Prince Nikolaus August of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Dalarna (24 August 1831 – 4 March 1873) was the youngest of the five children of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg.
Contents
Biography
Early life
August was born on 24 August 1831 at Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö, Stockholm County. He was the youngest son of the future King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. Like his siblings, he was raised under the supervision of the governess Christina Ulrika Taube.
During parts of 1849–1853, he was a student at Uppsala University; in 1866, he became drill inspector for the archipelago artillery corps, and in 1872, lieutenant general. On 10 December 1851, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. During his bachelorhood, he lived periodically at Stjernsund Castle in Askersund.
Marriage
On 16 April 1864 in Altenburg, the Duke married Princess Therese Amalie of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxony, eldest daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his first wife Princess Amalie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The marriage did not produce issue.
The Prince was very interested in trains and locomotives, and the Swedish steam locomotive Prins August was named after him. Since it was commonly thought the Prince was not very bright, this led to the expression "dummare än tåget" (lit. "dumber than the train"), an expression still in use in the Swedish language.According to the Swedish Railway Museum, however, there is no evidence for this, and the expression “dumber than the train” is said to originate from the 1920s. He also had the steamship S/S Prins August named after him.
Death
Prince August developed pleurisy and died after a few weeks of illness at the Stockholm Palace in Stockholm on March 4, 1873, at 9:30 a.m. The funeral took place nine days later, on March 13, at the Riddarholmen Church.
Honours and arms
Honours
He received the following orders and decorations:
[[Order of the Seraphim| Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King's Orden]] (Order of the Seraphim), 24 August 1831.
[[Order of the Seraphim|]] Knight of the Order of Charles XIII, 24 August 1831.
[[Order of the Seraphim|]] Commander Grand Cross of the Sword, 24 August 1831.
Commander Grand Cross of the Polar Star, 24 August 1831
Grand Cross of St. Olav, with Collar, 21 August 1847
Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, 21 April 1864
Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1870
Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 9 June 1852
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, April 1861
Kingdom of Hanover: Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1852
Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
Nassau: Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau, July 1858
Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
Russian Empire: Knight of St. Andrew, 1863
Russian Empire: Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky