Swedish monarch King Gustaf V was BOTD in 1858. Born in Stockholm, he was the eldest son of Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, the younger son of King Oscar I. Christened Oscar Gustaf Adolf, he grew up in the Arvfurstens palats (Palace of the Hereditary Prince) and became one of the first Swedish royals to attend a secondary school. In 1872, Gustaf’s father became king, making Gustaf crown prince of Sweden and heir to the throne. Now resident in the Stockholm Palace, Gustaf continued his education with private tutors. He married Princess Victoria of Baden in 1881, with whom he had three sons. He became king in 1907, overseeing a period of constitutional reform and expanding democracy. In the lead-up to World War One, he insisted that Sweden strengthen its defences, forcing the resignation of the Liberal government that had decreased military expenditure. After the war, Sweden moved fully towards a democratically-elected parliament, and he accepted the role of constitutional monarch. During World War Two, he encouraged prime minister Albin Hansson to make an accord with Nazi Germany, arguing that refusal might provoke a Nazi invasion, threatening to abdicate in 1941 unless the government allowed Nazi troops to travel through Swedish territory towards Finland. A popular monarch, he was also a keen sportsman, presiding over the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and representing Sweden in competitive tennis. In 1938, he petitioned the Nazi government to release German tennis star Gottfried von Cramm, who had been imprisoned for homosexual offences. Discreetly bisexual, Gustaf had a number of affairs with male servants and chauffeurs. He was also thought to have a long-term affair with restauranteur Kurt Haijby, who was paid large sums by the Royal Court over many years, presumably to buy his silence. Haijby was eventually forced to emigrate to Nazi-occupied Germany, where he was imprisoned for homosexual offences. On his release, he returned to Sweden where he was committed to an asylum. In 1947, Haijby published a novel, detailing his reputed relationship with Gustaf, though its circulation was blocked by the Court. After a 43-year reign, Gustaf died in 1950, aged 92. The Haijby affair raged on after Gustaf’s death: Haijby attempted to appeal his detention, which was debated in parliament and the media. He was eventually convicted of blackmail in 1952 and imprisoned for six years, committing suicide in 1965. His novel was finally published in 1979. The case inspired the 2021 TV mini-series En kunglig Affär (A Royal Secret), starring Staffan Göthe as Gustaf and Sverrir Gudnason as Haijby.