King Gustaf V of Sweden as a hunter

King Gustaf V (1858-1950) of  was an avid hunter, who regularly took part in hunts in different parts of Sweden as well as abroad. He still participated in a duck shooting in Drottningholm at the age of 92, just a few months before his death. Particularly King Gustaf enjoyed hunting on the island of Öland, in Scania and in the traditional royal hunting grounds Halle- and Hunneberg.

King Gustaf V (third from the left sitting) and his hunting party in Hunneberg in the fall of 1908. Eric Trolle, then minister for foreign affairs, sits on the King's left side and the man on the right side is count Hugo Hamilton, then minister of the interior.

In November 1908 King Gustaf (who had succeeded Oscar II in 1907) and Queen Victoria made official state visits to Great Britain and France. Hunts were part of the programme in both visits.

In Britain King Gustaf's hunting partner was the Prince of Wales (the future King George V), and in France the hunt, which took place at the Château de Rambouillet grounds, was hosted by Clément Armand Fallieres, then President of the French Republic:

King Gustaf V of Sweden at the hunt in Rambouillet in the fall of 1908.



King Gustav together with his host, President Fallieres.

King Gustaf shot 107 animals of the total of 695 at the hunt in Rambouillet.
(Fortunately, this kind of mass hunts are not anymore organized for royals or politicians).

 

PS

Halle- and Hunteberg in the province of Västergötland, where King Gustaf often hunted, has quite an interesting history:

Halle-and Hunneberg are two unique tableland mountains in the province of Västergötland. They are like islands in the flat lands and differ from the surrounding area both in history as well as in their rich and unique nature. The mountains are composed of several layers of sedimentary types of rocks which were formed at the bottom of the sea several hundreds of millions of years ago.

In 1351 King Magnus Eriksson made the mountain "a royal park" and 200 years later king Gustav Wasa made a decree that all hunting on the mountains was reserved for the king. As time passed the rules became even stricter. The rights of country people to fetch firewood and timber were suspended. In a way, stricter rules were necessary because the mountains were overused during hundreds of years. In 1830 the first forestry plan was erected. Its purpose was to restore the forest on the mountains. In connection with this, access to the mountains was restricted through gates, and guards were hired to make sure theft of wood ceased. Some of the old cottages in which the guards lived are still there. The mountains have remained in the ownership of the federal government ever since the time of king Magnus in the 14th century. Today, it is still the right of the King to hunt for elk on the mountains, but otherwise many changes have been made. Nowadays, the mountains have become an attraction for tourists and are at the same time an important recreational area for approximately 100, 000 people in the surrounding area.

Two young kings: A 1909 photograph of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and King Manuel II of Portugal

You might think that this is an old picture of an early gay couple. However, the two elegantly dressed young gentlemen in the photograph from 1909 are King Alfonso XIII of Spain (1886 - 1941) and King Manuel II of Portugal (1889 - 1932).

The photo was published in the Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag in 1909 with the subtitle "Faithful Friends and Good Neighbours".  In the 19th century and the early 20th century it was not at all uncommon for men to show friendship and pose in this way.

Hvar 8 Dag also mentions that there were rumours about a planned revolutionary uprising in Portugal.

The rumours proved to be true. The reign of Manuel II ended with the dissolution of the monarchy with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Manuel lived in exile the rest of his life.

Alfonso's reign lasted longer - until 1931 - after which he fled the country as the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed.

The Swedish community in Paris on their way to meet King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria in 1908

On November 21, 1908, King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria, who were on an official state visit to France, met with the Swedish colony in Paris. Before the reception the members of the colony posed at the stairs leading to the residence of the French minister of foreign affairs. Many of the properly dressed ladies and gentlemen were probably members of the Cercle Suédois in Paris (founded in 1891). I think I also can spot a couple of people, who most likely were members of the fairly large Swedish artist community in Paris at the time.

PS (3.1.2014)
I noticed that the Cercle Suédois accepted ladies as members only in 1936. Thus what I wrote about membership applies only to the gentlemen.

The Swedish community in Paris on November 21,1909, on their way to meet their King and Queen.

A photograph of Tsar Nicholas II and his family together with officers of the Semenovsky Life-Guards Regiment

In its 16 September 1906 issue the Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag published this photograph of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, posing together with officers of the Semenovsky Life-Guards Regiment.

The commander of the regiment, general Min (marked as number one in the picture) was assassinated the day after the photograph was taken. Of course, we all know what happened later to the Tsar and his family.

The Semenovsky Regiment was the second oldest guards regiment in the Imperial Russian Army. In December 1905 the regiment had participated in the quelling of the armed uprising in Moscow.

Tsar Nicholas II (marked with 2) and his family together with officers of the Semenovsky regiment. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna holds the Tsesarevich and heir apparentto the throne, Alexei Nikolaevich.

At the height of the British Empire: The 1911 Imperial Durbar in Delhi

The temporary Royal Yacht Medina in 1911. After the voyage to India, the P & O liner had only two years of ordinary service. It was torpedoed by a German submarine on April 28, 1917. 

A few months after their coronation in London in 1911, King George V and Queen Mary embarked on a journey to India, in order to mark their coronation and allow their proclamation as Emperor and Empress of India. 

At the time, the British Empire was still at the height of its power. The voyage was consequently planned as a grand international event, projecting an image of British might worldwide. 

In order to make the long journey as comfortable as possible for the Royal couple, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company's brand new ocean liner Medina was temporarily commissioned to the Royal Navy as the Royal Yacht. She was provided with an extra mast, necessary to maintain Royal flag etiquette, and bands of royal blue and gold were added to the white hull. Several large rooms intended for public use were redecorated as Royal apartments. 

A number of adjustments in the beds, suggested by the Queen herself, were made in order to minimize the effects of lurching. 

Medina left Portsmouth for India in November 1911. Another ocean liner carrying a great number of British nobility and other dignitaries left for India at about the same time.

On the way to India, the Royal couple made a stopover in Port Said, where they met a number of local dignitaries on board the Medina. The man sitting on the right side of the Queen is the former Grand Vizier of Turkey, Kiamil Pasha. Lord Kitchener is the man with the sword. King George is next to him, and the man on his left side is prince Zia-ed-Din,  successor to the Turkish throne and Khedive of Egypt.

The Royal couple on their way to the coronation ceremony, which took place in Delhi in December 1911. This was the first time a British Monarch visited India.

The royal tent at the coronation ceremony, which was attended by
more than 100,000 people.

After the coronation ceremony the Royal couple appeared at the balcony of the Red Fort to receive more than half a million common Indians who had come to greet them. The King-Emperor was wearing the Imperial Crown of India, which contained 6170 diamonds in addition to a number of sapphires, emeralds and rubies. 

The Royal couple in Bombay.

The Imperial Durbar was also documented on film:

Even in color: