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.

Biography

Early life

Born in Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö, Stockholm County, his eldest sibling was King Carl XV of Sweden. During parts of 1849–1853, he was a student at Uppsala University. On 10 December 1851, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Marriage

On 16 April 1864 in Altenburg, the Duke married Princess Therese Amalie of Saxe-Altenburg (Ansbach, 21 December 1836 - Haga Palace, Stockholm, 9 November 1914), 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. In Sweden, his wife was styled Princess Teresia. The Prince was very interested in trains and locomotives, and a locomotive was named after him. Since it was commonly thought the Prince was not very bright, this led to the expression "dummare än tåget" (lit. "more stupid than the train"), an expression still in use in the Swedish language. Prince August died at the age of 41 of pneumonia at Stockholm Palace.

Honours and arms

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations: • 🇳🇴 Sweden-Norway: • * Knight and Commander of the Seraphim, 24 August 1831 • * Knight of the Order of Charles XIII, 24 August 1831 • * 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 • Duchy of Anhalt: 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 • * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky • * Knight of the White Eagle • * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class

Arms

Ancestry