Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp

Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, and during the minority of her grandson, King Charles XII, in 1697. She also represented Charles XII during his absence in the Great Northern War from 1700 until the regency of her granddaughter Ulrika Eleonora in 1713. Hedwig Eleonora was described as a dominant personality, and was regarded as the de facto first lady of the royal court for 61 years, from 1654 until her death. Biography Early life Hedwig Eleonora was born on 23 October 1636 in the Palace of Gottorp in Schleswig, to Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp and Marie Elisabeth of Saxony. She was the sixth of the couple's sixteen children. One day after her eighteenth birthday, she was married to King Charles X Gustav of Sweden on 24 October 1654. Charles Gustav was the second cousin of Hedwig Eleonora's mother. He and Hedwig Eleonora were also third cousins twice. The marriage was arranged as an alliance between Sweden and Holstein-Gottorp against their mutual enemy Denmark. Queen Christina of Sweden met Hedwig Eleonora in Holstein-Gottorp on her way to Rome after her abdication. Christina was concerned that Charles Gustav was unmarried, and so she suggested the match. The suggestion was immediately accepted by Holstein-Gottorp, who agreed to all demands from Sweden, which made the negotiations quick. Hedwig Eleonora was at the time engaged to Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and Queen Christina recommended Hedwig Eleonora's elder sister, Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp. After having seen portraits of both sisters, however, Charles Gustav chose Hedwig Eleonora because of her beauty, and her current fiancé was instead married to Magdalena Sibylle. In the marriage contract, Hedwig Eleonora was granted a dowry of 20.000 riksdaler, 32.000 riksdaler as a dower, and the incomes of the fiefs of Gripsholm, Eskilstuna and Strömsholm.