Death of Gustav III – King of Sweden
Gustav III was born in January 1746 but his life was cut short when he was assassinated in 1792.
He had been on the throne of Sweden for 21 years.
His reign started in 1771 after succeeding Adolf Frederick of Sweden, who was the uncle of Catherine the Great.
As king, Gustav ruled with absolute power and his reputation quickly began to erode.
He accrued hatred amongst his people, as he extended royal privileges and began a war with Russia.
Gustav III was not popular among the nobility.
The King had made himself an autocratic ruler through a coup in 1772.
The nobility no longer had as much influence in the running of the country.
A group of disgruntled noblemen and officers joined forces to carry out an attack and do away with the King.
Captain Jacob Johan Ankarström declared himself willing to perform the deed.
Anckarström hired a black cloak, and bought a white masque with a black silk beard.
He chose to carry out the murder with knives and guns……
On 16th March 1792 King Gustav gave a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm.
Gustav loved balls and amusements, and liked to invite the public to his soirées, to show himself off.
Anckarström attended the ball with a pistol loaded in his left inner pocket, one in his right back pocket, and a knife hidden in his left hand.
Gustaf had arrived earlier that evening to enjoy dinner in the company of friends.
During dinner, he received an anonymous letter that described a threat to his life.
As the king had received numerous threatening letters in the past, he chose to ignore it.
Rather than flee, Gustav instead strode into a glittering masked ball, and found himself surrounded by assassins.
When Jacob Johan Anckarström pulled the trigger on a gun loaded with balls, nails and scraps of iron, the weapon discharged into the king’s back, wounding him seriously.
The shot went through six garments.
A cape, jacket, vest, girdle, shirt and waistband.
The shot entered the king’s body an inch left of his spine, just above his hip.
Despite his injury, Gustav remained on his feet as his aides rushed to his side, with the intention of getting their monarch to safety.
Gustav was returned to his quarters and the royal physicians flocked to the king’s aid.
At first it appeared that the assassination attempt had failed.
Gustav was still alive, and with medical care, continued to serve as head of state.
However, within days the wound had become infected and gangrenous, and the king’s condition began to deteriorate rapidly.
As the days drew on, the wound grew ever more septic.
On 29th March 1792, Gustav’s life finally reached its final hours and with his dying breath he murmured,
“A few moments rest would do me good.”
Those were the final words 46 year old King Gustav III would ever speak.
He died soon after, less than a fortnight from the night of the fateful, fatal masked ball.
The clothes worn by the King at the masquerade were taken to the murder investigators’ hearing.
The impact of the shot could be tracked garment by garment, and the clothes were examined very carefully.
After the investigation, the clothes were taken to the Royal Armoury, which has had them on display since 1851.
