Gustaf Brahe (8 March 1558 – 10 January 1615) was a Swedish ''

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish), Rigsrådet (in Danish) or (English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that rule ...

'' and a Polish

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. Gustaf Brahe was the son of

Per Brahe the Elder Per Brahe the Elder (1520–1590) was a Swedish statesman. Brahe was the son of Joakim Brahe (died 1520 in the Stockholm Bloodbath) and Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa, the sister of Gustav Eriksson Vasa, who became King of Sweden in 1523. Brahe wa ...

and Beata Stenbock, and related to the royal family. He was the paternal grandson of

Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa (1497 – 31 December 1536), also called ''Margareta Vasa'' and ''Margareta of Hoya'', was a Swedish noblewoman, sister of king Gustav I of Sweden. Between 1525 and 1534, she commanded Vyborg Castle on several occasio ...

, making him the nephew of king

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

and cousin of the kings

Eric XIV of Sweden Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Es ...

John III of Sweden John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomous ...

and

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

, and a maternal nephew of queen

Catherine Stenbock Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 at Torpa, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland – 13 December 1621 at Strömsholm, Västmanland) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of ...

. He was the brother of

Erik Brahe Erik Brahe (Stockholm, 23 June 1722 – 23 July 1756, Stockholm), was a Swedish count. He was executed for treason as one of the conspirators participating in the failed coup d'etat of queen Louisa Ulrika, the Coup of 1756. He was the son of c ...

(1552–1614),

Margareta Brahe (1559–1638) Margareta Brahe (2 July 1559 – 26 April 1638) was a Swedish courtier; ''hovmästarinna'' (Mistress of the Robes) to princess Anna Vasa of Sweden, from 1591. Born to count Per Brahe the Elder and Beata Stenbock and niece of queen dowager Catheri ...

, Magnus Brahe (1564–1633),

Sigrid Brahe Sigrid Brahe (1568–1608), was a Swedish countess, known for the great scandal ''Onsdagsbröllopet'' (The Wednesday Wedding) in 1595. Sigrid Brahe was the daughter of count Per Brahe the Elder and Beata Stenbock and niece of queen dowager Cathe ...

and

Abraham Brahe Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

(1569–1630). Gustaf Brahe is most known for his love affair with princess

Anna Vasa of Sweden Anna Vasa of Sweden (also Anne, pl, Anna Wazówna; 17 May 1568 – 26 February 1625) was a Polish and Swedish princess, starosta of Brodnica and Golub. She was the youngest child of King John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon. She was cl ...

. They were raised together at court and was reportedly mutually in love with each other, and there where rumors that they met each other in secret in the home of Brahe's sister Ebba Sparre. In 1587, Gustaf Brahe followed Sigismund and Anna to Poland when Sigismund was elected king there. In 1589, he formally asked Sigismund for Anna's hand, and while he was not given a clear answer, he was not refused, which made him hope that he might be accepted. The attempts of marriage between Princess Anna and Gustaf Brahe was often mentioned but ultimately never brought to fruition, and both remained unmarried. The potential marriage between princess Anna and Gustaf Brahe was fiercely opposed by Duke Charles, who viewed it as a plot of Gustav Brahe to make princess Anna ruling queen regnant of Sweden while her only brother Sigismund was absent in Poland, and he therefore used their relationship in his libelous chronicle '' Karlskrönikan''. In 1593, he was appointed the representative of

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

in Sweden, and was to assist his brother

Erik Brahe (1552–1614) Erik Brahe (Stockholm, 23 June 1722 – 23 July 1756, Stockholm), was a Swedish count. He was executed for treason as one of the conspirators participating in the failed coup d'etat of queen Louisa Ulrika, the Coup of 1756. He was the son of co ...

as governor of Stockholm. He returned to Poland after a few months. A temporary estrangement occurred in the relationship between Anna and Brahe when she arranged for his sister

to marry for love against the wish of her family, but they soon reconciled.Gustaf Brahe, urn:sbl:18043, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av B. BOËTHIUS.), hämtad 2017-12-29. During the

War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund ( sv, Kriget mot Sigismund) was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund, who was at the time the King of both Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (that is, the K ...

, he was given a power of attorney by Sigismund to capture and imprison all the enemies of Sigismund he could manage. He left Sweden for Poland with Sigismund and Princess Anna after the

Battle of Stångebro The Battle of Stångebro, or the Battle of Linköping, took place at Linköping, Sweden, on 25 September 1598 (O.S.) and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had existed since 1592. ...

. Gustaf Brahe spent the rest of his life in exile in Poland, as did Anna, and made a military career in Poland to the rank of Field marshal. He died in Danzig in 1615.

References

* Gustaf Brahe, urn:sbl:18043, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av B. BOËTHIUS.), hämtad 2017-12-29. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brahe, Gustaf 1558 births 1615 deaths 16th-century Swedish military personnel 17th-century military personnel Royal favourites Swedish nobility Swedish courtiers Swedish royal favourites Emigrants from Sweden to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth