Gustaf Brahe (8 March 1558 – 10 January 1615) was a Swedish ''

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

'' and a Polish

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. Gustaf Brahe was the son of

Per Brahe the Elder Per Brahe the Elder (1520–1590) was a Swedish statesman. Brahe was the son of Joakim Brahe (died 1520 in the Stockholm Bloodbath) and Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa, the sister of Gustav I of Sweden, Gustav Eriksson Vasa, who became King of Swede ...

and Beata Stenbock, and related to the royal family. He was the paternal grandson of

Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa (1497 – 31 December 1536), also called ''Margareta Vasa'' and ''Margareta of Hoya'', was a Swedish noblewoman, sister of King Gustav I of Sweden. Between 1525 and 1534, she commanded Vyborg Castle on several occasio ...

, making him the nephew of king

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

and cousin of the kings

Eric XIV of Sweden Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He w ...

John III of Sweden John III (; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother Erik XIV. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap bet ...

and

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl (; ) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of History of Sweden, Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden ...

, and a maternal nephew of queen

Catherine Stenbock Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 – 13 December 1621) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of King Gustav I. Early life Catherine Stenbock was born on 22 July 1535 i ...

. He was the brother of Erik Brahe (1552–1614), Margareta Brahe (1559–1638), Magnus Brahe (1564–1633),

Sigrid Brahe Sigrid Brahe (1568–1608), was a Swedish countess, known for the great scandal ''Onsdagsbröllopet'' (The Wednesday Wedding) in 1595. Sigrid Brahe was the daughter of count Per Brahe the Elder and Beata Stenbock and niece of queen dowager Cat ...

and Abraham Brahe (1569–1630). Gustaf Brahe is most known for his love affair with princess Anna Vasa of Sweden. They were raised together at court and was reportedly mutually in love with each other, and there where rumors that they met each other in secret in the home of Brahe's sister Ebba Sparre. In 1587, Gustaf Brahe followed Sigismund and Anna to Poland when Sigismund was elected king there. In 1589, he formally asked Sigismund for Anna's hand, and while he was not given a clear answer, he was not refused, which made him hope that he might be accepted. The attempts of marriage between Princess Anna and Gustaf Brahe was often mentioned but ultimately never brought to fruition, and both remained unmarried. The potential marriage between princess Anna and Gustaf Brahe was fiercely opposed by Duke Charles, who viewed it as a plot of Gustav Brahe to make princess Anna ruling queen regnant of Sweden while her only brother Sigismund was absent in Poland, and he therefore used their relationship in his libelous chronicle '' Karlskrönikan''. In 1593, he was appointed the representative of

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

in Sweden, and was to assist his brother

Erik Brahe (1552–1614) Erik Brahe (born 4 September 1552 at Sundholmen Castle in Västergötland, died 15 April 1614 in Danzig in Poland) was a Swedish governor, councilor and count of Visingsborg. Biography He was the son of Beata Gustavsdotter Stenbock and Per ...

as governor of Stockholm. He returned to Poland after a few months. A temporary estrangement occurred in the relationship between Anna and Brahe when she arranged for his sister

to marry for love against the wish of her family, but they soon reconciled.Gustaf Brahe, urn:sbl:18043, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av B. BOËTHIUS.), hämtad 2017-12-29. During the

War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund () was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund III Vasa, Sigismund, who was at the time the king of both Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Co ...

, he was given a power of attorney by Sigismund to capture and imprison all the enemies of Sigismund he could manage. He left Sweden for Poland with Sigismund and Princess Anna after the

Battle of Stångebro The Battle of Stångebro, or the Battle of Linköping, took place at Linköping, Sweden, on 25 September 1598 (O.S.) and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had existed since 1592. ...

. Gustaf Brahe spent the rest of his life in exile in Poland, as did Anna, and made a military career in Poland to the rank of Field marshal. He died in Danzig in 1615.

References

* Gustaf Brahe, urn:sbl:18043, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av B. BOËTHIUS.), hämtad 2017-12-29. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brahe, Gustaf 1558 births 1615 deaths 16th-century Swedish military personnel 17th-century Swedish military personnel Royal favourites 16th-century Swedish nobility Swedish courtiers Swedish royal favourites Immigrants to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Swedish emigrants 17th-century Polish military personnel