Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (Danish: Sophie Magdalene; Swedish: Sofia Magdalena; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III.
Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark–Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter of King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway and his first consort, Princess Louise of Great Britain. Already at the age of five, she was betrothed to Gustav, the heir apparent to the throne of Sweden, as part of an attempt to improve the traditionally tense relationship between the two Scandinavian realms. She was subsequently brought up to be the Queen of Sweden, and they married in 1766. In 1771, Sophia's husband ascended to the throne and became King of Sweden, making Sophia Queen of Sweden. Their coronation was on 29 May 1772.
The politically arranged marriage was unsuccessful. The desired political consequences for the mutual relations between the two countries did not materialize, and on a personal level the union also proved to be unhappy. Sophia Magdalena was of a quiet and serious nature, and found it difficult to adjust to her husband's pleasure seeking court. She dutifully performed her ceremonial duties but did not care for social life and was most comfortable in quiet surroundings with a few friends. However, she was liked by many in the Caps party, believing she was a symbol of virtue and religion. The relationship between the spouses improved somewhat in the years from 1775 to 1783, but subsequently deteriorated again.
After her husband was assassinated in 1792, Sophia Magdalena withdrew from public life, and led a quiet life as dowager queen until her death in 1813.
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Early life
Birth and family
Princess Sophie Magdalene was born on 3 July 1746 at her parents' residence Charlottenborg Palace, located at the large square, Kongens Nytorv, in central Copenhagen. She was the second child and first daughter of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and his first consort, the former Princess Louise of Great Britain, and was named for her grandmother, Queen Sophie Magdalene. She received her own royal household at birth.
Just one month after her birth, her grandfather King Christian VI died, and Princess Sophie Magdalene's father ascended the throne as King Frederick V. She was the heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark from the death of her elder brother in 1747 until the birth of her second brother in 1749, and retained her status as next in line to the Danish throne after her brother until her marriage. She was therefore often referred to as Crown Princess of Denmark.
Childhood and engagement
In the spring of 1751, at the age of five, she was betrothed to Gustav, the heir apparent to the throne of Sweden, and she was brought up to be the Queen of Sweden. The marriage was arranged by the Riksdag of the Estates, not by the Swedish royal family. The marriage was arranged as a way of creating peace between Sweden and Denmark, which had a long history of war and which had strained relations following the election of an heir to the Swedish throne in 1743, where the Danish candidate had lost. The engagement was met with some worry from Queen Louise, who feared that her daughter would be mistreated by the Queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. The match was known to be disliked by the Queen of Sweden, who was in constant conflict with the Parliament; and who was known in Denmark for her pride, dominant personality and hatred of anything Danish, which she demonstrated in her treatment of the Danish ambassadors in Stockholm.
After the death of her mother early in her life, Sophia Magdalena was given a very strict and religious upbringing by her grandmother and her stepmother, who considered her father and brother to be morally degenerate. She is noted to have had good relationships with her siblings, her grandmother and her stepmother; her father, however, often frightened her when he came before her drunk, and was reportedly known to set his dogs upon her, causing in her a lifelong phobia.
In 1760, the betrothal was again brought up by Denmark, which regarded it as a matter of prestige. The negotiations were made between Denmark and the Swedish Queen, as King Adolf Frederick of Sweden was never considered to be of any more than purely formal importance. Louisa Ulrika favored a match between Gustav and her niece Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt instead, and claimed that she regarded the engagement to be void and forced upon her by Carl Gustaf Tessin. She negotiated with Catherine the Great and her brother Frederick the Great to create some political benefit for Denmark in exchange for a broken engagement. However, the Swedish public was very favorable to the match due to expectations Sophia Magdalena would be like the last Danish-born Queen of Sweden, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, who was very loved for her kindness and charity. This view was supported by the Caps political party, which expected Sophia Magdalena to be an example of a virtuous and religious representative of the monarchy in contrast to the haughty Louisa Ulrika. Fredrick V of Denmark was also eager to complete the match: "His Danish Majesty could not have the interests of his daughter sacrificed because of the prejudices and whims of the Swedish Queen". In 1764 Crown Prince Gustav, who was at this point eager to free himself from his mother and form his own household, used the public opinion to state to his mother that he wished to honor the engagement, and on 3 April 1766, the engagement was officially celebrated.
Crown Princess of Sweden
Marriage
On 1 October 1766, Sophia Magdalena was married to Gustav by proxy at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen with her brother Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, as representative of her groom. She traveled in the royal golden sloop from Kronborg in Denmark over Öresund to Hälsingborg in Sweden; when she was halfway, the Danish cannon salute ended, and the Swedish started to fire. In Helsingborg, she was welcomed by her brother-in-law Prince Charles of Hesse, who had crossed the sea shortly before her, the Danish envoy in Stockholm, Baron Schack, as well as Crown Prince Gustav himself. As she was about to set foot on ground, Gustav was afraid that she would fall, and he therefore reached her his hand with the words: "Watch out, Madame!", a reply which quickly became a topic of gossip at the Swedish court.
The couple then traveled by land toward Stockholm, being celebrated on the way. She met her father-in-law the King and her brothers-in-law at Stäket Manor on 27 October, and she continued to be well-treated and liked by them all during her life in Sweden. Thereafter, she met her mother-in-law the Queen and her sister-in-law at Säby Manor, and on the 28th, she was formally presented for the Swedish royal court at Drottningholm Palace. At this occasion, Countess Ebba Bonde noted that the impression about her was: "By God, how beautiful she is!", but that her appearance was affected by the fact that she had a: "terrible fear of the Queen". On 4 November 1766, she was officially welcomed to the capital of Stockholm, where she was married to Gustav in person in the Royal Chapel at Stockholm Royal Palace.>
Tenure as Crown Princess
Sophia Magdalena initially made a good impression upon the Swedish nobility with her beauty, elegance and skillful dance; but her shy, silent, and reserved nature soon made her a disappointment in the society life. Being of a reserved nature, she was considered cold and arrogant. Her mother-in-law Queen Louisa Ulrika, who once stated that she could comprehend nothing more humiliating than the position of a Queen Dowager, harassed her in many ways: a typical example was when she invited Gustav to her birthday celebrations, but asked him to make Sophia Magdalena excuse herself by pretending to be too ill to attend. Louisa Ulrika encouraged a distance between the couple in various ways, and Gustav largely ignored her so as not to make his mother jealous.
Sophia Magdalena was known to be popular with the Caps, who were supported by Denmark, while Louisa Ulrika and Gustav sided with the Hats. The Caps regarded Sophia Magdalena to be a symbol of virtue and religion in a degenerated royal court, and officially demonstrated their support. Sophia Magdalena was advised by the Danish ambassador not to involve herself in politics, and when the spies of Louisa Ulrika reported that Sophia Magdalena received letters from the Danish ambassador through her Danish entourage, the Queen regarded her to be a sympathizer of the Danish-supported Caps: she was isolated from any contact with the Danish embassy, and the Queen encouraged Gustav to force her to send her Danish servants home. This she did not do until 1770, and his demand contributed to their tense and distant relationship. In 1768, Charlotta Sparre tried to reconcile the couple at their summer residence Ekolsund Castle, but the marriage remained unconsummated.
Early tenure as Queen
King Adolf Frederick died on 12 February 1771. Sophie Magdalene's husband ascended the throne as King Gustav III, while Sophie Magdalene herself became Queen of Sweden at the age of 24. The coronation of Gustav III and Sophia Magdalena took place the following year, on 29 May, in the Stockholm Cathedral.
The new queen was not informed about the coup of Gustav III, which reinstated absolute monarchy and ended the parliamentary rule of the Estates in the revolution of 1772. At the time she was deemed as suspicious and politically untrustworthy in the eyes of the King, primarily by her mother-in-law, who painted her as pro-Danish. Denmark was presumed to oppose the coup; there were also plans to conquer Norway from Denmark.
Sophia Magdalena was informed about politics nonetheless: she expressed herself pleased with the 1772 parliament because Count Fredrik Ribbing, for whom she had taken an interest, had regained his seat. The conflict between her and her mother-in-law was publicly known and disliked, and the sympathies were on her side. In the contemporary paper Dagligt Allehanda, a fable was presented about Rävinnan och Turturduvan ("The She Fox and the Turtle Dove"). The fable was about the innocent turtle dove (Sophia Magdalena) who was slandered by the wicked she fox (Louisa Ulrika), who was supported by the second she fox (Anna Maria Hjärne) and the other foxes (the nobility). The fable was believed to have been sent from the Caps party.
Queen Sophia Magdalena was of a shy and reserved character, and was never a member of the King's inner circle. At the famous amateur court theater of Gustav III, Sophia Magdalena is occasionally named as participator in the documents. In 1777, for example, she dressed as an Italian sailor and participated in a battle between Italian and Spanish sailors. Usually it was rather her role to act as the passive lady of games and tournaments, and to decorate the winner with the award. She did her ceremonial duties, but disliked the vivid lifestyle of the court around her outgoing spouse.
As queen, she was expected to do a great deal of representation – more than what had been expected from previous queens due to her husband's adoration of representation. On formal occasions, she was at her best: she performed beautifully according to royal court etiquette, and was seen as dignified and impressive. For instance, on 17 September 1784, she cut the cord to let off the first air balloons from the Stockholm observatory. During the King's Italian journey in 1783–84, she hosted a grand formal public dinner every two weeks. During that time, she appeared at the Royal Swedish Opera and at the French Theater, but otherwise preferred her solitude. This attracted attention as during the absence of the King she had been expected to represent the royal couple all the more.
Succession issues
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 spouse as "cold as ice". 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 spouse.
Their marriage was not consummated until 1775, nine years after the wedding. The status quo between Gustav III and his consort was nurtured by the Queen Dowager, Louisa Ulrika, who did not want competition in her influence over her son. There were rumors that the King was a homosexual or sexually underdeveloped. His sexuality, which had much effect on Sophia Magdalena's life, as a royal marriage was designed to produce offspring, has been much debated. His sexual inexperience has been blamed on immaturity or him also being asexual.
As a teenager, Gustav had a crush on Axel von Fersen's mother, Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie, though this affection was never physical. In 1768, he had another infatuation with the noble Charlotte Du Rietz, but this is not believed to have been sexually consummated either. Various documents written during his lifetime alleged that he was bisexual or homosexual.
His sister-in-law, Princess Charlotte, claims that the King did participate in homosexual activity after his trip to Italy in 1784 and that there were several rumors about this: she claims that she herself had witnessed that the park at Drottningholm Palace had become a place where male courtiers searched for homosexual partners, and in a letter to Sophie von Fersen, she writes in code:
"It is said that the King recently attacked a young man in the park at night and offered him the post of chamberlain to the Queen if he agreed to his lusts, but the young man preferred to leave. Agree that this is to take things too far. It is said that the trips to Svartsjö Palace are made to be provide privacy, it is unbelievable, but it is what it is said. I could tell you a million things about this."
In 1791, Sophia Magdalena herself paid a surprise visit to the King during his stay at the Gustav III's Pavilion, where the King had spent more time since he came in conflict with the nobility after the 1789 parliament; and where he was reputed to indulge in orgies. She found the King in bed, and he asked one of his favorites, Count Fabian Wrede, to show her around. In the King's private chamber, however, the Queen found the actor and page of the King, Lars Hjortsberg, sleeping, naked. The Queen reacted by interrupting the tour by saying to Wrede that he apparently did not know his way around Haga, as he had obviously showed her the chamber of the staff rather than the King by mistake.
Succession scandal
The King, claiming to be sexually inexperienced, called upon Munck to help him with a reconciliation with his spouse, instruct the couple in the ways of sexual intercourse, and physically show them how to consummate their marriage. Munck, a Finnish nobleman and, at the time, a stable master was, at that point, the lover of Anna Sofia Ramström, the Queen's chamber maid. Through Anna Sofia Ramström, Munck contacted Ingrid Maria Wenner, who was assigned to inform the queen of the king's wish, because she was married and the confidant of the queen. Munck and Ramström were to be present in a room close to the bedchamber, ready to be of assistance when needed, and he was, at some points, called into the bedchamber. Munck himself writes in his written account, which is preserved at the National Archives of Sweden, that to succeed, he was obliged to touch them both physically.
When it became known that Munck participated in the reconciliation between the royal couple, there were rumours that he was the father of Sophia Magdalena's firstborn.
These became the subject of accusations from the political opposition, as late as in 1786 and 1789, where it was claimed that the whole nation was aware of the rumour that the King had asked Munck to make the Queen pregnant. Pamphlets to that end were posted on street corners all over Stockholm.
This was also caricatured by Carl August Ehrensvärd in private letters discovered later – his drawing was published in 1987 —, where he passed on a number of rumors and jokes about Gustav III, Sophia Magdalena and Munck without inferring that he believed they were true. There was also a rumour that the King and Queen had divorced in secret and that the Queen had married Munck.
There is no proof that Munck was the father of the crown prince. Erik Lönnroth has suggested that the anatomical problems mentioned in Munck's account, known only to a few initiated persons, were the primary factor in their delay in producing an heir. At the time, the rumors became more persistent, however, when the royal couple presented Munck with gifts: the King promoted him, and the Queen gave Munck a pension, a diamond ring, and a watch with her image.
A few socialites took the Queen Mother's side in supporting and spreading the rumors, such as Anna Charlotta Schröderheim and Eva Helena Löwen.
Queen Dowager
On 16 March 1792 Gustav III was attacked and mortally wounded. Sophia Magdalena was reportedly shocked and horrified by the attack. The conspirators intended to make her the regent of her son during his minority. As a Guardian government had been necessary by putting a minor monarch on the throne, their plan was to offer this role to Sophia Magdalena by taking military control and offering the Queen dowager the role of presiding over the guardian council instead of her brother-in-law Duke Charles. Directly after she was told of the attack, Sophia Magdalena sent for the king's favorite, Gustav Mauritz Armfelt, and was taken by him to the sick bed of the King. There, she took the hands of the King between hers and cried out to Armfelt: "How horrifying! Such a cruel atrocity!" She was kept informed of his state by Armfelt, but she was prevented from further visits because Gustav did not wish to receive visits from women because of the smell from his wounds. At the death of Gustav III 29 March 1792, she attempted to visit him, but she was blocked by her brother-in-law Duke Charles, who fell on his knees before her to stop her from entering the bed room.
Sophia Magdalena caused a scandal as it was noted that she did not dress in mourning except when she was forced to do so at visits and on formal occasions. This criticism was likely worsened because she was exposed to some suspicions, as it was known that the conspirators had planned to make her regent.
As Queen Dowager, it was a relief to Sophia Magdalena to withdraw from public life. Her brother-in-law, Duke Charles, became regent, and she eschewed a political role. As a widow, Sophia Magdalena lived a withdrawn life. She did not wish to take part in any representational duties, and she gave up her quarters at Drottningholm Palace to be relieved of them. She lived in the Royal Palace in Stockholm during the winter, and at Ulriksdal Palace during the summer. She lived in a circle of her own court, and seldom entertained any guests other than her lifelong friends Maria Aurora Uggla and Virginia Manderström. It is noted that, although she had hated the male favorites of her spouse during his lifetime, she gave several of them positions in her court as a widow. Sophia Magdalena had a close relationship with her son, King Gustav IV Adolf, who visited her regularly and with whom she shared an interest in religion.
In 1797, she insisted on skipping the protocol at the reception of her daughter-in-law, Frederica of Baden. The etiquette demanded that as Queen Dowager, she should not greet her daughter-in-law at the stair of the royal palace with the rest of the royal family, but wait for her in her own salon, but she refused: "I know myself how I suffered, when I arrived to Sweden, and how painfully I reacted to the cold reception I was given by Queen Louisa Ulrika. As for my daughter-in-law, I have decided to spare her from having to experience such bitter emotions!" During the reign of her son, she seldom showed herself at court except on Sundays and at court presentations, and preferred to stay at her estate. She regularly met her son and his family on family visits, but she did not participate in court life.
Later life and death
Sophia Magdalena lived more isolated towards the end of her life and was affected for a long time by an eye disease and worsened health. From 1812, she devoted much of her time to her friendship with the young amateur botanic Baron Anton Fredrik Wrangel.
She never fully recovered after having suffered a stroke in May 1813. After a widowhood of more than 21 years, she died aged 67 on 21 August 1813 at Ulriksdal Palace. She was interred next to her husband in The Gustavian Crypt of Riddarholmen Church on the islet of Riddarholmen in central Stockholm, the traditional burial site for Swedish monarchs.
In popular culture
The affair of the consummation of her marriage and the succession scandal was portrayed in SVT's period drama television series in two parts The Marriage of Gustav III (Swedish: Gustav III:s äktenskap) which aired in 2001. The director was Marcus Olsson, the manuscript writer was Klas Östergren, and Sophia Magdalena was portrayed by the Danish actress Iben Hjejle.
It was also used to inspire the classic Swedish novel The Queen's Tiara (Swedish: Drottningens juvelsmycke, lit. 'The Queen's Jewels') by Carl Jonas Love Almquist, published in 1834. The novel features one of Swedish literature's most enduringly popular characters, the intersex Tintomara who is portrayed as a half sibling of Gustav IV Adolf through Count Munck.