Oskar Friedrich Bernadotte was born in Stockholm on January 21, 1829. After the death of his older brother Charles XV on September 18, 1872, he succeeded him to the throne as Oskar II. He was crowned King of Sweden in Stockholm on May 12, 1873 and King of Norway in Trondheim on July 18, 1873. He died in the Swedish capital on December 8, 1907. Through his marriage to Sophia von Nassau, the daughter of Duke Wilhelm I von Nassau, there was a close connection to Wiesbaden.

During a joint visit, he signed the city's Golden Book with King Christian IX of Denmark on May 16, 1902.