Malvina De la Gardie (1824–1901) was a Swedish court official. She served as ''

överhovmästarinna Court Mistress ( da, hofmesterinde; nl, hofmeesteres; german: Hofmeisterin; no, hoffmesterinne; sv, hovmästarinna) or Chief Court Mistress ( da, Overhofmesterinde; ('grand mistress'); ; no, overhoffmesterinne; sv, överhovmästarinna; russia ...

'' (senior

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

) to the queen of Sweden,

Sophia of Nassau Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette; 9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Oscar II. She was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than anyone before her, and the longest-servin ...

, from 1880 to 1890. She was the daughter of the nobleman Gustaf Reinhold von Platen and Christina von Stockenström. She married the courtier (

valet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...

) count Axel Jakob De la Gardie (1819–1879) in 1845. Malvina De la Gardie served as ''

statsfru A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

'' (

lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

) to Queen Louise in 1863-1871. She became a personal friend of

when the latter arrived in Sweden in 1857, and was therefore appointed to the position of (

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...

) in 1880. As senior lady-in-waiting, Malvina De la Gardie could represent the queen on minor social occasions and events. As queen Sophia seldom participated in high society life after the 1870s, preferring to devote her time to charity and religion, De la Gardie was often assigned to represent her at balls and similar events in high society life. She also acted as the queen's secretary in Sophia's substantial charitable projects, reading and answering petitions to the queen on charitable issues. She as well as

Märta Eketrä ''Märta'' Elisabeth Margareta Eketrä (Stockholm, 4 November 1851 – 26 August 1894, Ulriksdal Palace), was a Swedish lady-in-waiting, favorite and confidant of Sophia of Nassau, queen Sophia of Sweden. Märta Eketrä was the daughter of the nob ...

accompanied the queen on their journey to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in 1885. Malvina De la Gardie was described as a kind and well-tempered figure with a good-humoured disposition, who very much enjoyed court life and her own position in it: :"The Senior Lady in Waiting to the Queen, the countess De la Gardie, takes her office with an almost moving seriousness and interest. "Malvina", as she is commonly called, enjoys her court life, and would only leave it one day, I am sure, with death in her heart."Rundquist, Angela, Blått blod och liljevita händer: en etnologisk studie av aristokratiska kvinnor 1850-1900, Carlsson, Diss. Stockholm : Univ., Stockholm, 1989 She retired for health reasons in 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De la Gardie, Malvina 1824 births 1901 deaths Mistresses of the Robes (Sweden)