Augusta von Fersen

Augusta von Fersen
Augusta von Fersen by Amalia Lindegren in 1844, at the age of 90.
Born	Christina Augusta von Fersen 10 March 1754 Sweden
Died	8 April 1846 Stockholm, Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Other names	Augusta Löwenhielm
Occupation	lady in waiting
Known for	Her relationship to Charles XIII of Sweden; for being one of "The tree graces", for her love life, and as a source of inspiration in culture and literature

Christina Augusta von Fersen, as married Löwenhielm (10 March 1754 – 8 April 1846), was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting. She is a well-known figure of the Gustavian Age, and is known in history as one of "The Three Graces" at court, and as royal mistress to king Charles XIII of Sweden.

Background

Augusta was the daughter of the noble royal Crown Forester Carl Reinhold von Fersen and Charlotta Sparre, and was the cousin of Count Axel von Fersen the Younger, the granddaughter of Hans von Fersen, and the niece of Axel von Fersen the Elder. Her father, the brother of the Caps leader, was described as "one of the most elegant and spirited gentlemen of his time", and her mother made a success at the French royal court of Versailles with her beauty when she accompanied her relative Ulla Tessin, spouse of the Swedish ambassador Carl Gustaf Tessin, to France (1739–42) and was later made lady in waiting to Louisa Ulrika of Prussia and head of the court of Sophia Magdalena of Denmark. Augusta was married (1770) to Count Fredrik Löwenhielm, who spent a lot of his time abroad; he was the Swedish Ambassador at the Dresden court in the 1770s.

At court

In 1771 Augusta was made lady-in-waiting to Queen Sophia Magdalena. She became one of the most known socialites of the Gustavian Age and a centre of attention at court. Together with the ladies-in-waiting Ulla von Höpken (her sister) and Lovisa Meijerfeldt, she was known as one of "The Three Graces", as expressed by Johan Henric Kellgren in his poem "Gracernas döpelse" - the Graces were the Goddesses of Joy in Greek mythology. The mother of Augusta and Ulla had studied dance under Marie Sallé during her stay in Paris and in turn taught her daughters, who became known for their grace and talent within dance in the amateur theatre in the court of Gustav III^[1]

Augusta was admired for her elegance and good taste. Her sister Ulla was at one point the object of Prince Frederick Adolf's affection, and Augusta herself was in the 1770s involved in a relationship with Prince Charles. Her relationship with Charles lasted between c. 1771 until c. 1777 - it was publicly known and accepted, but she was not an official mistress. Their relationship was much talked about when Charles was married to Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp in 1774, and contributed to the distance between Charles and his spouse. She was eventually replaced as a mistress by Charlotte Eckerman and Charlotte Slottsberg. After her relationship with Charles ended, she continued to be known for her "unprejudiced" attitude in her love life.

Prince Charles' wife, Hedvig, described Augusta in her famous diaries: "She is with no doubt charming, her features are pleasant, her appearance appealing, and dressed for ball, she is quite magnificent". As for her personality, Hedvig adds that Augusta did not have a bad effect on Charles, and that she was a kind person who, due to her tolerant attitude toward others, was also treated tolerantly herself: "As it happened the other day, Countess Löwenhielm was late at dinner and arrived a quarter of an hour after it had started, and unfortunately, Baron von Essen arrived at the same time. All of us aware of their relationship found it amusing, and some could not hide a smile." Ulla remarked of the incident: "To think if something of that sort would happen to another poor soul - they would never hear the end of it. But my sister is always excused, and it can only be seen as proof of her open nature and her frankness to expose her relationship to that meek Essen for the world". Hedvig then replied: "She may not be more careful than others, but of a kind and goodhearted nature, she is friendly toward all and does not interfere in other people's business, which makes her less exposed to slander than most".

Augusta was indirectly involved in a scandalous duel. In 1788, her lover, von Essen, proposed to the heiress Charlotta Eleonora De Geer (1771–1798) and was accepted. His proposal was met with great dislike within the royal court because of sympathy with the popular Augusta von Fersen, and he was challenged to a duel by his rival count Adolph Ribbing. Ribbing had also proposed to De Geer but had been declined by her father, which he refused to accept, as he believed he had reasons to think that De Geer preferred him and that Essen had proposed because of economic reasons, and because von Essen's proposal and marriage plans was commonly disliked within the court. The duel took place in the royal riding house in the presence of several officers and led to the defeat of von Essen, who was slightly injured. The duel was regarded as a scandal and a crime against the King ^[2] The duel affair also caused great Ribbing to feel great animosity against the king, and he was later involved in the regicide against Gustav III.

In 1795, Augusta von Fersen left court: her mother, formally head of the court of the queen dowager although in reality bedridden, was fired from her position and her daughters left the court in protest, officially to take care of their mother's health, and she was formally fired in June 1795.^[3] In 1799, she presented Lolotte Forssberg at court. Her last years were spent in religion and charity.

Children

Children with Fredrik Löwenhielm:

• Gustaf Karl Fredrik Löwenhielm (1771–1856)

Children with Prince Charles:

• Carl Löwenhielm (1772–1861)

References

• http://historiska-personer.nu/min-s/pc399b874.html (Swedish)
• Ingvar Andersson: Gustavianskt (The Gustavian age) (1979)
• Ulf Sundberg (Swedish): Kungliga släktband (Lund 2004)
• Svensk biografiskt lexikon (Swedish)
• Personhistorisk tidskrift, (Första årgången 1898–99) (Swedish)
• Carl Forsstrand (in Swedish): De tre gracerna, minnen och anteckningar från Gustaf III:s Stockholm ("The three graces, memories and notes from the Stockholm of Gustav III") Hugo Gebers förlag (1912)
• Carl Rimberg (Swedish) : Svenska Folkets underbara öden VII. Gustav III:s och Gustav IV Adolfs tid 1756-1792
• Wilhelmina Stålberg and P. G. Berg : Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (Notes on Swedish women) (Swedish)