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| ===The succession scandal=== | ===The succession scandal=== | ||
| The truth, however, was somewhat different: it has been suggested by the letters of those involved, that the count actually acted as sexual instructor. The King was possibly a virgin, as was the Queen, and did in fact need to be instructed in the ways of sexual intercourse, and Munck was called upon to help and was |
The truth, however, was somewhat different: it has been suggested by the letters of those involved, that the count actually acted as sexual instructor. The King was possibly a virgin, as was the Queen, and did in fact need to be instructed in the ways of sexual intercourse, and Munck was called upon to help and was asked to physically show them how to consummate their marriage. Munck, a Finnish nobleman and at the time a stable master, was known for his affairs; he was at that point the lover of ], the Queen's Lady-in-Waiting. The Count and Ramström were to be present in a room beneath the bedchamber, ready to be of assistance when needed, and he was at some points called into the bedchamber. The count himself writes in his memoirs that he ''"had to touch them both with my own hands''". | ||
| When this became known, many people speculated on exactly how this assistance was conducted. People imagined that the Count had intercourse with the Queen to demonstrate, and that also had intercourse with the Queen with his penis between the King's thighs. They were also caricatured this way. | When this became known, many people speculated on exactly how this assistance was conducted. People imagined that the Count had intercourse with the Queen to demonstrate, and that also had intercourse with the Queen with his penis between the King's thighs.{{citation needed|2010-06}} They were also caricatured this way by one famous artist in his private notes; the drawing<ref>drawing at </ref> was first published in 1987.<ref>Hans Villius and Olle Häger in a publicity pamphlet for a TV dramatization</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | That Munck acted as a sexual instructor is confirmed, but there is no proof that he ever went as far in his assistance as rumours suggested, or that he was the father of the Prince. Neither the King nor the Queen were ever described as having a large interest in sex but the rumours became more persistent when the Queen gave Munck a watch with her image, a pension and a diamond ring, and the King gave him a promotion. The circle around the King's brother, Duke Charles, the future ], who wanted the throne, encouraged these rumours. The rumours was spread all through Society: the wit ] answered the King{{citation needed|2010-06}}, when he made a joke about her childless marriage and latest love interest in one of the employees of his stable: "I am afraid I have to make do, Your Majesty, as my husband cannot afford to buy me a stable master". | ||
| ] | |||
| ⚫ | The Queen Dowager ] openly proclaimed that Sophia's child was illegitimate, accused Sofia Magdalena of being too cold to take a lover, if she was not ordered to do so by the King, she claimed that the King had hired Munck to impregnate her and stated that the throne should not come to the hands of "a common nobleman's illegitimate offspring". There were even fantastic rumours that the King and Queen had divorced in secret, she married Munck and agreed to Munck being the father of the heir.{{citation needed|2010-06}} The Queen Dowager forced Duke Charles to interrogate Munck, and word spread to the King, who was shocked. Sophia Magdalena was equally shocked by the accusations; she swore she would never speak to the Queen Dowager again, and indeed she did not do so. | ||
| ⚫ | That Munck acted as a sexual instructor is confirmed, but there is no proof that he ever went as far in his assistance as rumours suggested, or that he was the father of the Prince. Neither the King nor the Queen were ever described as having a large interest in sex but the rumours became more persistent when the Queen gave Munck a watch with her image, a pension and a diamond ring, and the King gave him a promotion. The circle around the King's brother, Duke Charles, the future ], who wanted the throne, encouraged these rumours. The rumours was spread all through Society: the wit ] answered the King, when he made a joke about her childless marriage and latest love interest in one of the employees of his stable: "I am afraid I have to make do, Your Majesty, as my husband cannot afford to buy me a stable master". | ||
| ⚫ | The Queen Dowager ] openly proclaimed that Sophia's child was illegitimate, accused Sofia Magdalena of being too cold to take a lover, if she was not ordered to do so by the King, she claimed that the King had hired Munck to impregnate her and stated that the throne should not come to the hands of "a common nobleman's illegitimate offspring". There were even rumours that the King and Queen had divorced in secret, she married Munck and agreed to Munck being the father of the heir. The Queen Dowager forced Duke Charles to interrogate Munck, and word spread to the King, who was shocked. Sophia Magdalena was equally shocked by the accusations; she swore she would never speak to the Queen Dowager again, and indeed she did not do so. | ||
| The King arranged for his mother to make a public apology for her accusation in the presence of the rest of the Royal Family. This was a curious scene that gained a lot of attention and broke the bonds between the king and his mother. The scandal disturbed the celebrations, as did the accident with the public banquet. The public was invited to a great feast to celebrate the birth of the heir, but too many people were let in, and the crowd panicked. Between sixty and one hundred people were trampled to death in the crowd. | The King arranged for his mother to make a public apology for her accusation in the presence of the rest of the Royal Family. This was a curious scene that gained a lot of attention and broke the bonds between the king and his mother. The scandal disturbed the celebrations, as did the accident with the public banquet. The public was invited to a great feast to celebrate the birth of the heir, but too many people were let in, and the crowd panicked. Between sixty and one hundred people were trampled to death in the crowd. | ||
| Still, the years between 1775 and 1783 were probably her happiest. Her relationship with the King was happier and she was treated with respect after having done her duty to the dynasty. But after her younger son's death (1783), the marriage reverted to its former state. A brief reconciliation (1787) was commented on by Duchess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in her diaries as temporary, with no hope of being complete and lasting, as the King was not "receptive to female charm"; another insinuation that he was ]. | Still, the years between 1775 and 1783 were probably her happiest. Her relationship with the King was happier and she was treated with respect after having done her duty to the dynasty. But after her younger son's death (1783), the marriage reverted to its former state. A brief reconciliation (1787) was commented on by Duchess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in her gossipy diaries as temporary, with no hope of being complete and lasting, as the King was not "receptive to female charm"; another insinuation that he was ]. | ||
| In 1787, Sophia Magdalena deposited a sum of 50.000 |
In 1787, Sophia Magdalena deposited a sum of 50.000 crowns in an account for Munck{{citation needed|2010-06}}, which was seen as a "farewell gift". At this point, Munck had started an affair with the ] ], whom Sophia Magdalena showed great dislike to. The King was terrified when he heard of this, and tried to keep it a secret. | ||
| An interesting bit of trivia on the subject is that the child of Giovanna Bassi, who was rumoured to be the child of Munck, bore a strong likeness to the prince. | An interesting bit of trivia on the subject is that the child of Giovanna Bassi, who was rumoured to be the child of Munck, bore a strong likeness to the prince{{citation needed|2010-06}}. | ||
| ==Later life== | ==Later life== | ||
Revision as of 23:57, 8 June 2010
Queen consort of Sweden| Sophia Magdalena of Denmark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Queen consort of Sweden | |
| Tenure | 12 February 1771 – 29 March 1792 |
| Burial | Riddarholmen Church |
| Spouse | Gustav III of Sweden |
| Issue | Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden |
| House | House of Holstein-Gottorp House of Oldenburg |
| Father | Frederick V of Denmark |
| Mother | Louise of Great Britain |
Sofia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway (Christiansborg Palace, Denmark, 3 July 1746 – Ulriksdal Palace, Sweden, 21 August 1813) was a Queen consort of Sweden as the spouse of Gustav III of Sweden.
She was the eldest surviving child of King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Great Britain.
Early life
At the age of five (1751), she was betrothed to the Heir to the throne of Sweden, Gustav, and she was brought up to be the Queen of Sweden. The marriage was arranged by the Parliament, not by the Swedish Royal House, and was disliked by the Queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, who was since long in conflict with the Parliament and who favoured a match with her niece, Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt, instead. On 1 October 1766 she was married to Gustav by proxy at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The two married in person in Stockholm on 4 November.
At the Swedish Court, she was received with kindness from the King but her mother-in-law, Louisa Ulrika, the dominating presence in the Court, hated her and her husband completely ignored her. Louisa Ulrika encouraged the distance between her son and his wife, despite Sophia Magdalena being beautiful, bringing the largest dowry since 1680 and was carefully educated to be a perfect Queen. She received a great deal of praise but never became popular as her strict upbringing made it difficult for her to adjust to the Swedish Court. Being of a reserved nature, she was considered cold and arrogant. After King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died in 1771, Gustav III became King of Sweden. The following year, Sophia Magdalena was crowned Queen.
Life as queen
Queen Sophia Magdalena was a serious and shy person and was never a member of the King's inner circle. She and her husband had very different personalities which put even more distance between them. She did her ceremonial duties, but disliked the vivid lifestyle of the Court around her outgoing husband. When she performed her duties as Queen, her sister-in-law, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, described her as "Forced to meet people". The Duchess described her in her famous diaries as shy, reserved and very proud. She preferred to stay at her private residence, Ulriksdal Palace, whenever she could.
In the famous diary of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, she is described as beautiful, cold, silent and haughty, very polite and formal, and unsociable. On formal occasions, she was at her best: she performed beautifully according to Court etiquette, and was seen as dignified and impressive. She had two very intimate friends, Maria Aurora Uggla Ehrengranat and Baroness Virginia Charlotta Duwall Manderström, who stayed on as her ladies-in-waiting after they married, which was unusual at the Swedish Court. She loved solitude, spending her days in her apartments and dining alone. She held a grand formal salon every two weeks and loved the theatre, which she often attended. During the King's Italian journey in 1783–84, she held a grand formal public dinner for the city every two weeks. Several of her ladies-in-waiting were well-known Swedish women of the time. Among them were The Three Graces, as Augusta von Fersen, Ulla von Höpken and Lovisa Meijerfelt were called, and the artists Marianne Ehrenström and Charlotta Cedercreutz.
She did not have anything to do with politics, except on one occasion; during the War of 1788, she was given the task of initiating peace negotiations with Denmark, and called upon the Danish Ambassador, spoke to him and handed him a letter for the Danish King. During the war of 1788–90, there is a note that she met two Russian prisoners of war in the park of the Haga Palace, and gave them 100 kroner each. It is said that she preferred English fashion because French fashion was too revealing.
The question of the succession
Sophia Magdalena is mostly known in Swedish history for the scandal created around the consummation of her marriage and the questioned legitimacy of her son. Her marriage was a then normal arranged royal match for political convenience, in which Sophia Magdalena at first was described by her husband as "cold as ice". Their marriage was not consummated until 1775, nine years after the wedding. This was a topic of gossip and ridicule among some European Courts {{citation}}: Empty citation (help); there were rumors that the King was a homosexual or sexually underdeveloped. His sexuality, which naturally influenced Sophia Magdalena's life, has been much debated. Various documents written during his lifetime alleged that he was bisexual. His sexual inexperience (though not abnormal in his time) has been blamed on immaturity or his also being asexual. As a teenager, he had a crush on Axel von Fersen's mother, Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie. He was in love with noble Charlotte Du Rietz in 1768, although is is not known if their affair was ever consummated. Reliable sources explain that both the Queen and the King had serious anatomical problems resulting in erotic complications. Erik Lönnroth has concluded that there is no factual proof for the rumours that Gustav III was inclined toward homosexuality or bisexuality, nor that Gustav Adolf was illegitimate.
The status quo between Gustav III and his wife was nurtured by the Queen Dowager, who did not want competition in her influence over her son. Sophia Magdalena's religious upbringing and introverted character made her avoid the lively and spontaneous Gustavian court life, which made her even less attractive in the eyes of her outgoing husband.
In 1774, the King arranged the marriage between his brother, the future Charles XIII of Sweden and Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp to solve, for the time being, the immediate question of an heir to the throne. The Duchess had false pregnancies and miscarriages only, which may have hastened the King to expediate the consummation of his own marriage and produce a son of his own.
In 1778, Sofia Magdalena gave birth to Gustav Adolf, successor to the throne, and in 1782, she gave birth to a second son, Charles Gustav, who only lived for one year. It was suggested in some circles that King Gustav's first son was sired by someone else. When the heir was born, the father was believed, by the Queen Dowager among others, to be Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila, then Riksstallmästare. This rumor was believed by elements of the public and the royal court, and her acquiescence to it led to a year-long break between the Queen Dowager and her son.
The succession scandal
The truth, however, was somewhat different: it has been suggested by the letters of those involved, that the count actually acted as sexual instructor. The King was possibly a virgin, as was the Queen, and did in fact need to be instructed in the ways of sexual intercourse, and Munck was called upon to help and was asked to physically show them how to consummate their marriage. Munck, a Finnish nobleman and at the time a stable master, was known for his affairs; he was at that point the lover of Anna Sofia Ramström, the Queen's Lady-in-Waiting. The Count and Ramström were to be present in a room beneath the bedchamber, ready to be of assistance when needed, and he was at some points called into the bedchamber. The count himself writes in his memoirs that he "had to touch them both with my own hands".
When this became known, many people speculated on exactly how this assistance was conducted. People imagined that the Count had intercourse with the Queen to demonstrate, and that also had intercourse with the Queen with his penis between the King's thighs. They were also caricatured this way by one famous artist in his private notes; the drawing was first published in 1987.
That Munck acted as a sexual instructor is confirmed, but there is no proof that he ever went as far in his assistance as rumours suggested, or that he was the father of the Prince. Neither the King nor the Queen were ever described as having a large interest in sex but the rumours became more persistent when the Queen gave Munck a watch with her image, a pension and a diamond ring, and the King gave him a promotion. The circle around the King's brother, Duke Charles, the future Charles XIII of Sweden, who wanted the throne, encouraged these rumours. The rumours was spread all through Society: the wit Anna Charlotta Schröderhiem answered the King, when he made a joke about her childless marriage and latest love interest in one of the employees of his stable: "I am afraid I have to make do, Your Majesty, as my husband cannot afford to buy me a stable master".
The Queen Dowager Louisa Ulrika of Prussia openly proclaimed that Sophia's child was illegitimate, accused Sofia Magdalena of being too cold to take a lover, if she was not ordered to do so by the King, she claimed that the King had hired Munck to impregnate her and stated that the throne should not come to the hands of "a common nobleman's illegitimate offspring". There were even fantastic rumours that the King and Queen had divorced in secret, she married Munck and agreed to Munck being the father of the heir. The Queen Dowager forced Duke Charles to interrogate Munck, and word spread to the King, who was shocked. Sophia Magdalena was equally shocked by the accusations; she swore she would never speak to the Queen Dowager again, and indeed she did not do so.
The King arranged for his mother to make a public apology for her accusation in the presence of the rest of the Royal Family. This was a curious scene that gained a lot of attention and broke the bonds between the king and his mother. The scandal disturbed the celebrations, as did the accident with the public banquet. The public was invited to a great feast to celebrate the birth of the heir, but too many people were let in, and the crowd panicked. Between sixty and one hundred people were trampled to death in the crowd.
Still, the years between 1775 and 1783 were probably her happiest. Her relationship with the King was happier and she was treated with respect after having done her duty to the dynasty. But after her younger son's death (1783), the marriage reverted to its former state. A brief reconciliation (1787) was commented on by Duchess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in her gossipy diaries as temporary, with no hope of being complete and lasting, as the King was not "receptive to female charm"; another insinuation that he was homosexual.
In 1787, Sophia Magdalena deposited a sum of 50.000 crowns in an account for Munck, which was seen as a "farewell gift". At this point, Munck had started an affair with the ballerina Giovanna Bassi, whom Sophia Magdalena showed great dislike to. The King was terrified when he heard of this, and tried to keep it a secret.
An interesting bit of trivia on the subject is that the child of Giovanna Bassi, who was rumoured to be the child of Munck, bore a strong likeness to the prince.
Later life
Widowed in 1792, after her husband was murdered, Sophia lived a withdrawn life and spent much effort on charity. She was deeply horrified by the murder of her husband, but she also made a scandal by refusing to dress in mourning, and it was a great relief for her to be a widow and withdraw from public life. Her brother-in-law, Duke Karl, became regent, and she eschewed a political role.
In 1797, she insisted on skipping the protocol to make her new daughter-in-law, Frederica of Baden feel welcome, as she remembered how lonely she herself had felt when she arrived as a bride. She did not have any political influence after her husband's death, but during the reign of her son, she is described as very demanding in other aspects, such as etiquette and material affairs, demands she put upon her son, who did everything to satisfy her requests. In 1809, she witnessed the abdication of her son, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, after Sweden lost Finland to Russia. He was sent into exile and replaced by his paternal uncle Charles XIII, but she remained in Sweden until her death.
In 1810–1811, she was one of few in the Swedish Court who were nice to Desiree Clary though Desiree's husband regarded her with suspicion; she stated, that she was not resentful of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte taking the place of her son, but Bernadotte did not believe her. She spent her last years on her estate and did not visit the Court very often.
It has been said of her: She remained one of the most tragic and isolated people in the history of the Swedish court.
Sophia Magdalena in culture
The affair of the consummation of her marriage and the succession scandal was portrayed in SVT's period drama production of "Gustav III:s äktenskap" (The Marriage of Gustav III) in 2001, where Sophia Magdalena was portrayed by Danish actress Iben Hjejle.
It was also used to inspire the novel Drottningens juvelsmycke, famous in Sweden, where the character of Tintomara is portrayed as a half sibling of Gustav IV Adolf through Count Munck.
Gallery
Ancestry
Ancestors of Sophia Magdalena of DenmarkInline references
- Lönnroth, Erik (1986). Den stora rollen. p. 61. ISBN 91-1-863652-7.
- drawing at Commons
- Hans Villius and Olle Häger in a publicity pamphlet for a TV dramatization
Bibliographic references
- Herman Lindqvist: Historien om Sverige. Gustavs dagar (History of Sweden; the days of Gustav III) (Template:Sv icon)
- Herman Lindqvist: Historien om Sveriges drottningar (History of the queens of Sweden) (Template:Sv icon)
- Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon (Swedish biographical dictionary) 1906 (Template:Sv icon)
- http://susning.nu/Sofia_Magdalena_av_Danmark (Template:Sv icon)
- Herman Lindqvist: Historien om Sverige. Gustavs dagar (Template:Sv icon)
- http://historiska-personer.nu/min-s/p489065a1.html (Template:Sv icon)
- Wilhelmina Stålberg: Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (Notes on Swedish women) Template:Sv icon
- http://hem.passagen.se/minata/teb_munk.html (Template:Sv icon)
- http://historiska-personer.nu/min-s/pbcc3bfaf.html (Template:Sv icon)
- http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:YRYHdyiDzC0J:www.mustionlinna.fi/Press/Finska%2520gustavianer.doc+munck+gustav+III+sofia&hl=sv&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=se (Template:Sv icon)
- http://www.mimersbrunn.se/arbeten/11218.asp (Template:Sv icon)
- Carl Georg Starbäck, Per Olof Bäckström: Berättelser ur svenska historien. Nionde bandet. Gustaf III. Gustaf IV Adolf (Tales from the history of Sweden) (1885-1886)(Template:Sv icon)
- Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon (Swedish biographical hand-dictionary) (Template:Sv icon)
- Magnus Jacobson: Gustav IV Adolf (Gustav IV Adolf) Populär Historia (Template:Sv icon)
- Ingvar Andersson (1979). Gustavianskt (The Gustavian age) (in Swedish). Fletcher & Son Ltd. ISBN 91-46-13373-9.
- Cecilia af Klercker (översättning och redigering) (1942). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok IX (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte) (in Swedish). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. ISBN 412070.
- Gerd Ribbing: Gustav III:s hustru Sofia Magdalena (Sophia Madalena, wife of Gustav III)
External links
Succession
| Sophia Magdalena of Denmark House of OldenburgBorn: 3 July 1746 Died: 21 August 1813 | ||
| Swedish royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byLouisa Ulrika of Prussia | Queen consort of Sweden 1771–1792 |
Succeeded byFrederica of Baden |
| Swedish princesses by marriage | |
|---|---|
| Generations are numbered from the daughters-in-law of Gustav I of Sweden onwards. | |
| 1st generation | |
| 2nd generation | |
| 3rd generation |
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| 4th generation |
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| 5th generation |
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| 6th generation | |
| 7th generation | |
| 8th generation | |
| 9th generation | |
| 10th generation | |
| 11th generation | |
| 12th generation | |
| 13th generation | |
| 14th generation |
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| 15th generation | |
| *also princess of Norway by marriage **also princess of Sweden by birth | |