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Royal Domain of Drottningholm

NHK World Heritage 100 Series

Donwload

Narration Text

This is the costume and mask that he wore on that night. He was attending a masked ball. During the evening, he was surrounded by men wearing black masks and then….…a bullet hit him in the back. He had been assassinated. His name was Gustav III. He was the King of Sweden and had great power at the end of 18th century.

His former residence, Drottningholm Castle, is at Lake Mäleren on the outskirts of Stockholm. The palace and gardens are known as "the Versailles of Scandinavia". His father Adolph Frederick had little power as King. Political decisions and the control of parliament were in the hands of powerful aristocrats. Nevertheless he seemed satisfied with his status. He made this work room inside the palace and built furniture all day long. Gustav’s mother, Lovisa-Ulrika, on the other hand, wielded considerable influence at court. She wanted a powerful king.

This is the Queen’s bedroom which she had renovated. The room was lavishly gilded to demonstrate the power of the monarch. A childhood portrait of Gustav III hung in her dressing room. Gustav, when he was crowned at the age of 25, staged a coup against the aristocrats with his troops and regained power.

This is his wife, Sofia. They finally had a much-awaited son after 10 years of marriage. But his mother Lovisa-Ulrika, claimed that the baby was the offspring of his wife and a guard. Gustav placed his mother in a remote residence. He provoked a war with Russia to strengthen Sweden’s power. The Swedish navy produced a decisive victory over Russia and he was honoured as a great king. He put civilians and farmers ahead of aristocrats to gain their support. That incurred some hatred among the aristocrats and they started to plot his assassination. He was killed at the age of 46.

The incident was a source of inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi in his opera "Un ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball)".