Charles XIII or Carl XIII (7 October 1748 - 5 February 1818) was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, sister of Frederick the Great.Duke Charles became Grand Master of the Swedish Masonic Rite in 1774. He had a strong mystical interest and immediately began to expand upon the Rite, a work that was completed some twenty-five years later. Apart from his duties as Duke and as the chief of the Swedish Navy, his primary focus was to learn, practise and comprehend both the theoretical and practical aspects of magic, kabbalah, and alchemy. To this end, he always worked with a small circle of brethren, as well as with his wife, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte, and was taught the mysteries by a handful of teachers. Tommy Westlund is chairman of the board of the Alchemical Academy and has studied and practised alchemy and esotericism since 1990. He is a psychosynthesis therapist, an apostolic Gnostic bishop, a knight, and an adept in the Western initiatory traditions. Tommy is an Order chief in the Rosicrucian tradition and lectures internationally on the hermetic wisdom traditions.