Editing Charles XIII (section)

==Reign of Gustav III==
[[File:Alexander Roslin - King Gustav III of Sweden and his Brothers - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Gustav III, King of Sweden, and his brothers]]
[[File:Coronet of Carl of Sweden (1748) & subsequent Princes 2014.jpg|thumb|[[Coronet]] created for Prince Charles and worn at his brother Gustav's coronation in 1772.]]
[[File:Carl XIII & Charlotte wedding medal 1774.jpg|thumb|Medal issued when Charles married his cousin in 1774]]
After the death of his father in 1771, when his brother the crown prince was abroad, the [[Caps (party)|Caps]] once again attempted to use him against his brother, now King [[Gustav III]] of Sweden, and his mother Louisa Ulrika used this in order to have her own rights as a dowager queen respected by the Caps.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Upon the departure of his mother to Prussia, and the return of his brother, however, Gustav III managed to win him to his side.

In 1772 he cooperated in the [[Revolution of 1772]] of his elder brother, King Gustav. He was given the task of using his connections in the Caps party to neutralize it and secure the southern provinces by use of the military, tasks he performed successfully<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and for which the king rewarded him with the title Duke of [[Södermanland]].

Duke Charles in early years was the object of his mother's plans to arrange political marriages for her children. On the wish of his mother, he was to be married to her niece, his cousin [[Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt]], a plan to which he had agreed in 1770. The government, however, refused to issue negotiations because of the costs.<ref name="Alma Söderhjelm 1945 pp. 28"/> After the accession of Gustav III and the coup d'état which introduced absolute monarchy, his brother terminated these plans against their mother's will in October 1772, and began negotiations for a marriage between Charles and his cousin [[Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp]]. As King Gustav had not consummated his own marriage, he wished to place the task of providing an heir to the throne with his brother. Charles agreed to the marriage in August 1773, and the marriage took place the following year. After a false alarm of a pregnancy of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in 1775, the king finally consummated his own marriage. Charles and his wife lived separate private lives and each had extramarital affairs.<ref name="Alma Söderhjelm 1945 pp. 28"/> During the great succession scandal of 1778, when queen dowager Louisa Ulrika questioned the paternity of the issue of Gustav III, Charles sided with his brother the king against their mother, this despite the fact that it was in fact he who had informed her of the rumors regarding the legitimacy, something he however withheld from the king.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Charles was described as dependent and easily influenced.<ref>Alma Söderhjelm (1945). ''Gustav III:s syskon'' (The siblings of Gustav III) Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag. p. 28-29. 23033 (Swedish)</ref> His numerous affairs gave him the reputation of being a libertine.<ref name="Alma Söderhjelm 1945 pp. 28"/> He was reputed for his many lovers,<ref name="Alma Söderhjelm 1945 pp. 28"/> of which the more well known were [[Augusta von Fersen]], [[Charlotte Eckerman]], [[Françoise-Éléonore Villain]], [[Mariana Koskull]] and [[Charlotte Slottsberg]], the last one reputed to have had political influence over him.  He unsuccessfully courted [[Magdalena Rudenschöld]], and her refusal of his advances has been pointed out as the cause of the harsh treatment he exposed her to as regent during the [[Armfelt Conspiracy|Armfelt conspiracy]].  
After the late 1790s, when his health deteriorated as a result of a series of rheumatic attacks, his relationship to his consort improved and she gained more influence over him.<ref>Alma Söderhjelm (1945). ''Gustav III:s syskon'' (The siblings of Gustav III) Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag. 23033 (Swedish)</ref>

The Duke was known for his interest in the [[supernatural]] and [[mysticism]], and he was engaged in several [[secret societies]]. He was a member of the [[Freemasons]]. He was reportedly a client of the fortune teller [[Ulrica Arfvidsson]], and he also favored the [[Mediumship|medium]] [[Henrik Gustaf Ulfvenklou]]. In 1811, he founded the [[Order of Charles XIII]], a Swedish [[order of chivalry]] awarded only to a maximum number of 33 knights, on the condition of confessing the Lutheran Evangelic Religion and being Freemasons. All Princes and Kings of the [[Bernadotte dynasty]], the royal house of Sweden are from baptism, incorporate parts of the royal order of knights and freemasons. In addition are the order of merit granted to members of foreign Grand Lodges affiliated to the so-called [[Freemasonry in Sweden|Swedish System]],<ref name=Lobkowicz>{{cite book|last=Lobkowicz|first=František|title=Encyklopedie řádů a vyznamenání|year=1995|publisher=Libri|location=Prague|isbn=80-901579-9-8|page=171|language = cs}}</ref> such as the [[Grande Loge Nationale Française]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.frimurarorden.se/information-in-english/|title=Svenska Frimurare Orden|website=frimurarorden.se|access-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203055631/https://www.frimurarorden.se/information-in-english/|archive-date=3 December 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> if of royal rank. When the Swedish order of Freemason's states that "''Freemasonry in Sweden has continued to develop under leadership of their Grand Masters, all of them belonging to the Royal House since more than 200 years''",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.frimurarorden.se/information-in-english/history/|title=Svenska Frimurare Orden|website=frimurarorden.se|access-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203152103/https://www.frimurarorden.se/information-in-english/history/|archive-date=3 December 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> the origin of which arrives in large from King Charles II of Norway, XIII of Sweden.

Duke Charles was given several political tasks during his tenure as a duke. In 1777, he served as regent during Gustav III's stay in Russia. In 1780, he served as formal chief commander during the king's stay in [[Spa, Belgium|Spa]]. The same year, Gustav III named him regent for his son should he succeed him while still a minor.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, he was not appointed regent during the journey of the king to Italy and France in 1783–84, and in the following years, he came under the influence of [[Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm]], who was in opposition to the monarch, and came to be less trusted by Gustav III.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In 1785, he was offered the Dukedom of [[Courland]] by the nobility of the Duchy and given the support of Gustav III.<ref>
{{cite book
 |author=Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte, Queen Consort of Charles XIII of Sweden
 | editor = C. C. Bonde
 | title = Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok II 1783–1788 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte II)
 | publisher =  P. A. Norstedt & Söners förlag
 | year = 1903
 | page =96
 | language = sv
 | id=412070
}}</ref> This however never materialized.

On the outbreak of the [[Gustav III's Russian War|Russo-Swedish War]] of 1788 he served with distinction as admiral of the [[Swedish Royal Navy|fleet]], especially at the battles of [[Battle of Hogland|Hogland]] (7 June 1788) and [[Battle of Öland (1789)|Öland]] (26 July 1789). On the latter occasion he would have won a signal victory but for the remissness of his second-in-command, Admiral Liljehorn.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

The autumn of 1789, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte wished to depose Gustav III and place her husband Duke Charles upon the throne.<ref name="Hellsing 2013">My Hellsing (2013). Hovpolitik. Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte som politisk aktör vid det gustavianska hovet (Court Politics. Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte as a political actor at the Gustavian court) Örebro: Örebro universitet. {{ISBN|978-91-7668-964-6}} (in Swedish)</ref> Her ideal was the [[Swedish Constitution of 1772]], which she saw as a good tool for an enlightened aristocracy, and the war and the [[Union and Security Act]] had made her a leading part of the opposition. She cooperated with [[Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden]] and [[Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm]].<ref name="Hellsing 2013"/> The plan was to force Charles to act as a symbol of the opposition to the [[Union and Security Act]] when the time was right.<ref name="Hellsing 2013"/> When the time arrived to make Charles act, however, he refused, which effectively foiled [[1789 Conspiracy (Sweden)|the coup]].<ref name="Hellsing 2013"/>

Charles was in close connection to the opposition against Gustav III, and it is debated whether he knew of and supported the plans to assassinate the king.<ref name="NE2jan2007">''Nationalencyklopedin'' accessed online 2 January 2007, article ''Karl XIII''</ref>