Gustavus III, King of Sweden (1746-1792), facing right in gold-embroidered blue coat and lace cravat, tall black hat with gold band and white plumes in his powdered hair en queue, wearing the blue sash and breast star of the Royal Swedish Order of the Seraphim

Gustavus III of Sweden, son and successor of King Adolf Frederick and Louis Ulrika, sister of King Frederick II the Great of Prussia, ascended the throne in 1771. He brought about a sea of change with his reign and his court became a northern Versailles with the foundation of the Royal Opera House in 1782, the Swedish Academy in 1786 and the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1788. He sent Count Hans Axel Fersen to rescue the French Royal Family at the outbreak of the French Revolution and planned to use his Army to go to the help of Louis XVI but in March 1792, he was shot dead by Johan Jakob Anckarstöm during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House and eventually died of gangrene. He married Sofia Magdalena of Denmark and was succeeded by his son, Gustavus IV Adolf.