Carl August, Crown Prince of Sweden

Charles August or Carl August (9 July 1768 – 28 May 1810) was a Danish prince. He is best known for serving as Crown Prince of Sweden briefly in 1810, adopted by Charles XIII, before his sudden death from a stroke. Earlier, he had been a general in the Royal Danish Army as well as the Governor-general of Norway. His name before assuming the Swedish title in 1810 was Christian August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, or Christian August of Augustenburg for short.

Family He was born at Augustenborg Palace in July 1768 as the son of Friedrich Christian I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1721–1794) and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (1744–1770). He was a younger brother of Frederik Christian II, Duke of Augustenborg, brother-in-law of Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark and an uncle of Caroline Amalie of Augustenburg, Queen consort of Denmark and Christian August, Duke of Augustenborg. He did not marry.

Charles XIII was childless, so in order to secure the succession to the throne, someone had to be adopted as his heir. Georg Adlersparre, the main orchestrator of the 1809 coup, preferred King Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway as the new Swedish monarch, but when Frederick refused, Adlersparre looked to Norway. He tried to persuade Christian August, first through the Swedish Baron C. H. Anckarsvärd, and although Christian August did not show up to meet Anckarsvärd personally, he gradually accepted the offer of adoption. His loyalty to his ruler Frederick VI ultimately became a lesser obstacle. The choice of Christian August was supported by Charles XIII as well as three of the estates of the realm; the Clergy, Burghers and Peasants. However, the Nobility was more reluctant due to the influence of so-called Gustavians (Gustavianerna), supporting the deposed King Gustav IV Adolf and his then-underage son. The decision to adopt Charles August became definitive on 15 July 1809.

After the Treaty of Fredrikshamn between Sweden and Russia on 17 September 1809 which concluded the Finnish War, Sweden was ready for the inauguration of Charles August. He finally left Norway for Sweden on 7 January 1810. As Crown Prince of Sweden, he changed his name to Charles August . Honors were lavished upon him on his arrival, he was for example made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 18 April 1810, and was the first person to enjoy this status in that academy. However, he did not live long enough to make a historical impact in Sweden. He suddenly died on 28 May 1810, when he fell off his horse during a military practice in Kvidinge. His autopsy confirmed that he had died of a stroke, but at the same time rumours went that he had been poisoned by Gustavians. Specifically, the Marshal of the Realm Count Axel von Fersen the Younger was openly accused of having killed Charles August, and was lynched on 20 June 1810 during the funeral procession of Charles August. Charles August was buried in Riddarholmen Church, the burial church of Swedish monarchs. boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; 1= 1. Charles August, Crown Prince of Sweden 2= 2. Frederick Christian I, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg 3= 3. Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön 4= 4. Christian August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg 5= 5. Countess Frederikke Louise Danneskiold-Samsøe 6= 6. Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön 7= 7. Countess Christine Ermegaard Reventlow 8= 8. Prince Frederick William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg 9= 9. Countess Sophie Amalie of Ahlefeldt-Langeland 10= 10. Christian Gyldenløve, Count Danneskiold-Samsøe 11= 11. Countess Charlotte Amalie Danneskiold-Laurvig 12= 12. Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg 13= 13. Dorothea Christina von Aichelberg 14= 14. Christian Ditlev, Count Reventlow 15= 15. Benedikta Margarethe von Brockdorff 16= 16. Ernest Günther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg 17= 17. Princess Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 18= 18. Frederik, Count of Ahlefeldt-Langeland 19= 19. Countess Marie Elisabeth of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg 20= 20. Christian V of Denmark 21= 21. Sophie Amalie Moth 22= 22. Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Count Laurvig 23= 23. Countess Antoinette Augusta of Aldenburg 24= 24. Augustus, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg 25= 25. Princess Elisabeth Charlotte of Anhalt-Harzgerode 26= 26. Johann Franz von Aichelberg 27= 27. Anne Sophie von Trautenburg 28= 28. Conrad, Count Reventlow 29= 29. Anna Margrethe Gabel 30= 30. Cay Bertram von Brockdorff 31= 31. Hedwig von Rantzau