Grand Duke of Finland

Grand Duke of Finland (Swedish: Storfurste av Finland, Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinas), also sometimes Grand Prince of Finland^[1] was a title in use from around 1580 to 1720 by most Swedish monarchs. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the (plural Fürsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince. Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside Year 1720 ( MDCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting The monarch is the Head of state of the Kingdom of Sweden. Sweden being a Constitutional monarchy with a Representative democracy based on a Between 1809 and 1917, it was the official title of the head of the autonomous Grand Principality of Finland, the Emperor of Russia. Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year An autonomous area is an area of a Country that has a degree of Autonomy, or freedom from an external authority The Grand Duchy of Finland (Magnus Ducatus Finlandiæ Великое княжество Финляндское ' Velikoe knjažestvo finljandskoe) was the Predecessor At different times a ruler of the territory of modern Russia bore the title of Kniaz (translated as Duke or Prince) Velikiy Kniaz (translated

1 Swedish era
2 Russian era
3 Status today
4 References
5 See also

Swedish era

Around 1580, King John III of Sweden, who had previously (1556–63) been the Duke of Finland (a royal duke), assumed the subsidiary title Grand Duke of Finland to the Kings of Sweden, first appearing is sources in 1581. John III (Johan III Juhana III (20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592 was King of Sweden from 1568 until his death "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Duke of Finland (in Finnish Suomen herttua; Swedish hertig av Finland) was an occasional medieval title granted as a Tertiogeniture In Sweden, Duke ( hertig) is considered a royal title and is only given to members of the Royal House (currently Bernadotte) The Title grand duke (in Latin, magnus dux; in Spanish, gran duque; in Russian, Великий Герцог ^[2] In those years, John was and had been in quarrel with his eastern neighbor, Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, who had a litany of subsidiary titles as Grand Prince of several ancient Russian principalities and provinces. The use of Grand Prince on John's behalf was a countermeasure to signify his mighty position as sovereign of Sweden, also a multinational or multi-country realm, and equal to a Tsardom. Not only was Finland added, but Karelia, Ingria, and Livonia that all were along the Swedish-Russian border. Karelia ( Karelian and Finnish Karjala, Карелия ( Kareliya) Karelen the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in For the Italian municipality see Ingria Italy. For the Brachiopod Genus, see Ingria (brachiopod. Livonia (Līvõmō Latvian and Livonija Estonian: Liivimaa; Finnish: Liivinmaa; German and Swedish: Livland It is said that the first use of the new title was in an occasion to contact Tsar Ivan.

During the next 140 years, the title was used by John's successors on the throne, with the exception of Charles IX who listed Finns as one of the many nations over which he was the king during 1607-1611. Charles IX (Karl IX ( 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611) was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death ^[3] As the title had only subsidiary nature without any concrete meaning, it was mainly used at very formal occasions along with a long list of additional royal titles. The last Swedish monarch to use the title was Ulrika Eleonora who abdicated in 1720. Ulrika Eleonora ( 23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741) also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen regnant However, in 1802, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later. Year 1802 ( MDCCCII) was a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gustav IV Adolf (November 1 1778 &ndash February 7 1837 was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809

Russian era

During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, the four Estates of occupied Finland were assembled at the Diet of Porvoo on March 29, 1809 to pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, who had already earlier during the war adopted the Grand Duke of Finland to his long litany of titles. The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and Russia from February 1808 to September 1809 The Riksdag of the Estates, or Ståndsriksdagen, was the name used for the Estates of the Swedish realm, or Rikets ständer, when they were assembled The Diet of Finland ( Finnish Suomen maapäivät, later valtiopäivät; Swedish Finlands Lantdagar) was the legislative Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Alexander I of Russia ( Russian: Александр I Павлович / Aleksandr I Pavlovich (23 December 1777 – November 19 1825 served as Emperor of Following the Swedish defeat in the war and the signing of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809, Finland became a true autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland as a part of the Russian Empire. The Treaty of Fredrikshamn or the Treaty of Hamina was a Peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on September 17 Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year An autonomous area is an area of a Country that has a degree of Autonomy, or freedom from an external authority The Grand Duchy of Finland (Magnus Ducatus Finlandiæ Великое княжество Финляндское ' Velikoe knjažestvo finljandskoe) was the Predecessor The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya

The Emperor ruled Finland through his governor and a native Senate appointed by him. An emperor (from the Latin " Imperator " is a (male Monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an Empire or another type of The country nevertheless enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, until its independence in 1917. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Finland was declared an independent republic, but after the Civil War, there was a brief attempt for the monarchy. The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national and social turmoil caused by World War I (1914&ndash1918 in Europe The Kingdom of Finland was a short-lived attempt following Finnish independence from Russia to establish Prince Frederick of Hesse as the

Status today

Today, there are no pretenders to the title of the Grand Duke of Finland and it remains fully unused.

References

^ Anachronistic female form of the title in English is usually Grand Princess of Finland (Swedish: Storfurstinna av Finland). Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the The only women to have used the title were the Swedish Queens regnant Christina and Ulrika Eleonora. List of current queens regnant A queen regnant (plural "queens regnant" is qualifying reference to a female Monarch possessing and exercising all of the monarchal Christina (Kristina Augusta ( – 19 April 1689 later known as Christina Alexandra and sometimes Countess Dohna, was Ulrika Eleonora ( 23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741) also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen regnant
^ Nordisk Familjebok, Virtual Finland
^ Titles of European hereditary rulers, here Sweden.

Contents

Swedish era

Russian era

Status today

References

See also