Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp

Prince Charles saw her for the first time in Eutin in 1770 and remarked that she was pretty. The marriage was suggested in 1772, and the first ceremony took place in Wismar on 21 June 1774. She arrived in Sweden on 3 June and entered Stockholm by Vasaorden royal barge, a type of gondola, on 7 June. The wedding ceremony took place the same night, followed by a masquerade ball in Kungsträdgården. She was noted for her perceived beauty – her waist measured a mere 48 cm (19") and her shoe size 31 (girls' size 13) – and, as the marriage of the monarch had not been consummated after nine years, there were hopes that she would provide an heir to the throne. 1780's. on 7 July 1774. , 1774. (right) created for Charlotte as Princess of Sweden in 1778. In January 1775, there were signs that she was pregnant. It was hoped that the question of succession was solved, and prayers were held in the churches. However, the signs soon proved to be false. The news of the false pregnancy also made the king decide to consummate his marriage and provide an heir to the throne personally. She made a personal success with her temperament and became a center of the royal court, where she was for some time informally called "Little Duchess" and was noticed for her perceived beauty and ease with words. In contrast to the supposedly shy Queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, "Duchess Lotta" was seen as witty and flirtatious, and was in many ways the female center of the court. It was said of her: "One can not imagine anything more lively and cheerful. She is joy itself. Her greatest pleasure is to make up jokes and foolishness. It would be a good thing, if she introduced that custom, as our by nature somewhat melancholic nation could need some cheering up." She participated in the amateur theatre which was an important part at the royal court during the reign of Gustav III, both as an actress and as a dancer. Her dancing was seen as scandalous by some, as ballet dancers were during this age regarded as prostitutes. After being subjected to criticism that she and Princess Sophia Albertina distracted the King from the affairs of state by the pursuit of pleasure, she retired from the stage in 1783. Her marriage was distant and both she and her spouse had extramarital affairs. Among her alleged lovers was Count Axel von Fersen, alleged lover of Marie Antoinette, and Sophie von Fersen's brother. It is not known when her affair with Axel von Fersen occurred; it is only known that she wished to resume it when Fersen returned to Sweden after the death of Marie Antoinette and that Fersen refused to do so. She also had a relationship with Axel von Fersen's younger brother, Count Fabian von Fersen Her affair with Fabian von Fersen is assumed to have started in the late 1780s It was rumored at the time that the pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage in 1792 (and which was referred by Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte as her first real pregnancy), was caused by Fabian von Fersen. which produced a stillborn daughter. The next year (1798) she gave birth a son who lived only six days. She expressed her views upon love and sexuality. Gustav III studied certain letters after his late mother in the company of others, as they contained information regarding the alleged love affair between his mother, Queen Louisa Ulrika, and Count Carl Gustaf Tessin, and the complaints from Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden over the attention Tessin gave his consort:"It is undoubtedly so, that these papers can give reason for reflection; it does lead me to consider how easily a poor woman is judged and how unfortunate it is to have a heart filled with emotion, for a tender nature is a misfortune as well as a blessing, and no human can resist the power of love, even though friendship must at times be the comfort for the wise one, yes, nothing is more true than the inscription who were once placed upon the image of God of Love: 'Eho you are, her is your true master, he has been, he is and always will be.' You have to admit, my dear friend, that woman is truly an unhappy creature: while men have their complete freedom, she is always burdened by prejudice and circumstance; you may say, that men also have that hindrance, but it is not in equal degree. I am convinced that most women would ask for nothing more than to be transformed to men to escape the unhappy bondage and enjoy their full freedom." In 1782, she participated as a mediator in the reconciliation between Gustav III and his mother at her deathbed, after they had been in conflict since 1778, when the Queen Dowager supported the rumour that the Crown Prince was illegitimate and the son of Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila. During the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790), Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte entered into politics. Sweden's ally France was displeased about the war, and Gustav III gave her the task to act as the go-between in his negotiations with the French ambassador. In cooperation with the daughter of the ambassador, her friend Camille du Bois de la Motte, she handled the correspondence between the monarch and the ambassador, arranged secret meetings between them and acted as witness to them upon the King's request. During the Riksdag of 1789, she was present with her sister-in-law, Princess Sophie Albertina during the sessions through a secret window which faced the assembly hall. The Union and Security Act placed the King in opposition with his nobility. The female members of the nobility, led by Jeanna von Lantingshausen, issued a political demonstration in a social boycott of the monarch by refusing to participate in his court life while continuing to visit Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte and her sister-in-law Sophie Albertine, who were known to be in opposition to the Security Act, and who demonstrated themselves by refusing to participate in representation. This was effective, because the Queen, Sophia Magdalena, was reclusive and Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte and Sophie Albertine had always fulfilled most of the representation at court, and the King accused her of leading: "A guard which placed themselves above all authority. They captivate the senses by their beauty and talents and rule the views and interests". The demonstration was effectively put to a halt when the King had Jeanna von Lantingshausen banished from court and refused any contact with his sister and his sister-in-law. Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte had a network of influential males whom she benefited and who made her services in turn: among them Erik Ruuth, Rutger Macklier, Jacob De la Gardie, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt and Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm, with whom she maintained connections through her activity as a Freemason. She aided Reuterholm on his way to a position as de facto regent during the minor regency of Gustav IV Adolf. , 1791. The autumn of 1789, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte played a central role in a conspiracy to depose Gustav III and place her husband Duke Charles upon the throne. In 1798–99, after the deaths of their two children, the spouses made a lenghty trip to Germany and Austria and visited Carlsbad, Berlin, Vienna and Hamburg. In 1800, the ducal couple founded an amateur court theater, Dramatiska akademien, at court, but it was closed by the monarch. On 2 May 1776, at the Stockholm Palace, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte was initiated into the Freemasonry by the Grand Master of the Swedish Freemasons, her own consort Duke Charles. She was made Grand Mistress of Le véritable et constante amitié, a female Lodge of Adoption under the regular Swedish Masonic order, which used the same localities as the male order at the Stockholm Palace. The constitution of the Lodge was confirmed by Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and Bathilde d'Orléans, Grand Master and Grand Mistress of the French male and female Freemasons, on 8 May 1776. According to Karl Adolf Boheman, the reason was that she asked Charles to allow the female freemasons to participate in the male order. He did not agree, but he did give her access to the first three grades of the male Freemasons and the books of rituals, so that she could be able to explain the Masonic rituals for the female freemasons better. A written statement is preserved where she explains the male freemasons first three grades and states that though females could not be regular members because of the warlike ideals of the orders, they are no reasons to why the remaining mysteries should be kept from females. There is no date on this statement. The mystic Karl Adolf Boheman was presented to the Ducal couple by Count Magnus Stenbock in 1793. In 1802, he founded the co-freemasonic adoption lodge Yellow Rose with the Ducal couple as leading members. Both male and female members were initiated in this lodge, one of them being the mother of the queen. When Boheman attempted to initiate King Gustav IV Adolf in 1803, he refused, warned by Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt that the lodge was in fact a society of the Illuminati conspiring against him. This led to the Boheman Affair, which caused a lasting rift between the King and the Ducal couple. Boheman was arrested and expelled, after Duke Charles had been forced by the King to exclude Boheman from the freemasons. The ducal couple were exposed to an informal investigation by the monarch, and the duchess was questioned in the presence of the royal council. == Life as Queen ==