His exact condition has not been published, but he may have had an injury at birth or been affected by his mother's strong pre-natal medication for pneumonia.

During 1907 to 1909, a residence was built for him away from the public eye in Djursholm, a relatively new garden community north of Stockholm.

[3] Every two weeks he was allowed a trip to the capital, during which he sometimes could be seen visiting the opera; these were the only times he was seen in public except for official photographs.

His parents were not present when he died which, according to official memoirs, caused his father great sorrow in later years.

His mother, who herself had poor health and spent parts of the year in Italy, was abroad at the time.