Thread 17925284

The third king of the House of Bernadotte and the first to be raised a Lutheran from childhood, Charles XV succeeded his father Oscar as Swedish king in 1859 at the age of 33. Married nine years earlier to Louise of the Netherlands, the marriage, as with most royal unions, was one of political convenience; Louise was a well-read and sophisticated but physically homely woman with poor social skills and the Crown Prince found comfort in a number of mistresses instead. Because Charles was known to have a haughty, authoritarian personality, many Swedes were unnerved about the prospect of him becoming king but ultimately he was a successful, competent, and popular ruler who adhered to the legal limits placed on the Swedish monarchy since 1848. Charles embarked on a large scale reform of the country's legal system and penal codes. In a nod to women's rights, Charles allowed unmarried women to be recognized as proper Swedish citizens which had not been the case before; only married women had the full rights and privileges of citizenship.

Charles advocated close political and cultural ties between the Scandinavian states and offered military assistance to Denmark when war with Prussia threatened in 1864. But in the end, the king, realizing Sweden's poor state of military preparenedess, backed out on the offer. In 1868 Sweden established diplomatic and trade contacts with Japan.

In 1867 a serious famine broke out in Sweden, concentrated especially in the northern counties, after several years of abnormally cold, wet weather. In 1868 a prolonged drought led to further starvation. There were also complaints that the famine was avoidable; despite the poor weather in much of the country, the southern counties had in 1867 produced a bumper crop of oats but it was mostly exported to Great Britain as animal feed. The suffering caused by the famine led to a large scale emigration of Swedes to North America.

Suffering from tuberculosis, Charles XV died in Malmo on September 18, 1872 at age 46. His brother Oscar II succeeded him to the throne.

Fascinating.

>tens of thousands of Swedes starved so British horses could be fed
That's too rich.

>Be Sweden
>One of the greatest fighting forces ever just a few hundred years prior
What the fuck happened

>>17925304
BTFO irrevocably in the Great Northern War.

>>17925284 (OP)
>In a nod to women's rights, Charles allowed unmarried women to be recognized as proper Swedish citizens which had not been the case before; only married women had the full rights and privileges of citizenship.
But that's not a positive accomplishment.

>>17925285
Last significant famine in Europe outside Russia.

>Louise was a well-read and sophisticated but physically homely woman with poor social skills
How do I get a gf like this?

>>17925314
^This.

>>17925324
>>17925332

She had a fucking monkey jaw. I can kind of see the whole issue here.

>>17925339
the portraits tried to make her look more attractive than she was, however this was not the Tudor age anymore; by this point actual photography existed so we know when painters were pulling our leg.

>>17925339
The inferrence is that she was a femcel and Charles an outgoing Giga Chad so they were fundamentally incompatible personalities.

>>17925304
They would have gotten schooled if they intervened in the Second Schleswig War.

ok