Charles August or Carl August (9 July 1768 – 28 May 1810) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

prince. He is best known for serving as Crown Prince of Sweden briefly in 1810, adopted by Charles XIII, before his sudden death from a stroke. Earlier, he had been a general in the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

as well as the Governor-general of Norway. His name before assuming the Swedish title in 1810 was Christian August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, or Christian August of Augustenburg for short.

Family

He was born at

Augustenborg Palace Augustenborg Palace (or Augustenborg Castle; da, Augustenborg Slot, german: Schloss Augustenburg) is a Rococo-style palace in the southwestern part of Augustenborg, Als Island, Denmark, overlooking Augustenborg Fjord. The palace owes its name t ...

in July 1768 as the son of Friedrich Christian I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1721–1794) and Princess

Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

(1744–1770). He was a younger brother of Frederik Christian II, Duke of Augustenborg, brother-in-law of Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark and an uncle of Caroline Amalie of Augustenburg, Queen consort of Denmark and Christian August, Duke of Augustenborg. He did not marry.

Career in Denmark and Norway

Christian August studied in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, and returned from there to Denmark-Norway in 1785. He was appointed lieutenant colonel, and was promoted to colonel in 1787 and major general in 1790. From 1797 he was stationed in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, joining the fight against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. He left Austria when the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

ended the

War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...

in 1801. In 1803 Christian August was named commander of

Fredriksten Fortress Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän wa ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, assuming the position in 1804. In 1807 he once again became involved in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, this time on the side of Napoleon as Napoleon's enemy Great Britain assaulted Denmark. The Danish-Norwegian part of the Napoleonic Wars is called the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Nav ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

joined forces against Denmark-Norway in 1808. Christian August was a central figure in the war, and led forces to victories in the

Battle of Prestebakke The Battle of Prestebakke was fought on 10 June 1808, between Sweden, Swedish and Norway, Norwegian forces, during the Dano-Swedish War of 1808–09. After the Swedish retreat out of Norway, a small detachment was left at Prestebakke and Berby. C ...

and the

Battle of Toverud The Battle of Toverud or the Battles of Rakkestad and Toverud were several skirmishes fought around Toverud in Aurskog and Rakkestad in Viken (county), Viken, on 19 and 20 April 1808, as a part of the Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809. Charles August ...

, ousting Swedish forces from Norway. In 1808 Christian August was promoted to Field Marshal, and in 1809 he became Governor-general of Norway.

Sweden

On 6 June 1809 the Duke-regent of Sweden was proclaimed King, after Gustav IV Adolf was deposed. The new king Charles XIII accepted the new, liberal

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, which was ratified by the Riksdag of the Estates the same day. The new king was in no way likely to interfere with the liberal revolution which had placed him on the throne. Peace was what the exhausted nation now required. Charles XIII was childless, so in order to secure the succession to the throne, someone had to be adopted as his heir.

Georg Adlersparre Count Georg Adlersparre (March 28, 1760 – September 23, 1835) was a Sweden, Swedish army commander, politician and writer from the Adlersparre family. He was the leader of the Coup of 1809, leading to the deposition of King Gustav IV Adolf of S ...

, the main orchestrator of the 1809 coup, preferred King

Frederick VI of Denmark Frederick VI (Danish and no, Frederik; 28 January 17683 December 1839) was King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes ...

as the new Swedish monarch, but when Frederick refused, Adlersparre looked to Norway. He tried to persuade Christian August, first through the Swedish Baron C. H. Anckarsvärd, and although Christian August did not show up to meet Anckarsvärd personally, he gradually accepted the offer of adoption. His loyalty to his ruler Frederick VI ultimately became a lesser obstacle. The choice of Christian August was supported by Charles XIII as well as three of the

estates of the realm The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

; the

Clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, Burghers and Peasants. However, the

Nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

was more reluctant due to the influence of so-called

Gustavians The Gustavians ( sv, Gustavianerna) were a political faction in the Kingdom of Sweden who supported the absolutist regime of King Gustav III of Sweden, and sought after his assassination in 1792 to uphold his legacy and protect the interests of ...

(''Gustavianerna''), supporting the deposed King Gustav IV Adolf and his then-underage son. The decision to adopt Charles August became definitive on 15 July 1809. His great popularity in Norway was considered an advantage to the Swedish plans for the acquisition of that country. In addition, he had demonstrated his interest in a rapprochement between the two countries by refraining from invading Sweden during the Finnish War with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

.''The Union's Last War: The Russian-Swedish War of 1808-09'' (The Napoleon Series)
/ref> Monumentet i Kvidinge

After the Treaty of Fredrikshamn between Sweden and Russia on 17 September 1809 which concluded the Finnish War, Sweden was ready for the inauguration of Charles August. He finally left Norway for Sweden on 7 January 1810. As Crown Prince of Sweden, he changed his name to Charles August ( sv, Carl August). Honors were lavished upon him on his arrival, he was for example made an honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

on 18 April 1810, and was the first person to enjoy this status in that academy. However, he did not live long enough to make a historical impact in Sweden. He suddenly died on 28 May 1810, when he fell off his horse during a military practice in

Kvidinge Kvidinge is a locality situated in Åstorp Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 1,854 inhabitants in 2010. It is famous as the death site of Charles August, Crown Prince of Sweden in 1810. Crown Prince was inspecting the Scanian Hussar Re ...

. His autopsy confirmed that he had died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, but at the same time rumours went that he had been poisoned by Gustavians. Specifically, the Marshal of the Realm Count Axel von Fersen was openly accused of having killed Charles August, and was lynched on 20 June 1810 during the funeral procession of Charles August. Charles August was buried in Riddarholmen Church, the burial church of Swedish monarchs.

Legacy and aftermath

A monument to Charles August was commissioned by

Prince Frederik of Hesse Prince Frederik of Hesse, Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel (24 May 1771 – 24 February 1845) was a Danish-German nobleman, general and Governor-general of Norway (1810–1813) and the same in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein (1836–1842 ...

and erected in 1810 in the royal park at Bygdøy near Oslo. Before his departure from

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, a grand farewell party was held in his honour, and a group of wealthy citizens formed the charitable foundation

Prinds Christian Augusts Minde Prinds Christian Augusts Minde was an asylum, workhouse and social institution located at Storgata 36 in downtown Oslo, Norway. History Mangelsgården was built in 1670–1698. The building was originally raised as a holiday residence with ...

. It acquired a large town house which still bears his name. A street in Oslo, Kristian Augusts gate, was named after him in 1852. Charles August's successor as adopted Crown Prince, who was accepted by the Riksdag of the Estates in August, was Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte.

Ancestry

References

Other sources

*Blomberg, Wenche (2006) ''Prinds Christian Augusts Minde - historie og visjoner om de fattiges kvartal'' Norwegian *Sandström, Allan (1994) ''Sveriges sista krig - de dramatiska åren 1808-1809'' (Bokförlaget Libris, Örebro) Swedish

External links

Prinds Christian Augusts Minde
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles August Of Sweden, Crown Prince 1768 births 1810 deaths House of Augustenburg Carl August 1810 Carl August 1810 Norwegian princes 18th-century Danish nobility 19th-century Danish nobility Danish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Conspiracy theories in Europe Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Danish generals Danish nobility Governors-general of Norway Princes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg People from Augustenborg, Denmark Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Heirs apparent who never acceded Burials at Riddarholmen Church