Ulrika Eleonora Strömfelt (1724 – 5 April 1780) was a politically active Swedish

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

and courtier. She is known for her part in the attempted

Coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

of queen Louisa Ulrika in 1756.

Life

Ulrika Strömfelt was the daughter of

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

count Johan Carl Strömfelt and the ''

överhovmästarinna Court Mistress (; ; ; ; ) or Chief Court Mistress (; ; ; ; ; ) is or was the title of the senior lady-in-waiting in the courts of Austria, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Imperial Russia, and the German princely and royal courts. Chief c ...

'' and royal governess Hedvig Elisabet Wrangel. In 1739, she became ''

hovfröken 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 ...

'' (

maid of honor Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ce ...

) to

Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of Frederick, her husband. Upon h ...

. In 1744, she was made maid of honor to the new crown princess,

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (; ; 24 July 1720 - 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771. She was married to king Adolf Frederick and she was queen mother during the reign of king Gustav III. Background Louisa Ulrika was born in Berl ...

. She and her sister Agneta Strömfelt belonged to the first circle of courtiers appointed to Louisa Ulrika after her arrival in Sweden together with Cathérine Charlotte De la Gardie, Henrika Juliana von Liewen and Charlotta Sparre. In 1748, she was promoted to the position of '' kammarfröken'' (Chief Maid of honor) after Henrika Juliana von Liewen departure from court. She was apparently well liked by Louisa Ulrika, and was often given the task to read to her from French works.

Events of 1756

In 1756, Queen Louisa Ulrika planned a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

to depose the parliamentary system of the

Age of Liberty In Swedish history, the Age of Liberty () was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights, and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with Gustav ...

with a restoration of an absolute monarchy. To finance the coup, Louisa Ulrika removed the

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s from the queens' crown, replaced them with

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s, and pawned the diamonds in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in Prussia to finance her coup. Ulrika Strömfelt, however, was a supporter of the

Hats (party) The Hats () were a Sweden, Swedish political faction active during the Age of Liberty (1719–1772). Their name derives from the tricorne hat worn by officers and gentlemen. They vied for power with the opposing Caps (party), Caps party. In 18th ...

and not in favor of a restored absolute monarchy. According to unconfirmed tradition, Ulrika Strömfelt informed the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

that part of the crown jewels was missing and pawned in Germany. This information led the government to demand an inventory of the crown jewels, which initiated the exposure and failure of the

Coup of 1756 The Coup of 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 1756 shortly b ...

. A different source claims that it Ulrika Strömfelt informed the foreign office of the Riksdag of the secret correspondence between the Queen and her brother,

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

. Either way, this led to the exposure of the coup. As a recognition of the act, she was awarded a pension of 2.000

riksdaler The Svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thale ...

in silver and the title "Ständernas dotter" (The Daughter of the Parliament) by the Riksdag. After the failed coup, she lost the confidence of the Queen, and left court. She was, however, not dismissed, but asked herself to be relieved of her position, officially because of health reasons. That a maid of honor left her position and applied for a pension from the foreign branch office of the Riksdag was unique. Her application was granted, and the pension granted her amounted to double as much as was what usually granted the widow of a

. The Queen stated that the reason Strömfelt left court was that she was a friend of

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the mo ...

and "all the notables of the Hat's Party, who, under the very eyes of the Queen, held rendez-vous at the parlor of this Chief Maid of Honor". According to Count

Axel von Fersen the Elder Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen (5 April 171924 April 1794) was a Swedish statesman and soldier of Baltic German descent. He served as Lord Marshal of the Riksdag of the Estates, and although he worked closely with King Gustav III before and thro ...

, she "was now forced to leave court because of the plots of others", and he pointed out the Queens new favorite

Ulrika Eleonora von Düben Ulrika Eleonora von Düben (18 March 1722 – 23 August 1758), was a Swedish Courtier, favourite of the queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Life Ulrika Eleonora von Düben was born to Baron Joachim von Düben the Elder and Margareta Speg ...

as responsible:Planck, Brita: Kärlekens språk: adel, kärlek och äktenskap 1750-1900 Göteborg Universitet (2014) von Düben was promoted to the post of Chief Maid of Honor after Strömfelt.

Later life

In 1756, the year she left court, Ulrika Strömfelt married the

Governor of Stockholm The Governor of Stockholm () was the head of the Office of the Governor of Stockholm (, ÖÄ), and as such he was the highest Swedish State official overseeing the affairs in the Stad (Sweden), City of Stockholm between 1634 and 1967. The Govern ...

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 ...

. The marriage is described as happy despite the constant infidelity of her spouse. In 1777, she returned to court and succeeded Anna Maria Hjärne as ''Överhovmästarinna'' (Chief lady in waiting or Mistress of the Robes) to the new Queen,

Sophia Magdalena of Denmark Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (; ; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III. Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark-Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter ...

with Charlotta Sparre as her deputy, a post she retained until her death. Ulrika Strömfelt has been said to have a "peculiar position" in the diaries and memoirs of the time, because there are no negative remarks about her personality and character, and she is unanimously described as respectable, sensible and as an ideal of contemporary femininity.

Life

Events of 1756

Later life

References

Further reading