Maria Fredrica von Stedingk

Maria "Marie" Frederica von Stedingk (31 October 1799 – 15 June 1868) was a Swedish composer and courtier. Stedingk was born in Saint Petersburg to the Swedish Field Marshal Count Kurt von Stedingk and his Swedish housekeeper Ulrika Fredrika Ekström . Her parents married five years after her birth. She died unmarried. She was given a high education by private teachers by her progressive father, who wished for all his children to be well educated regardless of gender. She served as a hovfröken to the queen of Sweden, Désirée Clary, in 1823-1860.