Gustav III

Gustav III (born Jan. 24, 1746, Stockholm, Swed.—died March 29, 1792, Stockholm) was the king of Sweden (1771–92), who reasserted the royal power over the Riksdag (parliament). Gustav, the eldest son of King Adolf Fredrik, was an intelligent and cultured advocate of the Enlightenment. In 1766 he married Sofia Magdalena, daughter of King Frederick V of Denmark. Gustav succeeded in 1771 to a Swedish throne that had been weak since it was subordinated to the...