Queen Charlotte of Sweden and Norway

on a beautiful summer day in 1774 a group of gondolas were slowly advancing towards the port of stockholm on one of those gondolas there was a young princess who was coming to sweden to marry the brother of king gustav iii the bride's name was hedwig elizabeth charlotte she belonged to the noble house of holstein gothorp and was born on the 22nd of march 1759 charlotte spent her childhood in oitan a small town surrounded by lakes in schleswig-holstein her parents frederick august prince of lubeck and his wife friedrich of hessen castle did whatever they could to educate their only daughter in a way that would increase her chances of finding the best possible husband they hired the french governors and charlotte started taking lessons in drawing music literature history and french deeply grateful to her parents and aware of her privileged social position the young princess declared her love and respect for them promising to be worthy of the fortunate social position she was born in as time went on charlotte was becoming a confident young girl about her assertive behavior she later said i am by nature quite arrogant but i have been taught during my upbringing to suppress this evil inclination which however sometimes wants to return yet i seek to disguise it myself so that no one will notice it love is not easy on my heart but i am very sensitive to friendship and those who have won mine can be assured of its permanence meanwhile in sweden king gustav iii needed an heir to secure the future of the royal throne the king and the queen sophia magdalena were unable to have children so gustav turned to his younger brother charles the duke of zonderman land for help he brought up the name of their cousin charlotte and the marriage was arranged between charlotte and the duke the king was happy to organize a royal wedding and sent over an official delegation to visma to bring the young bride to sweden a young countess called sophie von person was also part of that group she belonged to the noble and influential swedish family and was two years older than charlotte it did not take long for the two young ladies to become friends about their first meeting charlotte said from the very moment i saw sophie ferzin our hearts met in mutual sympathy there was a harmony between us which time habit trust and the uniformity of two emotional souls only helped to make it more and more steady charlotte and sophie forged a close pond that would last for years the elaborate and lavish wedding was celebrated in july 1774 when charlotte was 15 and her husband the duke was 25. after the wedding members of the royal court attended the masquerade ball where the young bride made a good impression she was beautiful and had a lively temper always in good spirits and friendly charlotte quickly became popular with the people of the royal court when charlotte was 16 she had a sudden inspiration feeling a little bit lonely and wanting to avoid getting bored she decided to write her memoirs explaining her reasons for doing so she said i have always been amused by reading especially by historical books and chord memoirs in general it has therefore seemed pleasant to me to be able to leave such myself at the service of the public after my death a person in my society often has the opportunity to be alone i said to myself one day to always sit and read becomes monotonous you need variety and some definite daily occupation i therefore decided to write my memoirs which could prepare me for a constant and varied occupation and become of interest to the future day by day charlotte got used to the life of the royal court and she became a keen observer of people and their adventures intent on entertaining the reader she chose an original style of writing down her own impressions in the form of letters addressed to a friend and who could that friend be who else but sophie von person charlotte explained her objective saying writing a diary would certainly become so monotonous that i could not bear to continue with it i have therefore chosen a way which is less demanding than memoirs but more entertaining than a diary and which seems to me more pleasant and less troublesome i think that is the easiest way to get away from the criticism and so charlotte embarked on a live project months passed and the duchess was not able to fulfill the purpose of her marriage to give birth to a prince eventually the king and his wife had a son gustav adolf born in 1778 and the pressure on charlotte diminished in the meantime her husband was preoccupied with his numerous mistresses and charlotte seemed to let him do whatever he pleased but that led to the couple having separate lives feeling neglected the duchess also sought the company of other men charlotte's private life was intense and rumors of affairs abounded she adapted well to life at the royal court with its french manners extravagant fashion and loose morals charlotte was really enjoying herself but her vivacious nature and relaxed behavior were frowned upon by her mother-in-law and the queen the duchess spent her time writing dancing hanging out with her friends and with sophie who became her lady in waiting and her close companion increasingly gaining confidence charlotte got involved in a plot aimed at removing the king from power hoping that her husband could take over and reign as monarch she sided with the duke and the von person family to dethrone the king in 1789 unsuccessfully though a few years later gustav iii was assassinated and charlotte's husband became regent for his nephew gustav the fourth adolf when charlotte was 38 she became pregnant but sadly she had a failed pregnancy and the following year she had a son who survived only a week at 50 charlotte became queen when her husband was crowned king of sweden as charles xiii in 1809 following a coup as queen charlotte combined intelligence and diplomacy in her desire to get involved in politics and support her husband's interests she was a loyal political adviser to the king and their relationship improved as they were getting older the question of the succession to the swedish throne was still unresolved and so the search for a successor began with different options being proposed a french marshal called jean-baptiste bernardot was eventually elected successor to the throne of sweden and adopted by the childless royal couple as their son paving the way for his tenure as king of sweden when queen charlotte's husband became king of norway in 1814 she also became queen of norway during the volatile years of struggle for political power queen charlotte was able to overcome uncertainty and difficulties supporting her husband who by then was old and in ill help the king died in february 1818 and charlotte died a few months later when she was 59 although the main reason for bringing charlotte to sweden was that of securing the line of succession to the crown with her talent and inspiration queen charlotte was successful in offering the future generations a detailed and vivid account of life at the swedish royal court capturing its daily atmosphere and political events covering a period of 42 years charlotte's honesty and her introspective abilities can only be admired she candidly said there are not many who have learned the art of examining their inner selves i have been taught to discover the most hidden secrets in my heart therefore it is possible today to be able to present my portrait to those who do not fully know my both good and bad sides not only my friends but also all who now wish to get to know me should probably be grateful that i do not want to deceive them for there are many who believe that i have almost no faults but that is only because they do not bother to examine me carefully or also because i have sufficient ability to conceal them [Music] you

Channel: Lives & Histories

Views: 12,921

Rating: 4.9512196 out of 5

Keywords: Sweden, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte, Diary, Letters to a friend, Royal life, Royal wedding, Gustav III of Sweden, Sophie von Fersen, Destiny, Jean Bernadotte, Charles XIII of Sweden, Queen of Sweden, Queen of Norway

Id: a51xbjf7wjA

Length: 10min 18sec (618 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 11 2021