Ulrika Eleonora was a Swedish queen who ruled from 1718-1720. She is the younger sister of Charles XII. And her parents are Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark and Charles XI. In this article, we will describe a brief biography of the Swedish ruler.
Potential regent
Ulrika Eleonora was born in Stockholm Castle in 1688. As a child, the girl was not much spoiled with attention. The favorite daughter of her parents was her older sister Gedwiga Sofia.
In 1690, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark was named by Charles as a possible regent in the event of his death, provided that their son did not come of age. But due to frequent childbirth, the he alth of the king's wife deteriorated greatly. She died after the winter of 1693.
Legend of the Queen's Death
There is a legend on this subject. It says that when Karl's wife was dying in the palace, Maria Stenbock (her favorite lady-in-waiting) was sick in Stockholm. On the night when Ulrika Eleonora passed away, Countess Stenbock arrived at the palace and was admitted into the room of the deceased. One of the officers peered through the keyhole. In the room, the guard saw the Countess and the Queen talking atwindow. The shock of the soldier was so great that he began to cough up blood. Around the same time, Maria, along with her crew, seemed to evaporate. An investigation began, during which it turned out that that night the countess was seriously ill and did not leave her house. The officer died of shock, and Stenbock died a little later. Karl personally gave the order never to tell anyone about the incident.
Marriage and authority
In 1714, King Ulrika's daughter Eleanor was engaged to Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. A year later, their wedding took place. The authority of the princess grew significantly, and those close to Charles XII had to reckon with her opinion. The girl's sister, Hedviga Sophia, died in 1708. Therefore, in fact, Ulrika and Carl's mother were the only representatives of the Swedish royal family.
In early 1713, the monarch already wanted to make his daughter a temporary regent of the country. But he did not carry out this plan. On the other hand, the royal council had a desire to enlist the support of the princess, so he persuaded her to attend all its meetings. At the first meeting, where Ulrika was present, they decided to convene the Riksdag (parliament).
Some participants were in favor of appointing Eleanor as regent. But the royal council and Arvid Gorn were against it. They feared that new difficulties would arise with the change in the form of government. Subsequently, Charles XII allowed the princess to sign all documents emanating from the council, except for those sent personally to him.
Struggle for the throne
In December 1718, Ulrika Eleonora learned of her brother's death. She took the news in cold blood and made everyone call herself queen. The Council did not object to this. Soon the girl gave the order to arrest the supporters of Georg Görtz and canceled all the decisions that came out from under his pen. At the end of 1718, at the convocation of the Riksdag, Ulrika expressed her desire to abolish the autocracy and return the country to its former form of government.
The Swedish High Command voted for the abolition of absolutism, the non-recognition of hereditary rights and the award of the title of queen to Eleanor. Members of the Riksdag had a similar position. But in order to win the support of the royal council, the girl announced that she had no right to the throne.
Swedish Queen Ulrika Eleonora
In early 1719, the princess renounced hereditary rights to the throne. After that, she was proclaimed queen, but with one caveat. Ulrika approved the form of government drawn up by estates. According to this document, most of her power passed into the hands of the Riksdag. In March 1719, Eleanor was crowned in Uppsala.
The new ruler was unable to cope with the difficulties that she had when she assumed her new position. Ulrika's influence fell significantly after disagreements with the head of the Chancellery A. Gorn. She also did not have a relationship with his successors, Krunjelm and Sparre.
When taking the throne, Swedish Queen Ulrika Eleonora wanted to share power with her husband. But in the end I had toabandon this venture because of the persistent resistance of the nobility. The inability to adapt to the new constitution, the autocracy of the ruler, as well as the influence of her husband on her decisions gradually pushed government officials to desire to change the monarch.
New King
Ulrika's husband Friedrich of Hesse began to work actively in this direction. To begin with, he became close to A. Gorn. Thanks to this, in 1720 he was elected Land Marshal at the Riksdag. Soon, Queen Ulrika Eleonora filed a petition with the estates for joint rule with her husband. This time, her proposal was met with disapproval. On February 29, 1720, the heroine of this article abdicated in favor of her husband, Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel. There was only one caveat - in the event of his death, the crown returned to Ulrika again. On March 24, 1720, Eleanor's husband became the monarch of Sweden under the name Frederick I.
Away from power
Ulrika was interested in public affairs until her last days. But after 1720 she moved away from them, preferring to do charity work and reading. Although periodically the former ruler replaced her husband on the throne. For example, in 1731 during his trip abroad or in 1738, when Frederick became seriously ill. It is worth noting that, replacing her husband on the throne, she showed only her best qualities. November 24, 1741 - this is the date when Ulrika Eleonora died in Stockholm. The Swedish queen left no descendants.
