President Heber J. Grant's Audience with King Oscar II of Sweden
Published October 13, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
On July 4, 1906, President Heber J. Grant, then serving as president of the European Mission, led a party of fifteen Latter-day Saints to the Rosendal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, the summer residence of King Oscar II. The group included August Carlson, the district president, who was instrumental in facilitating the visit and had the privilege of introducing President Grant to the monarch. To secure the meeting, President Grant wrote a brief note in pencil on a slip of paper, which was delivered to the palace; it stated that a group of fifteen Americans wished to have the pleasure of greeting the King as a memento of their visit to the city. Despite initial concerns regarding the rigid formalities of the royal court, the King graciously agreed to see the party. Upon meeting the group, the King appeared surprised when Elder Carlson introduced President Grant specifically as an Apostle of the Church. The monarch engaged them in a meaningful conversation, during which he reaffirmed his commitment to religious liberty in Sweden, stating, 'Liberty! yes that is best. I do not desire in any way to hinder any from worshiping God as their conscience leads them.' The encounter concluded cordially as the King bid the party farewell with the words, 'God be with you all, adieu.' The party also utilized a letter of introduction from Governor Heber M. Wells to assist in the encounter, and the event remained a notable memory of the mission.
In Their Own Words
“It fell to my happy lot, with a party of fifteen, to visit the Rosendal Palace, the summer residence of King Oscar II. of Sweden. We had no introduction, but we felt that we would like to see the King. We went to the palace, and I wrote a note on a slip of paper, saying that a party of fifteen Americans would like to have the pleasure of greeting the King as a memento of their visit to the city. We sent this in, and in a few moments the chamberlain came out and invited us into the palace. We were ushered into a beautiful room, and in a short time the King entered. He was a man of magnificent physique, standing six feet four inches, and he looked every inch a king. He walked up to us and shook hands with each one of the party. Elder August Carlson, who was with us, introduced me as an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The King raised his hat and looked at me very keenly, as if he were surprised. He asked me if I was a preacher, and I told him I was. He then asked me if I had been preaching in Sweden, and I told him I had not, but that I had been visiting the conferences of the Church in that land. He then spoke of the religious liberty that existed in Sweden, and said: 'Liberty! yes, that is best. I do not desire in any way to hinder any from worshiping God as their conscience leads them.' He talked with us for some time, and then, as he turned to leave, he said, 'God be with you all, adieu.'”
— Heber J. Grant, as quoted in 'Heber J. Grant: Highlights in the Life of a Great Leader'
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), Vol. 68, No. 29 (1906). https://archive.org/details/millennialstar6829eng (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Ronald W. Walker, 'Heber J. Grant’s European Mission, 1903–1906,' BYU Studies 43:1 (1988), https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/heber-j-grants-european-mission-1903-1906. Susan Easton Black et al., 'Legacy of Sacrifice: Missionaries to Scandinavia, 1872–94,' Religious Studies Center (2007), https://rsc.byu.edu/legacy-sacrifice-missionaries-scandinavia-1872-94/c. Full first-person account: Heber J. Grant: Highlights in the Life of a Great Leader, p. 105 https://archive.org/stream/HeberJ.GrantHighlightsInTheLifeOfAGreatLeader/Heber_J_Grant_Highlights_djvu.txt
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