Karen Sehested (1606-1672) was a Danish court official and land owner. She served as principal lady-in-waiting and royal governess for the children of King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

and

Kirsten Munk Kirsten Munk (sometimes "Christina Munk"; 6 July 1598 19 April 1658) was a Danish noble, the second spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark, and mother to twelve of his children. Early life and morganatic marriage Kirsten Munk was the daughter o ...

from 1631 to 1634. She was portrayed in the famous memoirs of

Leonora Christina Ulfeldt Leonora Christina, Countess Ulfeldt, born "Countess Leonora Christina Christiansdatter" til Slesvig og Holsten (8 July 1621 – 16 March 1698), was the daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and wife of Steward of the Realm, traitor Count Cor ...

, ''

Jammers Minde ''Jammers Minde'' (literally A Memory of Lament), translated into English as ''Memoirs of Leonora Christina'', is an autobiography completed in 1674 by Leonora Christina, daughter of Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk. The work, first publi ...

'' (1674).

Biography

Karen Sehested was born at Arensborg Castle on Øsel. At that time, this portion of Estonia was under the rule of

Magnus, Duke of Holstein Magnus of Denmark or Magnus of Holstein ( – ) was a Prince of Denmark, Duke of Holstein, and a member of the House of Oldenburg. As a vassal of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, he was the titular King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578. Early life Duke Magnu ...

(1540–1583), younger son of King Christian III of Denmark. She was the daughter of nobleman Claus Maltesen Sehested (1558–1612) and Anne Nielsdatter Lykke (1568–1645). She was sister of Hannibal Sehested (1609–1666) as well as Sophie Sehested (b. 1594) and Malte Sehested (b. 1596). She married Tyge Kruse of Stenalt (1604-1629) in 1628 and Jørgen Seefeld of Visborg (1606-1666) in 1641. In 1631 she was made governess of the king's morganatic children. The task was difficult because of the stormy morganatic marriage. She was fired by the king since his children had complained about her extreme severity and physical discipline. Her later relationship one of her former wards, King Frederick II of Denmark, was however a good one. She resided at the Stenalt estate in the parish of Ørsted in

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish admiral and a naval hero. He served as supreme command of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. Background Niels Juel ...

(1629-1697).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehested, Karen 1606 births 1672 deaths People from Kuressaare 17th-century Danish people Danish ladies-in-waiting Governesses to Danish royalty 17th-century Danish women landowners 17th-century Danish landowners