Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden. Ulrika Eleonora - Queen of Sweden. Siege of Fredrikshald, during which Charles XII died

Even as a child, Odin gave me a brave heart.
The Saga of Olaf Tryggvasson

Charles XII's father Charles XI was born on November 24, 1655 and was enthroned at the age of five. Nothing foreshadowed in him the future unlimited ruler of Sweden. Charles XI grew up as a shy young man who, at meetings of the State Council, timidly whispered his opinion into the ear of the presiding mother. A turning point in his character occurred after the battle with the Danes at Lund (1676), where Charles XI, who commanded the right wing of the Swedes, put the left flank of the Danes to flight and decided the outcome of the battle.

Charles XI at the Battle of Lund

During the war with Denmark, the king concentrated all power in his hands and became a dictator in the ancient Roman, military sense of the word. But he was not seduced by the military field, but used his power to carry out a reduction - the seizure of a significant part of the noble lands in favor of the treasury. The ambition of Charles XI was manifested in the fact that he wanted to achieve an “ideal budget”, which he succeeded in, bringing order to public finances.

Charles XI

The king also completed the church reform begun by Gustav I. In 1686, a law was passed on the subordination of the Church to royal power. Archbishop Olof Swebelius wrote a special catechism, which became mandatory throughout the kingdom. The only legitimate spiritual food was recognized as official school textbooks, and then the book of psalms, the authors of which were famous Swedish poets Hakvin Spegel, Jesper Svedberg and others.

Simultaneously with the growth of prosperity and enlightenment in Sweden, as in other countries of Western Europe, the “witch hunt” expanded. In this matter, the Swedish clergy showed no less zeal than the papists so hated by them. So, in 1669, in Dalecarlia, an unknown illness was discovered in children, accompanied by fainting and spasms. The children said that witches took them to the Sabbath at night. The church commission interrogated 300 children using torture. According to their testimony, 84 adult and 15 juvenile heretics were burned; 128 children were flogged at the church doors every day for a long time. Lawyers tried to challenge the children’s testimony, but theologians referred to the text of the Bible, which says that “through the mouth of a child the truth speaks,” and the executions continued.

The crowning achievement of the king’s political activity was the decision of the Riksdag in 1693, which officially described Charles XI as “an autocratic king who orders and disposes of everyone, and is not responsible to anyone on earth for his actions.” Thus the doctrine of absolutism was solemnly proclaimed. However, Charles XI continued to turn to the Riksdag for support. The country had to fully regret the recklessness of this decision a little later, already under Charles XII, when nothing could force the king to stop the war that had become senseless.
The irrepressible lust for power of Charles XI left behind a contradictory memory. The opinion of supporters of state centralization was best expressed by King Oscar II: “The reduction of Charles XI was necessary, but it was carried out heartlessly and too strictly. He created, on the ruins of a provincial aristocracy with federal convictions, an official hierarchy faithful to duty and the royal house... the state treasury was enriched as a result of strict economy and honest management, the courts were incorruptible, trade relations were established with distant countries, the army was reorganized and perfectly armed, a strong and well-trained fleet ruled the Baltic Sea."

The Swedish nobility, through the mouth of one of its representatives, composed a eulogy for him in a slightly different spirit: “Blessed be the memory of the great economist of the state, Charles XI, who deprived my grandfather of five estates. God forbid that he should be resurrected on the Day of Judgment among the saints, for then he will give us canvas made of combs instead of snow-white silk robes and juniper branches instead of the promised palm branches. He will make the Lord God himself think about frugality.”
Apparently, Charles XII was supposed to receive a very good inheritance.

2. Education

In 1680, Charles XI married the Danish princess Ulrike Eleonora. From this marriage, early in the morning of June 17, 1682, an heir was born in the Stockholm palace, named Karl.

According to legend, many signs and omens surrounded his cradle (to this day it is one of the precious historical relics of Sweden), contributing to the growth of popular hopes for the baby’s brilliant future.

Allegory written by Ehrenstrael (1629-1698) in connection with the birth of Prince Charles

Charles XII had six siblings: Princess Jadwiga Sophia was born a year earlier, Prince Gustav in 1683, Ulrich in 1684, Frederick in 1685, Carl Gustav in 1686 and Princess Ulrika Eleonora in 1688. Charles XII subsequently had especially tender feelings for his younger sister and called him mon coeur (my heart) in his letters; she succeeded him, taking the rank of king in 1719.

From left to right: King Charles XI, his mother— Queen Dowager Hedwig Eleonora,
Prince Charles (future Charles XII), Charles XI's aunt Maria Euphrosyne, Princess Hedwig Sophia
(eldest sister of Charles XII), Queen Ulrika Eleonora (mother of Charles XII).
Above them is a portrait of Charles X (father of Charles XI)

Little Karl spent the first years of his life under the beneficial influence of his mother. It was she who sowed in him the seeds of religiosity, justice and purity of morals that distinguished Karl in adulthood. At the same time, the heir revealed an innate will and pride, which in childhood inevitably took the form of stubbornness. So, one day a boy declared that dark blue was essentially black, and they could not convince him. Another time, the nanny, who needed to go away for a while, sat Karl in a chair and made him promise not to get up until she returned. After some time, the queen entered the room to take her son with her to church, but all her persuasion to get up and go with her turned out to be useless until the nanny arrived.

Prince Charles with his mother

The Queen did not want these qualities to become stronger in the child over time. She closely watched Karl and took care of his lessons herself. The best teachers were assigned to the heir. At the age of four, Karl received the royal advisor Count Erik Lindschöld as his uncle, and later his teacher became the famous professor of eloquence (eloquence) at Uppsala University Norchepensky (in the Latin version - Norcopensis), who was later elevated to the nobility under the surname Nordenhielm; Karl, it seems, chose the latter himself from several teachers offered to him by his parents. The teachers received instructions, which, among other things, said: “Although there are many reasons due to which sovereigns and their children are carried away by arrogance and self-will, for the most part these bad qualities arise from their own imagination or as a result of the speeches of flatterers, from which comes the false opinion that the royal children, placed above other children, can do or not do what they want.” Nordenhielm had great influence on the heir and enjoyed his constant respect.

The first book that Charles was given to read to introduce him to his own and neighboring states was the work of the 17th century German lawyer Samuel Pufendorf. Nordenhielm quickly discovered the main spring in the heir's character - ambition - and successfully used his discovery to break his stubbornness. Thus, while studying foreign languages, Karl showed a great inclination towards the German language, which he spoke as his native language. But he had an undisguised aversion to Latin. Then Nordenhielm told him that the Polish and Danish kings knew her perfectly. Karl immediately changed his attitude towards Latin and studied it so well that he used it in conversation all his life. The same tool also helped in learning French - Karl learned it, although subsequently he almost never used it. When the teacher noticed to him that knowledge of this language could be useful if he needed to talk with the French ambassador in person, the heir proudly replied:
“If I meet the King of France, I will speak to him in his language, but if the French ambassador comes here, then it is more fitting for him to learn Swedish for my sake than for me to learn French for his sake.”

The boy's enormous ambition was revealed in many other cases. When Nordenhielm, reading with the heir the work of Quintus Curtius about Alexander the Great, asked his opinion about this commander, Charles replied:
“I think I would like to be like him.”
“But he lived only thirty-two years,” Nordenhielm objected.
“Isn’t that enough when he has conquered so many kingdoms?” - Karl said arrogantly.

These words were conveyed to his father, who exclaimed: “Here is a child who will be better than me and will go further than Gustavus the Great!”

Another time, in his father’s office, Karl became interested in two geographical maps: one of them depicted a Hungarian city taken by the Turks from the German emperor; the other is Riga, conquered by the Swedes. Under the first card was written a saying from the Book of Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” The prince read the inscription, took a pencil and wrote on the map of Riga: “God gave it to me, the devil will not take it away from me.”

Prince Charles as a child

Unfortunately, Karl's upbringing remained unfinished. On August 5, 1693, Queen Ulrika Eleonora died. Rumor blamed the king for her death. Indeed, in recent years, Charles XI treated her poorly. Every day, victims of the reduction carried out by the king crowded around the Stockholm palace. Ulrika Eleonora gave them her money, jewelry, furniture and even dresses. When her funds were exhausted, she threw herself in tears at her husband’s feet, asking him to help the unfortunate. Charles XI rudely interrupted her:
“Madam, we married you to have children from you, and not to listen to your opinions.”

From then on, he treated her so harshly that, by all accounts, this brought her end closer. Karl grieved so much over the loss of his mother that he fell into a fever, which then turned into smallpox, which, however, did not leave any marks. A year later, Nordenhielm also died; Lindskiöld died even earlier. Together with these people, the good genius left little Karl. The new teachers assigned to him, Count Nils Guldenstolpe and clerical adviser Thomas Polus, could not completely replace the dead - the heir was gradually left to his own devices. In addition, Charles XI, a passionate hunter, often took his son with him, disrupting the course of his studies. In his interactions with his father, Charles acquired the habits of an unlimited sovereign.
Karl's development progressed very quickly. At the age of 14-15, contemporaries paint his character with the same colors that will prevail in him later.

3. King

At the beginning of 1697, Bishop Dr. Benzelius prepared Charles for the first communion of the Holy Mysteries; the heir received communion the day after the last performance of this sacrament over his dying father. Charles XI died at the forty-second year of his life from stomach cancer.

Death mask of Charles XI

Charles XII ascended the throne on April 14, 1697 at the age of 14 years 10 months, taking possession of Sweden, Finland, Livonia, Karelia, Ingria, the cities of Wismar, Vyborg, the islands of Rügen and Ezel, the best part of Pomerania, the duchies of Bremen and Verden - lands, assigned to Sweden by international treaties and fear of the Swedish army.

A difficult situation immediately arose: the will of Charles XI did not precisely define the date of the coming of age of Charles XII, but only appointed a regency of five guardians under the chairmanship of Charles XII’s grandmother Jadwiga Eleanor of Holstein until the more “mature” age of the new king, as stated in the will. As a result, the regency immediately turned into a tangle of intrigues between rival parties at court. Jadwiga Eleonora was already at an advanced age, which made her natural dementia excusable; Of the regents, who were distinguished by their spinelessness, only Count Bengt Oxenstierna had influence on state affairs. The regents were opposed by the French party, represented by Christopher Gyllenstierna, Fabian Wrede, Wallenstedt, Gyllenstolpe and others, and the pro-Danish aristocracy, which, due to its impotence, soon merged with the supporters of France.

Little information has been preserved about this period. The people's dissatisfaction with the rule of the nobles, love for the dashing king and the famine that broke out in the country accelerated the coup. Charles XII had already managed, during the terrible fire that destroyed the royal palace, for the first time to publicly show his inherent dexterity and fortitude: he left the smoking ruins of the castle against his will, yielding to the insistence of the courtiers. His popularity increased. The name of Charles XII united his favorites, senators who were not included in the regency, the aristocracy who hated the regents as supporters of reduction, officers who hoped for promotion, and the people who, as usual, had high hopes for the young king.
Subsequent events developed rapidly. One day at the beginning of November 1697, Charles reviewed several regiments. With him was his favorite Karl Pieper, an energetic, intelligent, ambitious fat man, a representative of a poor noble family. The king was lost in thought.
“Dare I ask Your Majesty what you are thinking about so seriously?” - asked Pieper.

“I think,” answered Karl, “that I feel worthy to command these brave men and that I would not want me or them to receive orders from a woman.”

Pieper decided to take advantage of the opportunity to take a high position, fulfilling a more than transparent hint from his master. He conveyed the king's words to Count Axel Sparre, an ardent man who was also looking for an opportunity to attract attention. Sparre took on the role of intermediary in relations with the court parties. In a short time, he gained the support of almost all influential people.

The Riksdag was urgently convened. Among the noble deputies, the French party prevailed, which stood for the speedy provision of Charles's rights to adulthood. On the morning of November 8, in the noble chamber, the king’s supporters shouted down the cautious ones, silenced those who resisted, and laughed at the doubters. A deputation was immediately sent to the State Council, which was at that time in the cathedral. All members of the council, including Jadwiga Eleonora, agreed with the decision of the nobles with some feverish haste.

Other classes also hastily announced their agreement, only the clergy exhorted them not to rush and showed persistence, “later called respect for the law,” according to Oscar II.

According to the decision of the Riksdag in 1604, the Swedish king came of age at the age of eighteen. Charles was only fifteen (which perhaps explains the vagueness of Charles XI’s will), but after the announcement of the decision of the noble chamber, everyone began to enthusiastically throw their hats at the ceiling and shout: “Vivat rex Carolus!” (Long live King Charles!). There was almost no clergy; the next day it again called for prudence, but the adult king could no longer be made a minor again.

In the evening, the leader of the nobility, at the head of representatives of the estates, at an audience expressed a desire for Charles to declare himself sovereign. The king readily announced his decision “to rule the country with the help of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” The estates swore an oath of loyalty and obedience, and mercilessness of goods, belly and blood. Subsequently, Charles XII had no reason to complain about the infidelity of the Swedes, and his subjects - that the king forgot even a word from their oath: he demanded from them the first, and the second, and the third.

So, three days after the conversation with Pieper and less than ten hours after the start of the Riksdag meeting, a coup d'etat took place - the “political Narva” of Charles XII. On November 29, 1697, the king took the reins of government into his hands.

Charles XII in coronation robes

The king rode into Stockholm on a red horse shod with silver, with a scepter in his hand and a crown on his head, amid the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd. The Archbishop of Uppsala performed the rites of anointing and coronation over him. When he was ready to place the crown on Charles's head, he snatched it from his hands and crowned himself, proudly looking at the prelate. The audience greeted this gesture with wild applause. Thus, Charles took away from the Church the only right in relation to the king that it still had from the times of Catholicism.

Charles XII in his youth

Having become an unlimited monarch at such an early age, Charles wanted to show the habits of an adult husband and did not convene the Council of State for two years. He decided matters in the bedroom, consulting mainly with his favorites, among whom the first role for a long time passed to Pieper, who became a count and first minister.

However, Karl did not particularly burden himself with government concerns. It gave him even greater pleasure to break chairs and candelabra in the palace with his peers, shoot at marble statues in the halls and give wine to a tame bear for the amusement of the court. If glass rattled and flew out in Stockholm houses at night, the townspeople knew: it was the young king having fun; if a belated passer-by met a noisy gang on the street riding on horseback in their shirts, he had no doubt: it was the young king who was making fun of him; if shots were heard in the Diet hall of the palace, the courtiers were not afraid, knowing that it was the young king who was hunting... It is possible that these inclinations of Charles also influenced the decision of the nobility to transfer power to him - the absolutism of Charles XI was imposed on everyone.

Karl divided his free time between heroic pastimes - hunting, a passion for which was encouraged by the Duke of Holstein, married to Karl's older sister, and war games under the guidance of the teacher of military sciences, Quartermaster General Stuart.

Military tradition was strong in Sweden as nowhere else in Europe. Only through wars did the country acquire the importance that it had, and only through wars could it be preserved. A series of brilliant warriors on the throne of Vasa accomplished what seemed only possible in the ancient sagas.

Karl grew up in an atmosphere of heroic legends. Since childhood, he was so keen on reading sagas that Nordenhielm even warned him against wasting too much time in this activity. The sagas had a strong influence on his imagination. Seven-year-old Karl had already expressed a desire to entrust the reign to his brother while he himself traveled around the world with his retinue. This passion has not faded with age. As a young man, he became interested in reading chivalric novels, voraciously read the multi-volume “Gedeon de Maxibrandard”, where the king, among other things, hands his son a scepter with the words: “I spent my days in peace, but you have to constantly fight with robbers and rebels, with lions and leopards, with fire and water. Yes, the world will be amazed at the suffering that you will have to endure: anger and envy and persecution from scorpions and snakes that will block the path of you and yours. But after long and hard work, you will finally achieve your goal.” Karl's subsequent life would turn out to be an almost literal fulfillment of this parting word.

Of course, it is a rare boy who does not dream of adventures and exploits, but for Karl this was not a simple play of the imagination. Already as a child, he began to lead a corresponding lifestyle: at the age of 4 he sat on a small horse to attend troop maneuvers; at the age of 12 he wrote with delight about the pleasure of riding royal horses. At the age of seven he shot his first fox while hunting; at the age of 11 - the first bear. The courtiers present were especially surprised by the composure with which the boy pointed the gun at the approaching beast.

In the hunt, Karl was looking not for prey, but for glory, as befits a Viking. Having matured, he was not satisfied with the existing hunting rules, but issued a decree that on royal hunts they should only go after a bear with a spear or knife (like the ancient knights), and he himself, according to his biographer Frixel, did this many times. His companions watched in horror as the huge beast stood up on its hind legs and walked towards the king, spewing a hot stench from its mouth along with a roar. One day the bear rushed at Karl so quickly that he managed to tear off his wig. But the king found this method of hunting insufficiently chivalrous and too profitable for the hunter - and began to go after the bear with a pitchfork and a club. He knocked the beast over with a pitchfork, and his comrades tied the hind legs in a noose. The hunt in Kungöer became especially famous, in which eighteen-year-old Karl stunned a bear that rushed at him with such powerful blows of his club that the clubfoot was brought in a sleigh in a faint state.

Karl also loved other fun that involved danger to life, such as horse racing. He either rushed along the thin ice of bays and lakes, often falling through the ice, or climbed such steep mountains that he once toppled over with his horse.

One day in the spring at four o’clock in the morning, accompanied by a guards captain, he went out onto the ice, which had already fallen behind the shore. The officer reined in the horse.

- You are afraid? - the king asked him.
“I’m not afraid for myself, but for the eminent person of Your Majesty,” answered the guardsman.

But Karl pulled the reins and galloped across the ice. When he reached the other shore, it turned out that a strip of water several meters wide had formed between the shore and the ice. It was impossible to jump over it, as the king loved to do. Then Karl spurred his horse, went waist-deep into the icy water, but safely got out onto land.
The Duke of Holstein incited Charles to even more dangerous antics. One day, on a dare, the king sat astride a newly caught deer. Another time, the Duke boasted that he would cut off the head of a calf with one blow of his saber. Hearing this, Karl perked up. For several days, calves and sheep were brought into the palace, and Charles and the Duke cut off their heads and threw them out of the windows into the street.

The king did not forget about military exercises, which he also accustomed himself to since childhood. At the age of 6, he ordered the construction of a fortress with bastions in order to become familiar with the different types of fortifications; I listened with enthusiasm to lectures on fortification and tactics.

At the age of thirteen, he already enthusiastically rushed into maneuvers into the very thick of the “enemy” cavalry, regardless of bruises and abrasions. He literally lost his mind from pleasure.

Karl accustomed himself to the hardships of war: at night he moved to sleep from the bed to the floor; When I was 17, I spent three December nights in a hay barn. It is no coincidence that the Swedish king subsequently served as one of Suvorov’s favorite models.

It was on one of the hunts that Charles XII heard the news of the beginning of the Northern War, which became his first and only life-long one.

This is a portrait of the sister of the Swedish king Charles XII, the same one who fought against Russia in the Northern War of 1700 - 1721. (However, he did not live to see the end of the war and the crown passed to his sister Ulrike-Eleanor).

On this occasion, I remembered a “bearded” joke (however, it is so old that it may have long been forgotten).
However, this anecdote can also be considered a parable. Well, I think you yourself will draw certain parallels with our time.

ANECDOTE-PARABLE

The monarch of one of the powerful states, who spent his entire life in numerous warriors and lost his right leg and right eye in them, decided to capture himself for posterity in a ceremonial portrait.

For this purpose, three artists were invited to the king’s court: a romanticist, a realist and a socialist realist. They were warned that if the king did not like the portrait, then a terrible execution awaited them (the king was, not surprisingly, a cruel tyrant), and if he liked it, then they would receive a reward that they could not even dream of.

The first artist to offer his painting to the king was a representative of the romantic movement in painting. On it, the great monarch was depicted as a real handsome man, 20 or even 30 years younger than in reality, with two legs and two eyes.

“All this is very beautiful,” the king said calmly and looked at the romantic artist with his only eye so that even the courtiers, who knew well the harsh disposition of their sovereign, had cold sweat running down their backs. “But don’t you see that in your portrait I don’t look like myself at all? And if you show this portrait to my loyal subjects, they will laugh at me, is that what you want?!!!”
Two royal guards immediately grabbed the unfortunate romantic artist by the arms, and since he could no longer walk for fear of the inevitable punishment, they dragged him towards the dungeon, where the executioner, a real professional who adores his work like all real professionals, sharpened a huge ax with an ominous smile.

The realist artist always believed that true art should reflect reality as it is, because truth is always above all, and to embellish something or someone is unworthy of a true artist. Therefore, he depicted the king as he was: one-legged and one-eyed, with a large wart on his nose, a bloody, ugly scar on his cheek and disgusting ulcers all over his face. At the same time, the abscesses were drawn out especially carefully, and the king’s empty eye socket in his portrait was framed by boils. Since there was nothing left of the monarch’s once luxurious hair, the artist especially emphasized the royal bald spot, his lumpy skull and the pitiful remnants of hair hanging in gray strands behind his protruding ears, making the crowned lady look like an elderly comedian.

The king looked for a long time at his portrait, presented by a realist artist, then went to the mirror, which he also peered into for a long time. Then his face was distorted by an angry grimace, which did not bode well for either the artist or those courtiers who were present at the demonstration of this portrait.

“So, so, so...,” the king said slowly and measuredly. “So you want me to remain a terrible freak in the memory of my descendants and the descendants of my subjects?!!!”
At these words of the king, those courtiers who stood near the doors tried to slip out of the main hall unnoticed, which they were unable to do, since the royal guards blocked their exit, closing their halberds almost in front of their noses.

The realist artist tried to remain calm, and it should be noted that he did it well. His fear and excitement were revealed only by slightly trembling hands (however, this may have been a consequence of his excessive passion for absinthe) and drops of sweat on his forehead (it was not hot at all in the hall, rather cold, and two lit fireplaces on both sides of the royal throne warmed only the king himself and two ceremonial guards, who, in their long caftans and huge hats made of bear skins, were waiting for only one thing - when they would finally be replaced).
“Your Majesty,” the realist artist began to say, not completely overcoming his excitement, “I depicted you exactly as you should remain in the memory of posterity - a great warrior, wounded in battles in the name of the greatness of our country. The eye and leg you lost are nothing more than visible evidence of your exploits in the name of the greatness of our Fatherland. I hoped that you would appreciate this and..."

“Enough!” the king interrupted the artist, rising from his throne. “In the wars that I waged, many lost their limbs! But I am the king!!! And you portrayed me as a simple cripple!!! Take him away,” he gave the order to his to the guards. “And these cowards who tried to hide from my righteous anger, also take them away from my eyes. Let them suffer the same punishment as this truth-loving artist!”

The guards immediately rushed to the four courtiers and dragged them into the torture chamber. And the artist, spitting on the floor in front of the royal throne, pushed the “guides” away from him, finally looking boldly into the king’s only eye, and went to the slaughter himself.

The executioner, on whose ax blood stains were still visible, left after the execution of the romantic artist (his headless body was unceremoniously pushed into the corner of the dungeon, and the severed body was ready with for some reason eyes wide open and a mouth twisted in horror, in the corner of which a drop of blood froze , lying like a cabbage next to the block), stretched his hands, but seeing that not only the artist was being led to him, but also six courtiers, two of whom were counts, and the rest barons, he was somewhat confused.
However, his confusion quickly passed. “Throw these six in the torture room, I’ll deal with them later,” he ordered his henchmen, “And give the artist here!”
After a few seconds, the head of the realist artist joined the head of the romantic painter.

The angry king ordered a third artist, known for his ceremonial portraits in the style of socialist realism, to be brought in. The artist did not enter alone; his huge painting was carried in by four assistants.

The painting depicted the king on horseback. The rearing front legs of the horse symbolized the king’s desire for new conquests; his (the horse’s) bared teeth were supposed to emphasize intolerance towards defeated enemies. And the great ruler himself sat on a horse (naturally black) in profile: in such a way that no one could see either the absence of his right eye or the stump of his right leg. The royal bald head was covered with a wide-brimmed hat, from under which the curls of a luxurious wig curled.

The king was silent for some time, examining the painting of the socialist realist artist in all its details. He was not disturbed by either the groans of the courtiers, who were impaled, or the whispers of the courtiers remaining in the hall, who were awaiting their fate in horror.
He assessed his image, which showed the most truth as he imagined it.

The socialist realist artist, knowing that the king could not dislike his work (this was not the first order for him), was completely calm.
“It’s these kind of artists that I need!” the king suddenly and loudly declared. “Now he will become my chief minister! And whoever doesn’t agree with these, I’ll impale him!!!”

The courtiers obediently bowed their heads before the new prime minister: “As you say, Your Majesty!”

Hello dears.
Second part of yesterday's post:
So let's continue...

Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg - wife and beloved comrade-in-arms of the great Gustav II Adolf. An interesting lady from any point of view, she was extremely wasteful, but she left behind several interesting and beautiful royal regalia.

The orb of Maria Eleonora is made of gold, with enamel work in blue and yellow and studded with diamonds and rubies. It was created in 1620 in Stockholm by Ruprecht Miller
The scepter was also made around the same years.

Key of Ulrika Eleonora. This is the Queen of Sweden, who reigned from 1718-1720. Daughter of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleanor of Denmark, younger sister of Charles XII, who essentially ruled for him de jure, and then de facto.


The key was probably made in Stockholm by the German jeweler Nikolai (von) Bleichert. It is made of gilded silver and is a faithful copy of the key of Eric XIV. On one side it says "V.E.G.R.S." d. May 3 A: 1720.”

Let's move on...
The anointed horn was made in 1606 in Stockholm by Pieter Kilimpe for the coronation of Charles IX and features a gold bull's horn supported on a pedestal. The large end is covered by a cap with a chain, and at the opposite point of the horn stands a small figure of justice holding a pair of scales. The horn is decorated with decorative relief work with multi-colored opaque and translucent enamel and is set with 10 diamonds and 14 rubies, including 6 Karelian “rubies” (garnets). This wonder was presented in order to store anointing oil in it before laying the crown on the monarch. You remember that the Old Testament says that the king was chosen by God and anointed by God with sacred oil to reign.


The British and Norwegians also have similar ritual things. But after the coronation of Queen Christina, the horn was no longer considered a full-fledged regalia, although it continued to be used by all subsequent kings. Height - only 15.5 cm.

The silver font was commissioned by Charles XII for the baptism of royal children. The silver came from Indonesia, with which Sweden was trying to establish trade at that time. The attempt was unsuccessful; its only result was a shipment of silver ore from Sumatra, which was purified in the Swedish mines, and the metal was put into the font.

It was created in 1707 by masters from France with the help of local Bernard Fouquet and Nicodemus Tessin Jr.
It was first used in 1746 for the christening of the future Gustav III, and since then for every royal child.

And finally - a few crowns.

The Maria Eleonora Crown was made in 1620 and remains the heaviest of all Swedish royal crowns. Her weight is almost 2.5 kilograms. Pay attention to the arrangement of flowers and stones. They are not random. For the red rubies and white diamonds symbolize the colors of the house of Brandenburg, from which the queen is born, and the black enamel and gold on the top are the colors of the coat of arms of Vaas.

At first, the crown was created for queens, and from 1751 to 1818 it was “reclassified” as a crown for kings. And all because of one funny incident. The fact is that in 1751 the crown of Eric XIV was too big for King Adolf Fredrick, so instead they took the “female” crown of Maria Eleonora.

Louise Ulrika's Crown - Crown of the Queen of Sweden
Louise Ulrika of Prussia, also known as Lovisa Ulrika of Prussia, is a Prussian princess, daughter of King Frederick William I, and younger sister of Frederick the Great. Since 1751, the Queen of Sweden has been the wife of Adolf Federick.


Due to the fact that there was no insignia left for the queen, she had to order a new regalia, which has since been considered the main women's crown of the country. After the name of the first owner, the crown is called “The Crown of Louise Ulrika.”
In its manufacture they used silver (though it was later gilded) and diamonds. The crown is small, but there are 695 diamonds on it!

For the crown, the Riksdag gave the royal family 44 especially large diamonds. But after a few years, the confrontation between parliament and the monarchy increased so much that the king’s power melted. The queen was not some kind of countess, but the sister of Frederick the Great; she did not want to put up with the loss of power, so she decided that the queen’s best friends were not diamonds, but the army. The Riksdag ordered the gift to be replaced with rock crystal, and 44 stones were sold to a local merchant in Hamburg. That's it :-)

Crown of the Heir to the Throne, or Crown of Crown Prince Charles X Gustav.


In 1650, the famous Queen Christina set the task of creating a crown for an heir. And it was quickly made, literally in 2 weeks, from the old women’s crown, which existed even before the crown of Mary Eleanor. The small diameter fit perfectly. In the center you can see a sheaf resembling a vase - a symbol of the Vasa dynasty.

The Crown of the Heir to the Throne clearly indicated that only the future monarch could wear it. This created some problems for kings with many children, which Gustav III resolved by decreeing that every member of the royal family should have a crown.




Thus, 4 more crowns of princes and 3 crowns of princesses appeared, but over time, despite the price, their value fell and the newest, 1902, the last of the royal regalia, the crown of Prince William, is disparagingly called “pastiche”. By the way, this crown was last used at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling, and lay on the groom’s side of the altar.


That's how things are.
I hope you found it interesting.
Have a nice time of day.

Swedish queen (1606 93), wife of Charles XI, daughter of the Danish king Frederick III. Pious, zealously helping all those in need, W. Eleanor sincerely became attached to her new fatherland and enjoyed great popularity in it. She… …

- (Ulrika Eleonora) Younger (23.I.1688 24.XI.1741) Queen of Sweden (1719 20), younger sister of Charles XII. She was elected queen with the support of the aristocrats. opposition, hostile to absolutism, but at the same time signed a law on a new form of government... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Dat. Ulrika Eleonora af Danmark ... Wikipedia

Queen of Sweden (1688 1741). In 1715 she married Frederick, Crown Prince of Hesse. After the death of her elder sister, Hedwig Sophia (1708), W. Eleanor was the only one, besides her brother Charles XII, representative of the Palatinate... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

Eleanor is a female name. Bearers known by the name Monarchs and aristocrats Eleanor of Austria (1498 1558) queen of Portugal in 1518 1521. and Queen of France in 1530-1547. Eleanor of Austria (1534 1594) Duchess ... ... Wikipedia

Ulrika: Ulrika is the feminine form of Ulrich. It is of German-Scandinavian origin. (885) Ulrike (885 Ulrike) is a main belt asteroid. Opened in 1917. Persons named Ulrika Eleonora (Swedish: Ulrika Eleonora; 1688 ... ... Wikipedia

Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine von Hessen Kassel Duchess Consort of Oldenburg 1774 1785 ... Wikipedia

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark(Dan. Ulrika Eleonora af Danmark; September 11, 1656, Copenhagen - July 26, 1693, Stockholm) - Queen Consort of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI.

Family

Ulrika was the daughter of King Frederick III and his wife Sophia Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1675, she became engaged to King Charles XI of Sweden. During the Danish-Swedish War, she was persuaded to abandon this marriage for political reasons and was supposed to betrothed her to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, but she refused to break off her engagement to Charles. She earned a good reputation in her future homeland by showing kindness to Swedish prisoners during the war: to provide them with everything they needed, she pawned her own jewelry, including her wedding ring.

She married Charles on May 6, 1680. They had seven children, of whom only three lived to adulthood:

• Gedviga Sofia(1681-1708), later Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
• Charles(1682-1718), King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718
• Gustav (1683-1685)
• Ulrich (1684-1685)
• Frederick (1685-1685)
• Carl Gustav (1686-1687)
• Ulrika Eleonora(1688-1741), Queen of Sweden from 1718 to 1720

Queen

Contemporaries spoke of Ulrika Eleonora as a beautiful and kind queen. She gained particular support from the Swedish population due to the fact that she personified the hope for peace between the two warring countries.

According to legend, her husband never cheated on her, which was rare for that time. On his deathbed, he confessed to his mother that he had not been happy since his wife died. Nevertheless, they spoke of him as a very reserved person in his feelings, and in addition, throughout his life he was strongly influenced by his mother, Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who did not yield to her daughter-in-law the position of the reigning queen.

While relations between Denmark and Sweden remained strained due to the war, Gedwiga Eleonora (like Parliament) did not approve of her son's intentions to marry a Danish princess. Perhaps in order to please them and show that Ulrika Eleanor could not influence him, the king always called her My Wife, and his mother - the Queen. Knowing this, foreign ambassadors, when paying their respects to members of the royal family, always paid a visit to Hedwig Eleonora first, and only then to Ulrike Eleonora.

Ulrika Eleonora's family life was developing noticeably better. The happiest moments for her were visits to relatives - her sister Frederica Amalia and son-in-law Christian Albrecht of Holstein-Gottorp, as well as the days when she, her husband and their children retired to Karlberg Palace, located near Stockholm. There, far from the courtyard, she painted. She was also interested in theater and dance and participated in the production of plays along with the ladies of the court. Among the nobles participating in her amateur performances were the Königsmarck sisters, Aurora and Amalia Wilhelmina, and among the ladies-in-waiting were the De la Gardie sisters, the singer Ebba Maria and the poetess Johanna Eleonora.

However, she still made attempts to gain political influence over her husband. During the period of the return of lands to the Swedish crown, most of which had been generously granted to the nobility by Queen Christina, Ulrika Eleonora tried to speak on behalf of people whose property had been confiscated by the government, but the king said that he did not marry her for her advice on public policy. She still secretly helped those who were in the most dire situations, allocating them funds from her own budget.

In addition, she was actively involved in charity: she founded many orphans and widows' shelters, workhouses and schools for the poor, where they were taught some kind of craft. Her most famous projects of this kind were Drottninghuset (Russian: Queen's House), a dwelling for widows in Stockholm, and a school for girls in Karlberg, where students learned to weave tapestries. Using her own money, Ulrika Eleonora provided support to many in need: disabled soldiers and their families, as well as Jews, Catholics and Muslims (especially women) who had converted to Protestantism.

Death

In 1690, King Charles named Ulrika Eleonora as a possible regent if he died before their son came of age. However, her health deteriorated due to frequent childbirth and three years later, after being ill during the winter of 1692-93, she died. Only after her death did her husband call her queen.

There is a legend about her death. It says that while the queen was dying in Karlberg Palace, her beloved lady-in-waiting, Countess Maria Elisabeth Stenbock, was lying ill in Stockholm. On the night that Ulrika Eleonora died, Countess Stenbock visited Karlberg and was allowed into the room where the deceased was. One of the officers, looking through the keyhole, noticed the queen and countess talking at the window. He was so shocked by what he saw that he began coughing up blood. At the same moment, the Countess and the carriage in which she arrived disappeared. When an investigation was carried out, it turned out that the seriously ill countess was at home that night and did not leave the city. The officer died from the blow, Countess Stenbock died a little later. The king gave orders not to mention the incident in any way.

Literature

• Herman Lindqvist (2006). Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar. Norstedts Frag. ISBN 91-1-301524-9. (Swede.)
• Lindqvist, Herman. Storhet och fall. Sweden: Bokfrlaget Pan, 2000 (1997). Vol 4 of Historien om Sverige. 10 vols. 1992-2002. ISBN 91-7263-092-2. (Swede.)
• "Ulrika Eleonora". vol 13 of Bra bckers lexikon. (ed. Jan-jvind Swahn). 25 vols.Bokfrlaget Bra Becker AB, 1986. (Swedish)
• Carl Grimberg: Svenska Folkets underbara den IV. 1660-1707 (The wonderful destinys of the Swedish people). (Swede.)