Hedvig Sophia Augusta of Sweden (26 June 1681 – 22 December 1708), Duchess of
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, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...
, was the eldest child of
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721).
He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...
and
Ulrike Eleonore of Denmark. She was
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the
Swedish throne
The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...
until her death and the regent of the
duchy of 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, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...
for her minor son from 1702 to 1708. Some sources refer to her as Sofia.
Youth
![Painting of the future Karl XII of Sweden and his sister Princess Hedvig Sofia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Painting_of_the_future_Karl_XII_of_Sweden_and_his_sister_Princess_Hedvig_Sofia.jpg)
Hedvig Sophia spent the majority of her upbringing at
Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace () is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630,Solna: Huvudsta today houses the Military Academy Karlberg.
In the palace park are fou ...
. After the death of her mother in 1693, she and her siblings were placed under the custody of her grandmother
Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, ...
. Her personal caretaker was
Juliana Schierberg Juliana Sophia Schierberg, known as ''Julianchen'' (died 1712) was a Swedish favorite. She was the personal chamber maid and influential confidante of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden and known for her influence and political activity.
Juliana Sch ...
, who was to be her lifelong and influential confidante.
Hedvig Sophia was, and continued to be, the favorite of her grandmother. Due to her grandmother's influence, she came to harbor anti-Danish views. She was described as beautiful, passionate but dignified, and as a good student, particularly in painting.
[Nanna Lundh-Eriksson (1947). Hedvig Eleonora. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN] She was also noted to be cheerful in the otherwise strict Swedish court, and it was noted that her father spent more money on her than he was usually willing to do on other things.
Between 1697 and 1699, there was a Danish policy to create an alliance with Sweden through a double wedding between
Charles XII of Sweden and
Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark
Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark and Norway (28 August 1677 – 13 March 1735) was a Danish princess, the daughter of King Christian V and his queen-consort, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel.
Biography
Sophia Hedwig became the object of m ...
, and
Prince Charles of Denmark
Prince Charles of Denmark and Norway (26 October 1680 – 8 June 1729) was the fourth son of Christian V of Denmark and his consort Queen Charlotte Amalie, and thus a younger brother of King Frederick IV. He never married and had no children, no ...
and Hedvig Sophia of Sweden (after the marriage of Hedvig Sophia in 1698, she was replaced by
Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden
Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden, reigning in her own right from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband ...
).
Jens Juel (diplomat)
Jens Juel (15 July 1631 – 23 May 1700) was a Danish diplomat and statesman of great influence at the Danish-Norwegian court. He was created Baron and granted Juellinge in 1672 and also established Juellund in 1694. He was the brother of Admi ...
are known to have engaged
Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck
Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck (1637–1723), was a Swedish countess and landowner.
She was the daughter of Hans Christoff von Königsmarck and Barbara von Leist: through her brother, she was thereby the paternal aunt of Carl Johan von Kön ...
to promote the matches. However, none of the marriages was materialized.
Duchess consort
On 12 May 1698 at
Karlberg
Karlberg Palace () is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630,Solna: Huvudsta today houses the Military Academy Karlberg.
In the palace park are f ...
she married her cousin,
Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick IV (18 October 1671 – 19 July 1702) was the reigning Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
He was born in Gottorf Castle as the elder son of Duke Christian Albert of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark. He was marrie ...
. Her marriage was arranged as a part of the traditional Swedish policy of alliance with
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, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...
against Denmark; her brother had earlier been expected to marry Frederick's sister, but he refused. The marriage, which had been decided upon during her childhood, took place against her consent and was not happy. She did not like the debauched life of Frederick IV, for which he was known even before their marriage.
She visited Holstein-Gottorp in 1698 and remained there for about a year. During Hedvig Sophia's stay in Gottorp, Frederick regularly visited his lovers in Hamburg and also brought some of them to Gottorp. Her Mistress of the Robes,
Beata Magdalena Wittenberg
Beata Magdalena Wittenberg (1644-1705), was a Swedish courtier.
She was the daughter of Count Arvid Wittenberg and Eva Margareta von Langen, and married riksråd Baron Henrik Horn in 1674.
In 1675, her husband assigned her a diplomatic mission to ...
, became involved in a physical argument with a male courtier who acted as the pimp of Frederick, an argument which ended with Wittenberg losing her wig and Hedvig Sophia's demand to return to Sweden.
In 1699 she returned to Sweden, where she was second in line to the Swedish throne and presumptive heir. She resided mainly at Karlberg. Hedvig Sophia was an eager participant in the frequent partying that dominated her brother's court for a few years before the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...
, and she spent most of her life at the Swedish court. Her marriage was the start point of a long series of festivities which lasted until her departure, and upon her return, another series of festivities was launched which lasted until the outbreak of the war.
Hedvig Sophia was regarded to have political influence over her brother the monarch: on 1 October 1702, count Magnus Stenbock gave his spouse countess Eva Oxenstierna the task of using her influence in the parliament to contact Hedvig Sophia and ask her to make Charles XII to end the war and ask for peace.
Regent
On 18 October 1702, Hedvig Sofia became a
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
and formal
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for her minor son, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. However, she spent most of her time in Sweden and rarely visited the home of her spouse: she left the daily affairs of the duchy to
Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp
Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp-Eutin (11 January 167324 April 1726) was a Cadet branch, cadet of the reigning ducal Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, House of Holstein-Gottorp who became prince of Eutin, prince-bishop of Lübeck and regent of the Du ...
, the uncle of her late spouse, but matters of major importance were always to be confirmed by her. She did have plans to visit Holstein-Gottorp in 1705, but her brother asked her to remain in Sweden, which she consented to do.
As Regent, Hedvig Sophia made sure that the old policy of Holstein-Gottorp was kept, with an alliance with Sweden as protection against Denmark. This led to some strain relation with the administration in Holstein-Gottorp, who was considering a different alliance, but she kept in control of the policy and her line was kept until her death without it leading to any open conflict.
In Sweden, she worked to have her son accepted as an heir to the Swedish throne, and the "
Holstein Party", as it was to be called after the death of her brother, was also the most successful contestant under her leadership until her death in 1708. As a widow, she was the object of plans to arrange a new political marriage. Among the candidates were the Crown Prince of Hanover, that is the future King
George II of Great Britain
, house = Hanover
, religion = Protestant
, father = George I of Great Britain
, mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683
, birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...
.
However, she refused a new arranged marriage. She was by then involved with the young courtier count Olof Gyllenborg.
She was acquainted with Gyllenborg since before her marriage, and after the death of her spouse, he made it known to her that he was in love with her through a poem with the message that it was better to confess to a love than to let it die.
That relationship was open public knowledge at court and seems to have been accepted, though much disliked by her grandmother,
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, ...
.
At the Swedish royal court, Hedvig Sophia was described as a beauty with an interest in fashion, and referred to as "The Happy Princess". She was the center of the social life at court, and it was said that all pleasure of court life ended after her death. She was an accomplished singer: during the Great Northern war, she appeared as a singer at concerts at court, while her sister, Ulrika Eleonora, played the clavier.
Like her sister, she repeatedly asked her brother for permission to visit him on the battle field during the war, which was common for many other women to do, but he refused them every time.
In 1708 she died of smallpox, which she had contracted by nursing her son through the illness. The relationship between her and her brother, King Carl, was very deep. In July 1709, her brother, who recently had become a refugee of his military catastrophe at
Poltava and was far away in
Bendery
Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the un ...
(today in
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
) finally received the news of Hedvig Sophia's death in Stockholm the previous December. Carl at first refused to believe it, and this was the only time he was ever known to have wept. It was "an event which I had trusted never to be so unhappy to survive" and he suffered from "that grief which can never altogether leave me until those who have been parted shall meet again".
[Letter to Ulrica Eleonor 1710-06-12 as quoted by ]Eric Linklater
Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Meda ...
in ''The Life of Charles XII'' 1960 Hedvig Sophia's proper funeral and interment in
Riddarholm Church
Riddarholmen Church ( sv, Riddarholmskyrkan) is the church of the former medieval Greyfriars Monastery in Stockholm, Sweden. The church serves as the final resting place of most Swedish monarchs.
Riddarholmen Church is located on the island o ...
did not take place until 1718, after the death of Carl. She was temporarily interred in 1708, but her permanent funeral was delayed awaiting her brother's orders from how it should be conducted.
In 1716, however, she was hastily buried along with her grandmother without him being asked, as they were worried that he would insist on a funeral of a kind which the country could no longer afford.
She is perhaps most well known for the extensive correspondence between her and her brother King Carl XII, who spent much of his life on war campaigns abroad. When he died in 1718 and left no heirs to the throne, the late Hedvig Sophia's only child, Duke
Karl Friedrich was in line to succeed him, but the late king's younger sister
Ulrica Eleonora quickly moved herself onto the throne instead.
Hedvig Sophia was the paternal grandmother of
Emperor Peter III of Russia
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
.
Issue
Ancestors
References
Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (in Swedish)
* Wilhelmina Stålberg: ''Anteqningar om Svenska kvinnor'' (In English: Notes on Swedish women) (in Swedish)
* Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna: Den glömda drottningen. Karl XII:s syster. Ulrika Eleonora D.Y. och hennes tid. Affärstryckeriet, Norrtälje. (1976)
* Norrhem, Svante (2007). Kvinnor vid maktens sida : 1632–1772. Lund: Nordic Academic Press. Libris 10428618.
* Nanna Lundh-Eriksson (1947). Hedvig Eleonora. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweden, Hedvig Sophia Of
Duchesses of Holstein-Gottorp
1681 births
1708 deaths
Hedwig 1681
Hedwig Sophia
Burials at Riddarholmen Church
18th-century women rulers
Daughters of kings