The House of Holstein-Gottorp, a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, ti ...

of the Oldenburg dynasty, ruled Sweden between 1751 and 1818, and

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 ...

from 1814 to 1818. The current royal family, Bernadotte, is ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

'' a branch of the Holstein-Gottorps due to the last Holstein-Gottorp king's adoption of the first Bernadotte king, Charles XIV John. In 1743,

Adolf Frederick Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

of Holstein-Gottorp was elected crown prince of Sweden as a Swedish concession to

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, a strategy for achieving an acceptable peace after the disastrous war of the same year. He became

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary ...

in 1751. King Gustav III, Adolf Frederick's eldest son, was enthusiastic that through his

great-great-grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four geneti ...

their dynasty descended from the royal House of Vasa. He expressed wishes that their house be known as Vasa, as the new royal house of Vasa and the continuation of the original. There was no effective way to force this change. Historians have not agreed with Gustav's desires, and the house is always referred to as Holstein-Gottorp. In 1809, Gustav III's son King Gustav IV Adolf was deposed following the loss of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, and the dynasty disappeared from Swedish history with the death of his uncle King Charles XIII in 1818. In 1810, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (later Charles XIV John), a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

, was elected crown prince, and became the founder of the next and current Swedish dynasty, the House of Bernadotte. In 1836,

Gustav Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media *Primeval (film), ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film *Gustav (film series), ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hu ...

, the son of the deposed Gustav IV Adolf, was created Prince of Vasa in

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(written Wasa). However, the use of that name ceased when the prince's only surviving child, his daughter Carola, died without children. The marriage of the future King Gustaf V to Princess Victoria of Baden in 1881 united the ruling

House of Bernadotte The House of Bernadotte is the royal family of Sweden since its foundation there in 1818. It was also the royal family of Norway between 1818 and 1905. Its founder, Charles XIV John of Sweden, was born in Pau in southern France as Jean Bernado ...

with a descendant of the House of Holstein-Gottorp since Victoria was a great-granddaughter of the deposed Gustav IV Adolf.

Kings of Sweden

* 1751–1771:

* 1771–1792: Gustav III * 1792–1809: Gustav IV Adolf * 1809–1818: Charles XIII

King of Norway

* 1814–1818: Charles II

External links

* {{authority control Holstein-Gottorp