Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp
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Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte (Swedish: Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta) (born March 22, 1759, died June 20, 1818) was the Queen-Consort of Charles XIII of Sweden and also a famed diarist, memoir-writer and wit.
She was the daughter of Duke Frederick August of Holstein-Gottorp, Bishop of Lübeck and Duke of Oldenburg, and Ulrica Frederika of Hesse-Kassel. She grew up in Eutin and married her cousin, the future king, Charles, Duke of Södermanland, in 1774 when she was fifteen years old. The marriage was arranged by King Gustav III to provide the throne of Sweden with an heir. The king had not consummated his marriage and had decided to give the task of providing an heir to the throne to his brother.
The wedding was celebrated very luxuriously (she arrived in Stockholm by gondola). She was noted for her beauty - her waist measured a mere 48 cm (19") and her shoe size 31 (girls' size 13) - and, as the marriage of the king had not been consummated after nine years, there were hopes that she would provide an heir for the throne. In 1774, they were signs that she was pregnant. It was hoped that the question of succession was solved, and prayers was held in the churches. However, the signs soon proved to be false, and although her husband did like the way she looked, he never showed much interest in her; at the time of their marriage, he was in the middle of his relationship with Augusta von Fersen. The news of the false pregnancy also made the king decide to consummate his marriage and provide an heir to the throne himself.
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[edit] Royal Duchess and socialite
She became an important member of the vivacious court of Gustav III, where she was called "little duchess" and was noticed for her beauty and vividness and a centre of social life with her wittiness and ease with words. With these qualities she fulfilled the ideal of the aristocratic society of the time, and she is actually much more noted in history for her role in the court of Gustav III, than she is for her period as a Queen. In contrast to the shy queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, "Duchess Lotta" was lively, witty and flirtatious and was as such an example on the personality that was fashionable of an ideal woman of her time, and was in many ways the female center of the court. With her cheerful and charming personality, she was described as someone who could ease things up when people got depressed, and she was also the confidante of many.
Her marriage was an aristocratic marriage of the time, and both she and her husband had numerous extramarital affairs. Among her lovers were Count Axel von Fersen, alleged lover of queen Marie Antoinette of France. She was also rumored to be bisexual, rumours inspired by her intimate friendship with countess Sophie von Fersen and, true or not, repeated her entire time as royal Duchess, by both Francisco de Miranda in 1786 and later by Frederica of Baden. She did have a son but he died very early. In 1792, her husband was appointed regent, but the actual power was in the hands of his favorite, Count Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm, whom she mentions in her memoirs with great dislike and irony Although more interested in politics in these years, she had no influence on her husband.
She did not dislike her husband's affairs, rather she was grateful that it made it possible for her to live more freely. At one point, she expresses her frustration that her husband's lack of mistresses made him more attentive.
"As long as he had his mistresses, things were better, but since the last one was exiled because she allowed herself to be insulent towards the king, and he have not provided himself with a new one, his temperament has gotten worse, and I have daily been subjected to outbursts because of this, which has occurred even in front of the staff. This hostility have increased so much during the winter that I have reached the end of my patience. "
This improved after her husband gotten his next mistress.
Neither she not her husband was at very good terms with king Gustav IV Adolf, especially after an intrigue in 1803, when they were both humiliated by him.
[edit] Queen
In 1809, she became queen. Her husband's declining mental state (he was showing signs of early senility) did not mean political power for her because of the new constitution of 1809. The election of Jean Bernadotte to Crown Prince did not have her approval. She belonged to the "Gustavian party", which wished for the return of Gustav IV Adolf or his son to power, and she received the newly elected- heir and her formal adoptive-son, the only four years younger Charles XIV John with coldness in 1810, but soon became won over by his personal charm. She did, however, receive his wife Desiree Clary with such coldness that she is often blamed for the fact that Desiree left the country again soon after her arrival. Her fondness for Desiree's husband, on the other hand, grew, especially after the conquest of Norway in 1814, when she became queen of Norway. In 1809, she gave her protection to the first university for the blind and deaf in Sweden after hearing the performance of the blind musician Charlotta Seuerling, and she restored the funding to the theatre.
She died soon after her husband in 1818 During a dinner with her adoptive-son the king, she had a severe fit of pain in her stomach and fainted, and died very quickly.
Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte is most known for her famous diary, which is an historical source that describes the Swedish court between 1775 and 1817 It was published in nine parts from 1902. They are written in French and initially, (until 1800) directed as letters to her close friend, Countess Sophie Piper, sister of Axel von Fersen.
[edit] Children
[edit] Styles
- 1774-1809: Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Södermanland (commonly "Little Duchess" and later "Duchess Lotta")
- 1809-1818: HM Queen Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Sweden (commonly "Queen Charlotta")
- 1814-1818: HM Queen Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Norway, (the first queen of Sweden and Norway since the Middle Ages.)
[edit] External links
- Historiska personer - An image of how she looked during her grand days as a duchess
- Historiska personer - Short biography in Swedish
[edit] References
- Herman Lindqvist (2006). Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar (in Swedish). Norstedts Förlag. ISBN 9113015249.
- Herman Lindqvist, Historien om Sverige, Gustavs dagar, ((Swedish)).
- Ingvar Andersson, Gustavianskt, ((Swedish)).
- http://runeberg.org/sverhist/9/0412.html
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Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp
Born: 22 March 1759 Died: 20 June 1818 |
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| Swedish royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Baden (Queen consort) |
Royal Consort of Sweden (Queen consort) 1809 - 1818 |
Succeeded by Desirée Clary (Queen consort) |
| Preceded by Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel 1808-1814 |
Queen Consort of Norway 1814 - 1818 |
Succeeded by Désirée Clary 1818-1844 |
