Lovisa "Louise" Augusta Meijerfeldt ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Sparre Sparre (variously spelled ''Sperra, Sper, Spar'') is a Scandinavian surname - originally borne by a noble family - and can refer to: * Aage Jepsen Sparre, Danish priest * Arvid Gustavsson Sparre (1245 - 1317), Lord of Ekholmen, Sweden * Axel Spar ...

af Sundby (12 September 174516 September 1817), was a

Swedish noble The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

and courtier. She is famous in history as one of "the three graces" of the

Gustavian age 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 ele ...

; three ladies-in-waiting ( Augusta von Fersen,

Ulla von Höpken Ulrika "Ulla" Eleonora von Höpken, later ''von Wright'', née '' von Fersen'' (24 March 1749 – 17 September 1810), was a Swedish countess and courtier. She is also famous in history as one of "the three graces" of the Gustavian age; three lad ...

and Louise Meijerfeldt) immortalized in the poem ''Gracernas döpelse'' by

Johan Henric Kellgren Johan Henrik Kellgren (1 December 1751 – 20 April 1795) was a Swedish poet and critic. Biography He was born at Floby in Västergötland (now part of Falköping Municipality, Västra Götaland County). He studied at the Royal Academy of Turku, ...

, and known profiles of the epoch.

Life

Louise Meijerfeldt was the daughter of Governor general major Count Axel Wrede-Sparre and Augusta Törnflycht. In 1763, she married

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Count Johan August Meijerfeldt the Younger (1725-1800) in the presence of King

Adolph Frederick of Sweden Adolf Frederick, or Adolph Frederick ( sv, Adolf Fredrik, german: Adolf Friedrich; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina ...

and queen Louisa Ulrika. She had two children, both of the male. The couple were well seen by the royal house - her spouse had been entrusted by the queen during the

Coup of 1756 The Coup of 1756 ( sv, Kuppen 1756) was an attempted coup d'état planned by Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden to abolish the rule of the Riksdag of the Estates and reinstate absolute monarchy in Sweden. The attempted coup was exposed and subdued in ...

- and given a prominent position at court. From 1776 to 1795, she served as '' statsfru'' ( Lady of the Bedchamber) to queen Sophia Magdalena. Louise Meijerfeldt was admired for her beauty and charm and often mentioned in diaries, letters and memoirs of the era. Alongside Augusta von Fersen and

, she became known as one of "the three graces" in the poem ''Gracernas döpelse'' (''The Baptism of the Graces'') by

, which was written in circa 1779 and published in 1781. Kellgren had been employed as the private teacher of her sons from 1777 to 1780. The poet Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna, once the governor of her two sons, referred to her as: "a beauty, whom the old world would have worshipped on their knees as Diana and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

". Duchess Charlotte give her the following characterization in her famous journal: "She is very witty and educated but quite mean and only amusing when she can make fun of some one, which she seldom refrain from doing, and this makes her unreliable and heartless. She is regarded as quite much disposed for love adventures, although she has a great ability to conceal them; at present, however, she has not managed to do so, because her lover has the same sense of humor as she does, and their common weakness has exposed them. People hungry for scandals wish to claim that it is not so much inclination that attaches her to her lovers as it is the presents they give her. I admit that I do not believe such a vile accusation, and generally I do not believe half of what people are saying, for at present every one in Stockholm is terribly mean. The one presently enjoying the affection of countess Meyerfelt is a colonel lieutenant baron Ehrensvärd, who are especially witty but quite mean. He was previously well seen by the King, but has fallen from grace since the last Assembly of the estates, were he proved himself to be too talkative." Louise Meijerfeldt was known for her love life and among her lovers were the Spanish envoy count de Lacy, the French envoy Pierre Chrysostème Dusson de Bonnac (1774), field marshal Fredrik Vilhelm von Hessenstein (1774) and governor baron

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 tel ...

(1777). Her spouse was described as both ugly and boring, but reportedly, they lived harmoniously with each other, and it was said that she used to inform him about the compliments given to her by her lovers.F. U. Wrangel: Personhistorisk tidsskrift. Första årgången. 1898-1899. utgifven af Svenska Autografsällskapet. Stockholm. Kungl. Boktryckeriet. P. A. Norstedt & söner. 1900 Louise Meijerfeldt died in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1817, aged 72.

References

* Andersson, Ingvar (red.), Gustavianskt: 771-1810: en bokfilm,

y utg. Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...

Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1979 *

Gustaf Elgenstierna Gustaf Magnus Elgenstierna (August 26, 1871 – March 21, 1948) was a Swedish historian and genealogist. Biography He was born on August 26, 1871, to Carl Elgenstierna and Evelina Petersohn. He married Clara Sandberg in 1908. She was the daugh ...

: ''Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor'', band 7 (Stockholm 1932) * Carl Grimberg: ''Svenska Folkets underbara öden. Gustav III:s och Gustav IV Adolfs tid'' * Carl Forsstrand: ''De tre gracerna, minnen och anteckningar från Gustaf III:s Stockholm''. Hugo Gebers förlag, 1912
Runeberg.org Personhistorisk tidskrift / Första årgången 1898-99

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meijerfeldt, Lovisa 1745 births 1817 deaths 18th-century Swedish women Swedish countesses Swedish ladies-in-waiting Swedish socialites Gustavian era people Court of Gustav III 18th-century Swedish nobility