Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (11 September 1656 – 26 July 1693) was the Queen consort of Sweden as the spouse of King Charles XI of Sweden
.
The name Ulrike is a Danish
version of the name; in Swedish
she is called Ulrika Eleonora den äldre, which in English means Ulrica Eleanor the Elder), to distinguish her from her daughter, the future queen regnant.
and his wife Queen Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1675 she was bethrothed to King Charles XI of Sweden
. During the Scanian War
between Denmark and Sweden in 1675–1679 she was encouraged to break the engagement and was considered as a possible bride by the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
, but she refused to do so. She gained a reputation for loyalty to her future home country by exhibiting kindness to Swedish prisoners during the war of 1675-79: she pawned her jewelry, even her engagement ring, to care for the Swedish prisoners of war.
She married Charles on 6 May 1680. They had seven children, of whom only three survived to adulthood;
Ulrika Eleonora was described as beautiful and kind and was received with enthusiasm among the public in Stockholm and Sweden, mainly because she was seen as a hope for peace between the two countries of Sweden and Denmark. According to legend, her spouse was never unfaithful to her, which was unusual for a king during this era; when he died, he told his mother he had not been happy since his wife died. However, he was also said to have been by nature cold and unable to show her the love he felt for her. Above all, he was forever under the strong influence of his mother, Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who never surrendered the position of queen to her daughter-in-law. While lingering distrust between Denmark and Sweden caused by the Scanian War
remained, Hedvig Eleonora and the government of Sweden were never receptive to the son's idea to marry a Danish princess. Possibly to please them and show that she had no influence over him, the king always simply referred to Ulrika Eleonora as "My wife" and called his mother "The queen". Mindful of this, the foreign ambassadors, always visited Hedwig Eleonora first, and then Ulrika Eleonora, when paying their respects to the royal family.
Under the shadow of her mother-in-law, Ulrika Eleonora was never happy or at ease with her life at court. Her private family life with the king and her children, on the other hand, was said to be very happy. Her most enjoyable moments came when her brother-in-law and sister the duke
and duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
visited her, and she also enjoyed the days when she and her husband and children visited the simpler, more modern and rural palace Karlberg Palace
that her husband used as a relaxation place. At Karlberg, she enjoyed a simple life away from the court and developed an interest in painting. She was also interested in theatre and dance and performed plays with the ladies at court. Among the nobles participating in her amateur performances were the famous Aurora Königsmarck with her sister Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck
. Among her noted ladies-in-waitings were the sister-couple De la Gardie; the singer Ebba Maria and the poet Johanna Eleonora
.
Ulrika Eleonora once tried to exercise some political influence over her spouse. During "The Great Reversion" to the crown of counties, baronies and large lordships from the nobility (most of them richly given away by Queen Christina
), she tried to speak on the behalf of the people whose property was confiscated by the government, but the king simply told her that the reason he had married her was not that he wanted her political advice. She then quietly helped the most poor people whose property had been confiscated by secretly compensating them economically from her own budget. She was most known for her great activity within charity; she founded a large number of orphanages, poor-houses, work-houses, widow-houses, schools to teach poor people professions and other such institutions, and in that aspect, she had some political influence in society. Her best-known projects were Drottninghuset (English: The Queenhouse), a home for poor widows in Stockholm (1686), and the tapestry
school at Karlberg, were poor girls were educated to tapestry manufacturing by three unmarried Finnish noblewomen. She supported a large number of people from her personal budget, such as invalid soldiers and their spouses and converts to Protestantism from Judaism, Islam and Catholicism (especially female converts).
There is an old legend about her death. The legend states that while the queen lay dying at Karlberg Palace
, her favourite lady-in-waiting, Countess Maria Elisabeth Stenbock, lay sick in Stockholm
. On the night the queen had died, Countess Stenbock visited Karlberg and was admitted alone to the room containing the remains of the queen. The officer in charge looked into the key hole and saw the countess and the queen speaking at the window of the room. He was so shocked by the sight that he started coughing blood. The countess, as well as the carriage she had arrived with, was gone the next moment. When the matter was investigated, it was made clear that the countess had been in bed, gravely ill that day and not left town. The officer died of the shock he received from the sight, and the countess died weeks later. The king gave the order that the affair was not to be mentioned further.
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
.
The name Ulrike is a Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
version of the name; in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
she is called Ulrika Eleonora den äldre, which in English means Ulrica Eleanor the Elder), to distinguish her from her daughter, the future queen regnant.
Early life and family
Ulrika was the daughter of King Frederick III of DenmarkFrederick III of Denmark
Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...
and his wife Queen Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1675 she was bethrothed to King Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
. During the Scanian War
Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...
between Denmark and Sweden in 1675–1679 she was encouraged to break the engagement and was considered as a possible bride by the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, but she refused to do so. She gained a reputation for loyalty to her future home country by exhibiting kindness to Swedish prisoners during the war of 1675-79: she pawned her jewelry, even her engagement ring, to care for the Swedish prisoners of war.
She married Charles on 6 May 1680. They had seven children, of whom only three survived to adulthood;
- Hedwig Sophia, later Duchess of Holstein-GottorpHolstein-GottorpHolstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...
(1681–1708) - King Charles XIICharles XII of SwedenCharles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
(1682–1718) - Gustav (1683–1685)
- Ulrik (1684–1685)
- Frederick (1685–1685)
- Charles Gustav (1686–1687)
- Queen Ulrika EleonoraUlrika Eleonora of SwedenUlrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor , also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 5 December 1718 to 29 February 1720, and then Queen consort until her death....
(1688–1741)
Life as queen
Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...
remained, Hedvig Eleonora and the government of Sweden were never receptive to the son's idea to marry a Danish princess. Possibly to please them and show that she had no influence over him, the king always simply referred to Ulrika Eleonora as "My wife" and called his mother "The queen". Mindful of this, the foreign ambassadors, always visited Hedwig Eleonora first, and then Ulrika Eleonora, when paying their respects to the royal family.
Under the shadow of her mother-in-law, Ulrika Eleonora was never happy or at ease with her life at court. Her private family life with the king and her children, on the other hand, was said to be very happy. Her most enjoyable moments came when her brother-in-law and sister the duke
Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Christian Albert was a duke of Holstein-Gottorp and bishop of Lübeck.He was a son of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and his wife Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony. Christian Albertbecame duke when his father died in the Castle Tönning, besieged by the King Christian V of Denmark...
and duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...
visited her, and she also enjoyed the days when she and her husband and children visited the simpler, more modern and rural palace Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace is a palace by the Karlberg Canal on the border of Stockholm in Solna. The palace, built in 1630 and the oldest in Solna municipality, today houses the Military Academy Karlberg....
that her husband used as a relaxation place. At Karlberg, she enjoyed a simple life away from the court and developed an interest in painting. She was also interested in theatre and dance and performed plays with the ladies at court. Among the nobles participating in her amateur performances were the famous Aurora Königsmarck with her sister Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck
Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck
Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck was a Swedish noble, known as a dilettante artist , amateur actor, and poet.Daughter of Conrad Christoff Königsmarck and Maria Christina Wrangel, sister of Philip Christoph Königsmarck, Aurora Königsmarck and Carl Johan Königsmarck, and paternal niece of Otto Wilhelm...
. Among her noted ladies-in-waitings were the sister-couple De la Gardie; the singer Ebba Maria and the poet Johanna Eleonora
Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie
Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie , was a Swedish writer, poet, lady-in-waiting and noble.Daughter of Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie and Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck...
.
Ulrika Eleonora once tried to exercise some political influence over her spouse. During "The Great Reversion" to the crown of counties, baronies and large lordships from the nobility (most of them richly given away by Queen Christina
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
), she tried to speak on the behalf of the people whose property was confiscated by the government, but the king simply told her that the reason he had married her was not that he wanted her political advice. She then quietly helped the most poor people whose property had been confiscated by secretly compensating them economically from her own budget. She was most known for her great activity within charity; she founded a large number of orphanages, poor-houses, work-houses, widow-houses, schools to teach poor people professions and other such institutions, and in that aspect, she had some political influence in society. Her best-known projects were Drottninghuset (English: The Queenhouse), a home for poor widows in Stockholm (1686), and the tapestry
Tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
school at Karlberg, were poor girls were educated to tapestry manufacturing by three unmarried Finnish noblewomen. She supported a large number of people from her personal budget, such as invalid soldiers and their spouses and converts to Protestantism from Judaism, Islam and Catholicism (especially female converts).
Death
In 1690, her spouse named her as possible regent if he should die during his son's minority. Her health, however, declined due to frequent childbirth, and she died three years later, after having spent the winter of 1692-93 in bed. Only after her death did her spouse refer to her as queen.There is an old legend about her death. The legend states that while the queen lay dying at Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace is a palace by the Karlberg Canal on the border of Stockholm in Solna. The palace, built in 1630 and the oldest in Solna municipality, today houses the Military Academy Karlberg....
, her favourite lady-in-waiting, Countess Maria Elisabeth Stenbock, lay sick in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. On the night the queen had died, Countess Stenbock visited Karlberg and was admitted alone to the room containing the remains of the queen. The officer in charge looked into the key hole and saw the countess and the queen speaking at the window of the room. He was so shocked by the sight that he started coughing blood. The countess, as well as the carriage she had arrived with, was gone the next moment. When the matter was investigated, it was made clear that the countess had been in bed, gravely ill that day and not left town. The officer died of the shock he received from the sight, and the countess died weeks later. The king gave the order that the affair was not to be mentioned further.