''Märta'' Elisabeth Margareta Eketrä (4 November 1851, in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

– 26 August 1894, in

Ulriksdal Palace Ulriksdal Palace () is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called ''Jakobsdal'' for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it ...

), was a Swedish

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

, favorite and confidant of queen Sophia of Sweden. Märta Eketrä was the daughter of the noble-born colonel and courtier Johan Gabriel Eketrä and Stanislas Margareta Tersmeden. During her childhood, she was a playmate of

Louise of Sweden Louise of Sweden (; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the wife of Frederick VIII of Denmark, King Frederick VIII. Born into the House of Bernadotte, Louise was the onl ...

. She never married. In 1872, she was appointed ''hovfröken'' (

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

) to the new Queen after the accession of King Oscar II to the throne. In 1889, she was promoted to the post and rank of '' kammarfröken'' (the highest rank of an unmarried female courtier). Eketrä was a favorite and confidante of queen Sophia. She is noted to have been one of the queen's three favorite ladies-in-waiting, the other two being Countess Ida von Wedel-Jarlsberg and

Ebba von Rosen Ebba is a feminine given name, the feminine version of Ebbe, which is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Eberhard or Everhard, meaning "strong." Alternately, it may be a form of an Old English name Æbbe, of unknown derivation, which was the ...

. In 1878, it was Märta Eketrä who introduced Sophia to the British preacher

Lord Radstock Baron Radstock, of Castletown in the Queen's County, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Vice-Admiral the Honourable William Waldegrave. He was the second son of John Waldegrave, 3rd Earl Waldegrave (see Earl Wald ...

, whose teachings came to have a great importance to the Queen. Eketrä acted as the spiritual caretaker of Sophia, and was often given the task of reading from the bible during the queen's private devotions. She accompanied the Queen on state visits, such as those to Romania and Constantinople in 1885. She took care of the practical arrangements during Sophia's illness in 1887, and nursed her after her dangerous operation that year. She also saw to it that the Queens nursing school and hospital ''

Sophiahemmet Sophiahemmet is a private hospital at Norra Djurgården in Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nord ...

'' was organised according to Sophia's wishes: she acted as the queen's representative in the board of the institution during Sophia's convalescence, and was elected to its board in 1890. She was described in retrospect: :''When the twenty one-year-old Märta E. was appointed to the Household of the new Queen Sophia in 1872, she brought with her a personality of unusual qualities which came to have an important influence in that circle. The surface as such of the maid of honour E. was noticed. She had an impressive appearance, tall and straight and with pretty clean features. But she was of a greater importance as a person. Märta E. had the nature of a sovereign with a forceful will, a strong character and much independence. Her face could at times be that of haughty and judgmental contempt. But she also had a splendid, warm smile, expressive of other qualities which were just as important: en honesty, a true nobility and a willing self sacrifice and love of humanity beyond borders. All this gave her friends and impressed those who met her. United in friendship with the Queen's ''

statsfru Statsfru ("Lady of the State") is an office at the Royal Court of Sweden. The title has been used for two different offices during the course of history. Originally created in 1774, the office was given to several individuals, and simply the titl ...

'', Anna von Krusenstjerna, née countess Posse, Märta E. remained herself not only a humble servant of her royal mistress but also one of the most intimate friends of the Queen. A contributive factor to this was her reliable silence and tact. She has herself admitted, that she has been accustomed to receive the trusted secrets of others all her life. She always kept quiet about them. ''Märta E M Eketrä, urn:sbl:16841, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Bengt Hildebrand.), hämtad 2020-06-06.

References

Märta Elisabeth Margareta Eketrä, urn:sbl:16841, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Bengt Hildebrand. ), hämtad 2013-10-26.

Idun Magazine, number 36, year 1894
* Anne-Marie Riiber (1959). Drottning Sophia. Uppsala: J. A. Lindblads Förlag. p. 188-191. ISBN {{DEFAULTSORT:Eketra, Marta Swedish nobility 1851 births 1894 deaths Swedish ladies-in-waiting Swedish maids of honour Swedish noblewomen People from Stockholm