Charles IX of Sweden
King of Sweden from 1604 to 1611
Charles IX, also Carl (Swedish: Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until 1611. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I (r. 1523–1560) and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King John III and half-brother of King Erik XIV, and the uncle of Sigismund, who became king both of Sweden and of Poland.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Charles IX of Sweden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Oct 4, 1550, died Oct 30, 1611.1
About
By his father's will, Charles received, by way of appanage, the Duchy of Södermanland, which included the provinces of Närke and Värmland; but he did not come into actual possession of them till after the fall of Eric and the succession to the throne of John in 1569.
He came into the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the increasingly tense times of religious strife between competing sects of Christianity. Just under a decade after his death, these would re-ignite in the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648. These conflicts had already caused the dynastic squabble rooted in religious freedom that deposed Charles' nephew (Sigismund III) and brought Charles to rule as king of Sweden.
His reign marked the start of the final chapter (dated 1648 by some) both of the Reformation and of the Counter-Reformation. With the death of his brother John III of Sweden in November 1592, the Swedish throne went to his nephew, the Habsburg ally Sigismund of Poland and Sweden. During these tense political times, Charles viewed the inheritance of the throne of Protestant Sweden by his devout Catholic nephew with alarm. Several years of religious controversy and discord followed.
While King Sigismund resided in Poland, Charles and the Swedish privy council ruled in Sigismund's name. After various preliminaries, the Riksdag of the Estates forced Sigismund to abdicate the throne to Charles IX in 1595. This eventually kicked off nearly seven decades of sporadic warfare as the two lines of the divided House of Vasa both continued to attempt to remake the union between the Polish and Swedish thrones with opposing counter-claims and dynastic wars.
From Wikipedia’s article on Charles IX of Sweden, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
Early life and education
Charles IX was born on 4 October 1550 at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm as the youngest son of King Gustav Vasa and Queen Margaret. He was educated in childhood by his private tutor Jean d'Herboville. Upon Gustav Vasa's death in 1560, Charles received a duchy that included most of Södermanland and Närke, some parishes in Västmanland, part of Vadsbo County in Västergötland, and all of Värmland. According to Gustav Vasa's will, Dukes John (III) and Charles were to have a partially independent position as vassals under their elder brother Erik XIV. After he was crowned king, however, in 1561 he had a Riksdag in Arboga decide to restrict the independence of the duchies, the so-called Arboga Articles. At the age of 15, Charles participated in the Northern Seven Years' War where he commanded the artillery at the conquest of Varberg in 1565.
From Wikipedia’s article on Charles IX of Sweden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: monarch.6
Personal life
- BornOct 4, 1550, Tre Kronor Castle7
- DiedOct 30, 1611, Nyköping Castle8
- CitizenshipSweden9
- SpousesMaria of the Palatinate-Simmern married 157910; Christina of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp married 159210
He married, firstly, Anna Marie of Palatinate-Simmern (1561–1589), daughter of Louis VI, Elector Palatine (1539–1583) and Elisabeth of Hesse (1539–1584). Their children were:
Margareta Elisabeth (1580–1585)
Elisabeth Sabina (1582–1585)
Louis (1583–1583)
Catherine (1584–1638), married a prince of the Palatinate Zweibrücken, becoming mother of Charles X Gustav.
Gustav (1587–1587)
Maria (1588–1589)
In 1592 he married his second wife Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (1573–1625), daughter of Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (1526–1586) and Christine of Hesse (1543–1604), and first cousin of his previous wife. Their children were:
Christina (1593–1594)
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (Gustav II Adolf) (1594–1632)
Maria Elizabeth (1596–1618), married her first cousin Duke John, youngest son of John III of Sweden
Charles Philip (1601–1622)
He also had a son with his mistress, Karin Nilsdotter:
Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (1574–1650), Field Marshal
From Wikipedia’s article on Charles IX of Sweden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataCharles IX of Sweden on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaCharles IX of Sweden on Wikipedia
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- 11WikidataOulu, Founder
- 12Wikimedia CommonsCharles IX of Sweden photo by Unidentified painter, Public domain