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The tragic masquerade, the royal domain of Drottningholm.

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This is the costume and mask that he wore on that night.

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He was attending a masked war.

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During the evening he was surrounded by men wearing black masks

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and then a bullet hit him in the back.

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He had been assassinated.

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His name was Gustav III.

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He was the king of Sweden and had great power at the end of the 18th century.

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His former residence, Drottningholm Castle,

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is at Lake Maleren on the outskirts of Stockholm.

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The palace and gardens are known as the Versailles of Scandinavia.

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His father, Adolf Frederick, had little power as king.

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Political decisions and the control of parliament

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were in the hands of powerful aristocrats.

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Nevertheless, he seemed satisfied with his status.

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He made this workroom inside the palace and built furniture all day long.

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Gustav's mother, Luisa Ulrika, on the other hand,

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wielded considerable influence at court.

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She wanted a powerful king.

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This is the queen's bedroom, which she had renovated.

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The room was lavishly gilded to demonstrate the power of the monarch.

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A childhood portrait of Gustav III hung in her dressing room.

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When he was crowned at the age of 25,

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Gustav staged a coup against the aristocrats with his troops and regained power.

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This is his wife, Sofia.

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They finally had a much-awaited son after ten years of marriage.

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But his mother, Luisa Ulrika,

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claimed that the baby was the offspring of his wife and a guard.

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Gustav placed his mother in a remote residence.

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He provoked a war with Russia to strengthen Sweden's power.

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The Swedish navy produced a decisive victory over Russia,

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and he was honoured as a great ruler.

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He put civilians and farmers ahead of aristocrats to gain their support.

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That incurred some hatred among the aristocrats,

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and they started to plot his assassination.

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He was killed at the age of 46.

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The incident was a source of inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi

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in his opera Un ballo in maschera,

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A Masked Wall.