feathering their own nests rather than working in the interest of the country at large. When Charles XI came of age in 1672, the effectiveness of the armed forces had seriously deteriorated and the country was ill-prepared as the King of Denmark, Christian V , invaded to settle old scores . The Danes were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts, and Charles XI undertook several measures to prevent what had just almost happened from occurring again: reducing

21009-541: Was not a dominion, but a land of Sweden . The dominions had no representation in the Swedish Riksdag as stipulated by the 1634 Instrument of Government paragraph 46: "No one, who is not living inside the separate and old borders of Sweden and Finland, have anything to say at Riksdags and other meetings..." Between 1561 and 1629 Sweden made conquests in the Eastern Baltic. All of them were lost in accordance with

21158-519: Was once again reincorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . By the Treaty of Brömsebro (1645), following the Torstenson War , Denmark-Norway ceded Jämtland , Härjedalen , Idre & Särna , Gotland , Halland and Ösel to Sweden. Ösel and Dagö , islands off the coast of Estonia , were ceded to Russia in 1721 by the Treaty of Nystad. The other territories remained part of Sweden. By

21307-410: Was only partly descended from the old princely families that ruled Lithuania in pagan times. To a large extent, these were new families that appeared during the reigns of Jogaila and Vytautas and whose representatives were among the signatories of the Union of Horodło (1413). They owed their position to the generosity of the grand dukes, who rewarded them with offices and land granted in allodium. In

21456-514: Was particularly numerous, but usually, it was a poor nobility living in gentry villages. In the right-bank part of Kaunas county the nobility accounted for as much as 25% of the hearths in the late 18th century. In 1777 there were 16,534 noble houses registered (5.2% of the total) in the whole Grand Duchy. In 1790 the register showed 100 palaces, 9,331 manors, 494 noblemen's houses in towns, and 13,890 houses of noblemen without subjects. Linguistic Polonization did not always mean full Polonization in

21605-423: Was set that would remain in effect until 1975. Only during World War II , in the so-called Midsummer crisis (regarding the issue whether neutral Sweden should permit rail transport of German troops from Norway passing through to Finland ), did Gustaf V allegedly try to intervene in the political process by threatening to abdicate . King Gustaf VI Adolf succeeded his elderly father who died in 1950, and he

21754-557: Was settled at the 1648 Peace of Westphalia , and the Swedish monarch received representation at the Imperial Diet due to the German conquests ( Bremen-Verden and Swedish Pomerania ) that were made. Having decided not to marry, Christina abdicated the throne on 5 June 1654 in favor of her cousin Charles X Gustav , went abroad, and converted to Roman Catholicism . The Estates elected Charles X Gustav as their new King, and his short reign

21903-586: Was successfully concluded in 1721. Through its minor German principalities , the Swedish kings in their roles as princes and dukes, or Reichsfürsten , of the Holy Roman Empire took part in the German diets from 1648 until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Following the Thirty Years' War , the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 assigned to Sweden the two bishoprics of Bremen-Verden , with

22052-410: Was the case with Goštautai , Radvilos , Astikai , Kęsgailos and others. Those families acquired great wealth, eventually becoming magnates . Their representatives are respectively Jonas Goštautas , Radvila Astikas , Kristinas Astikas and Mykolas Kęsgaila . The aforementioned families were granted corresponding Polish coats of arms under the Union of Horodlo in 1413. While at the beginning

22201-442: Was warmly attached to the laws, traditions and symbols of the Grand Duchy. Moreover, the Lithuanian separateness was also defended by the members of ethnically Polish families settling in Lithuania. Following the Union of Horodło (1413), the Lithuanian nobility's rights were equalized with those of the ruling class of the Kingdom of Poland ( szlachta ). During the following centuries, the Lithuanian nobility began to merge with

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