Around 1580, King Johan III of Sweden, who had previously (1556–63) been the Duke of Finland (a royal duke), assumed the subsidiary title Grand Duke of Finland (Swedish: Storfurste, Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinas) to the titles of the King of Sweden, first appearing in sources in 1581 (though first used by Johan III in 1577).[1] In those years, Johan was and had been in a quarrel with his eastern neighbour, TsarIvan IV of Russia ('Ivan the Terrible'), who had a long list of subsidiary titles as Grand Duke of several ancient Russian principalities and provinces. The use of Grand Duke on Johan's behalf was a countermeasure to signify his mighty position as sovereign of Sweden, also a multinational or multi-country realm, and equal to a Tsardom. Not only was Finland added, but Karelia, Ingria, and Livonia, all of which were along the Swedish-Russian border. It is said that the first use of the new title was in an occasion to contact Tsar Ivan.
During the next 140 years, the title was used by Johan's successors on the Swedish throne, with the exception of Charles IX, who listed Finns as one of the many nations over which he was the king during 1607–1611.[2] As the title had only subsidiary nature without any concrete meaning, it was mainly used at very formal occasions along with a long list of additional royal titles. The last Swedish monarch to use the title was Queen Ulrika Eleonora, who abdicated in 1720. However, in 1802, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his new-born son, Prince Carl Gustaf, who died three years later.
The Imperial Grand Duke of Finland ruled Finland through his Governor General and a national Senate appointed by him. Although no Grand Duke ever explicitly recognised Finland as a separate state in its own right, the country nevertheless enjoyed a high degree of autonomy even before its independence in 1917.
Grand Dukes
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