Beata Charlotta "Charlotte" Eckerman (1759 – 16 January 1790 in Stockholm), was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She was also a very well known

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

during the

Gustavian era The History of Sweden from 1772 through 1809 is better known as the Gustavian era of Kings Gustav III and Gustav IV, as well as the reign of King Charles XIII of Sweden. Gustav III Adolf Frederick of Sweden died on 12 February 1771. The ...

, and the official royal mistress of

Charles XIII of Sweden Charles XIII, or Carl XIII ( sv, Karl 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 S ...

from 1779 to 1781.

Life

Charlotte Eckerman was the daughter of Bengt Edvard Eckerman, cavalry captain of the Royal Scanian Husars, and the writer Catharina Ahlgren. Her father was the cousin of Carl Fredrik Ekerman, speaker of the burghers in the Swedish parliament, and her mother was at one point the ''

kammarfru A Chamber Woman (Danish: ''Kammerfrue''; German: ''Kammerfrau''; Swedish: ''Kammarfru'') was a court office in several European courts. The Chamber Woman was in charge of the wardrobe, cosmetics and other matters concerning the domestic managemen ...

'' of the queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. In the custody of her father after her parents divorce, she was described as more or less an orphan. She had two brothers and a sister, as well as several halfsiblings by her fathers second marriage and by her mother. She and her sister did not get along with their stepmother, and appears to have moved from home early on. Her sister Julie Eckerman (1765–1801) was also a courtesan and the mistress of nobleman count

Carl Sparre Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

, governor of Stockholm.

Opera singer

Charlotta Eckerman was engaged at the Stenborg Company in 1774, and as a singer at the Royal Swedish Opera in Bollhuset in Stockholm in 1776–81. In 1774, she and several other actors of the Stenborg Company was called to

Gripsholm Castle Gripsholm Castle ( sv, Gripsholms slott) is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsho ...

by Gustav III, who had recently created the Swedish Royal Opera and was in search of talent. The king discovered that she had a talent for drama, and gave the courtier

Maria Aurora Uggla Maria Aurora Uggla, married name Ehrengranat (1747–1826), was a Swedish lady in waiting and noble. She was the lady in waiting and confidant of the Swedish Queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, and later the head of the court of Crown Prince Gust ...

, the star of the nobility's amateur theatre at the royal court, the task to instruct her in the part of Mechtild in the opera ''Birger jarl'' by Gyllenborg and Adlerbeth, after the part had been refused by Elisabeth Olin. Charlotte Eckerman made a great success in the part at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and was called in by the audience: Prince Charles started to shout "Miss Uggla! Miss Uggla!", after which the audience applauded also Maria Aurora Uggla in her box as well as the author Gyllenborg for having instructed Eckerman in the part. Eckerman was given a contract as a singer at the opera in 1776, and was active there until 1781, during which she was "an adored actress and singer". After having been judged as unfit for the ballet, she was given a place in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. Though her voice was weak, she was described as beautiful and vivid. While described as failed dancer and a mediocre singer, she was considered a well capable actress.Beata Charlotte Ekerman, urn:sbl:16573, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Bengt Hildebrand.), hämtad 2019-06-15. Charlotte Eckerman was, alongside Ulrica Rosenlund, much recommended for her dramatic talent and belonged to the members of staff in the first national Opera, who proved their talent not only as singers, but also as actors in talking parts, the theatrical performances that were sometimes given at the opera before the opening of the royal theatre in 1788.

Royal mistress

Charlotta Eckerman was from 1774 active as a

. In 1779, she was made the official mistress of the king's brother duke Charles, the future

. Rumour claimed that Charles took Eckerman as a mistress upon the advice of his brother,

Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, who thought it more polite to Charle's consort than his first choice; countess Maria Sophia Rosenstierna, who was the courtier of his consort. Duke Charles had, in any case, a more unofficial relationship with the ballerina

Charlotte Slottsberg Charlotte (Gustava Charlotta) Slottsberg (29 May 1760 – 29 May 1800) was a Swedish ballerina. She was one of the first native members of the Royal Swedish Ballet. She was also known as a courtesan and as the controversial mistress of the ...

, who was however not given any official recognition. The relationship between Charles and Eckerman caused a scandal because of sympathy toward the consort of Charles,

Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp ( sv, Hedvig Elisabet Charlotta; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the consort of King Charles XIII and II. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is ...

, who was very popular. Duke Charles tried to influence king Gustav III to take an official mistress, and Eckerman suggested the French adventurer Madame Monzouve (or de Monzouvre), but the plot does not seem to have succeeded. In 1781, Charles ended the connection. It was rumoured that the relationship ended because of the scandal, but in reality, it was more likely because Charles regarded it as necessary after having become inducted into the Freemasons. However, this does not seem to be correct, as Charles soon entered into another love affair with Françoise-Éléonore Villain. In 1781, Eckerman became involved in a conflict with the king, Gustav III of Sweden. Eckerman was disliked by the king, as it was said, because she did not admire him and because she had a talent for caricaturing the current ideals. When her affair with the king's brother ended and she could no longer count on his protection, the king arranged for her dismissal from the Opera and had her banished from

Drottningholm Drottningholm, literally "Queen's Islet", is a locality situated in Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden, with 398 inhabitants in 2010. It is on the island Lovön in lake Mälaren on the outskirts of Stockholm. Drottningholm Palace, the ...

. Furthermore, he ordered Baron

, the governor of the city of Stockholm, to have her arrested and sent to the

Långholmens spinnhus Långholmens rasp- och spinnhus, commonly known as Långholmens spinnhus, was a women's prison in Långholmen, Stockholm, Sweden. The prison was established in 1649 when the Malmgården in Alstavik at Långholmen was erected, and was closed in ...

. As a reason, he claimed that she had given birth to a child and murdered it in secrecy, and that she had taken part in the spreading of rumours regarding the legitimacy of the

heir to the throne An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

. There were at the time many rumors that the crown prince was fathered by the stable master

Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila Adolf Fredrik, Count Munck (Mikkeli, Finland, 28 April 1749 – Massa, Italy, 18 July 1831), was a Swedish and Finnish noble during the Gustavian era. His family name is sometimes inaccurately given as "Munck af Fulkila" because his father usur ...

on the orders of the king, rumors which were spread by the king's own mother, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, and increased when Munck were given gifts by the king and the queen. Sparre, who was the lover of Eckerman's sister Julie, was aware of the king's dislike of Eckerman. Sparre investigated the accusations and could find nothing to indicate that she had committed child murder. Charlotte Eckerman denied the accusation that she was to have spread rumours regarding the crown prince's legitimacy, and claimed that it was the king's

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

Georg Johan De Besche Georg Johan De Besche (1754–1814) was a Swedish courtier, colonel, governor and a favorite of Gustav III of Sweden. Georg Johan De Besche was the son of Johan Jacob De Besche and Anna Catharina Hilchen. He never married. He became page to Gustav ...

as the guilty party. De Besche was to have said, that the gift the queen had given to Munck was well worthy of the birth of an heir to the throne. Sparre refused to arrest her, and pointed out that it was against Swedish law for a monarch to threaten the freedom of a citizen without a legal verdict from a court. The whole affair ended in silence. Eckerman was not sent to jail, and the king did not mention it further. Eckerman left the country shortly afterward, possibly banished by the monarch.

Later life

Charlotte Eckerman later lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where she worked as a courtesan under the name ''Madame Ahlgren''. During this period, she was portrayed by the famous artist

Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller (February 18, 1751 – October 5, 1811) was a Swedish painter whose notable works include ''Danaë receiving Jupiter in a Shower of Gold''. Wertmüller was born in Stockholm and studied art at home before moving to Paris i ...

: the painting was likely ordered by her then admirer

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (russian: Граф Густав-Маврикий Максимович Армфельт, tr, ; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish- Swedish- Russian courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one ...

. In 1784,

arranged a meeting with Gustav III during his official visit to France, during which she was reconciled with the monarch and allowed to return to Sweden. During these years, she made a journey through Italy, which was unusual for a single woman in this period. She returned to Sweden in 1786. Charlotte Eckerman now became active as a spy. She received an allowance from the authorities in exchange for spying on the foreign ambassadors stationed in Stockholm in her capacity of a courtesan. At the time of her death, she was the mistress of the Dutch ambassador to Sweden, baron van der Bork. She died while being magnetized by

Anders Sparrman Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748, Tensta, Uppland – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish naturalist, abolitionist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography left, Miniature of Sparrman at the time of his travels with James Cook. By unknown art ...

Fiction

Charlotta Eckerman is portrayed as the main protagonist in the novel ''Kurtisanen'' (The Courtesan) by Anna Laestadius Larsson (2019).

Notes

References

Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 6. Degeberg - Egyptolog
* Svensk Uppslagsbok. 1947 års utgåva. (Swedish Dictionary. 1947 edition) * Kjellberg, Bertil, Beijer, Agne & Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt: 771-1810 Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1945

* Bohman, Nils & Dahl, Torsten (red.), Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok, Bonnier, Stockholm, 1942-1955

* Grimberg, Carl, Svenska folkets underbara öden. 7, 1756–1792, Stockholm, 1961 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckerman, Charlotte 1759 births 1790 deaths 18th-century Swedish actresses 18th-century Swedish women opera singers Mistresses of Charles XIII Swedish courtesans Swedish spies 18th-century spies Gustavian era people