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- She dedicated her life to the pursuit of knowledge and regularly studied in her library, one of the largest in Europe. In 1654, at the height of her power, Christina abandoned the Lutheran church of Sweden and converted to Roman Catholicism. As a result, she had to give up the throne.
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Jun 6, 2004 · Eventually, in May 1654 the Swedish diet, the Riksdag, reluctantly gave the abdication its assent. Charles Gustavus made his state entry into Uppsala a few days later, greeted by Christina on horseback with her pistols at her saddlebow.
Apr 18, 2024 · She chose her cousin Charles X Gustav as her successor, and, when he was crowned on June 6, 1654, the day of her abdication, Christina left Sweden immediately. In December 1655 Pope Alexander VII received Christina in splendour at Rome.
- Ruth Stephan
- What were Queen Christina’s parents’ names?Christina was the daughter and sole heir of Gustavus Adolphus and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. Her father, who reigned as the king of Sweden from...
- How did Christina come to power?Christina became queen-elect of Sweden at age six upon the death of her father, King Gustavus Adolphus, in 1632. She was instructed in politics by...
- What was Christina’s religion?Lutheranism was Sweden’s official state religion, and Christina’s secret conversion to Roman Catholicism may be one of the reasons that she abdicat...
- Why is Christina significant?One of the wittiest, most-learned women of her age, Christina is remembered for her lavish sponsorship of the arts and influence on European cultur...
On May 1st, 1654, Bulstrode Whitelocke, ambassador from the Commonwealth of England to the court of Sweden, took his place in the gallery of the great hall of Uppsala castle, to witness the opening of the Diet which was to receive the Queen’s abdication.
- Child Queen of Sweden
- Philosopher Rene Descartes
- Queen Christina's Sweden
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- Exiled Queen Christina in Rome
- Royal Prerogative: Murder
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Born on the 18th December 1626 at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm, Christina was the last child of the Royal House of Vasa’s King Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden and his wife Maria Eleanora of Brandenburg. Her father was relieved to be a parent again; the couple had lost a son and two daughters in infancy, but her mother lamented that the hairy crying bab...
Christina was educated as a male which set her above many royal daughters. She was a keen student and quickly grasped politics under Oxenstierna’s guidance. In 1649 she invited philosopher Rene Descartes to Stockholm so that he could teach her philosophy, but she did not appreciate him. Descartes was seen as a trophy by her, and his visit validated...
Queen Christina believed that being female was her great misfortune, perhaps the ultimate tragedy of her life. She often wore men’s clothing, was reluctant to wash, frequently had dirty nails and was not considered a great beauty of the age. Her sense of humour and intelligence were not valued as attributes. Women were supposed to be pretty, not wi...
In early 1654, Christina announced to a stunned court that she was ill—it's possible she had suffered a nervous breakdown, but there is no proof, and that ruling Sweden was too much of a strain. She abdicated in favour of her cousin Charles who had previously been refused as a potential husband for her. In fact, she’d refused to marry anyone, which...
Christina brokered an abdication deal. Sweden would pay her a generous allowance wherever she might reside for the rest of her life. Cousin Charles X Gustaf’s coronation and Christina’s exit from her homeland occurred on the same day. At her abdication ceremony at Uppsala Castle, each item of the Swedish regalia was removed from her piece by piece,...
Through boredom or a yearning for power, Christina entered into talks about reigning in the Spanish territory of Naples and passing Naples to the French when she died. This plan was abandoned, partly because whilst visiting France for the negotiations, Christina had her advisor and possible lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, butchered fo...
When news reached her of Charles X Gustaf’s death in 1660, she returned to Sweden, insisting bizarrely that she should rule again rather than Charles’ five-year-old son. She was forced to concede. She travelled to Sweden again in 1667 and was approached about becoming the queen of Poland as another of her cousins had abdicated there. This did not c...
Mar 25, 2015 · Christina left Sweden and secretly converted to Catholicism in Brussels in December 1654. This was made public in November 1655. Christina died in Rome in 1689. Queen Christina was the only child of Gustavus. She was born in 1626 and became queen in 1632 when Sweden was actively engaged in the Thirty Years War.
Pronunciation: VAH-sa. Born Kristina Augusta Wasa on December 8, 1626 (December 18, by the Gregorian calendar now in use), in Stockholm, Sweden; died in Rome on April 19, 1689 (Gregorian); daughter of Gustavus II Adolphus (1594–1632), king of Sweden (r. 1611–1632), and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (1599–1655); never married; probably the ...
Christina (December 8 1626 – April 19, 1689), later known as Maria Christina Alexandra and sometimes Countess Dohna, was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1632 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden [2] and his wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg .
