His mother was Sophia Magdalena of Denmark. Both his parents belonged to the house of Oldenburg. When he inherited the throne, he was still a minor, and his uncle, Duke Charles, became regent. Gustavus Adolphus went to France to study, and in France, he was influenced by revolutionary ideas, and he became a friend of Napoleon Bonaparte, later Emperor Napoleon I. Later, having returned to Sweden, and Napoleon having risen to power in France, Sweden allied itself with the Napoleonic French Empire. Russia tried to invade Finland, but Sweden managed to stop the invasion, and, helped by Danish, German and French forces (the French forces were led by general Jean Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte Corvo), conquer the Russian part of Karelia.