The Diva Queen
Famed for her intelligence and wit, Christina, Queen of Sweden was not afraid to defy convention or break the rules
The scandalous life of Christina of Sweden
An unconventional queen with a fiery temper, Christina of Sweden is undoubtedly one of history’s most enigmatic figures. The last member of the Vasa dynasty to rule Sweden, she was born in the Tre Kronor castle in 1626, the only surviving child of King Gustavus Adolphus and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg.
A strong and hairy baby with a loud cry, it was mistakenly announced at first that Christina was a boy. When the error was realised a few hours later, nobody was brave enough to tell the king, forcing Christina’s aunt to gather her up and place her in front of Gustavus so he could see the truth for himself. However, it’s often said that Gustavus was not upset that he’d had a daughter, apparently declaring, “She will be clever, for she has deceived us all!”
As king, Gustavus had transformed Sweden into one of the greatest powers in Europe. He was also a major leader during the Thirty Years’ War, a conflict that originally broke out between Catholics and Protestants across the Holy Roman Empire, which ultimately changed the balance of power in Europe. Hailed as the protector of Protestantism, Gustavus was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632, leaving Christina as Sweden’s new monarch just one month shy of her sixth birthday.
Anticipating his death, Gustavus had already arranged for parliament to swear an oath to his daughter and secure her right to inherit the throne. He had also left instructions for a regency council to be formed for Christina, led by his trusted and experienced Lord High Chancellor
Axel Oxenstierna, who was widely revered by his contemporaries for his wise counsel.
This was a smart move, especially as Christina’s mother, who had struggled with her mental health for some time, became increasingly erratic. After her husband’s death, Maria Eleonora had Gustavus’ heart embalmed and placed in a gold casket that she had hung over her bed, which she forced her daughter to sleep in with her. In the end, Oxenstierna arranged for Maria Eleonora to be moved to Gripsholm Castle and away from the young queen.
The late king had arranged tutors to ensure that Christina would receive the same education as a prince. She was taught fencing, horse-riding, languages,
philosophy, religion, classics and even how to hunt bears. With her voracious appetite for knowledge and her habit of studying for several hours a day, it is unsurprising that Christina became one of the most learned women in Europe. When she was a teenager, Oxenstierna proudly declared: “She is not at all like a female.”
From a young age, Christina developed a passionate interest in the arts and sciences. Sweden was considered cold and unsophisticated in comparison to the renowned cultured courts found in Rome and Paris, and the queen dreamed of transforming Stockholm into the cultural capital of Northern Europe.
After reaching her majority in 1644, Christina made a name for herself as a dedicated collector by spending lavishly on scientific instruments, drama, music and art, while also sending her agents out to purchase the finest items from across Europe. The queen also cultivated one of the greatest libraries on the Continent and over the next few years several leading scholars, theologians, scientists, authors and philosophers were enticed to visit.
In 1649, she famously invited the French philosopher René Descartes to her court to establish a new scientific academy and become her private tutor. However, when Descartes finally arrived in Sweden in the dead of winter he discovered that the queen could only meet with him three times a week at 5am.
The pair clashed in the few sessions that they had together, with Descartes left frustrated by the queen’s fascination with Ancient Greek, while she disliked his mechanical philosophy. Unused to Sweden’s cold and bitter climate Descartes died, supposedly from pneumonia, in Stockholm in February 1650, just a few months after his arrival.
Christina was known for her highhandedness and her determination to get her own way. As queen regnant, she was expected to compromise – something she hated – with her government. Having been raised as queen since she was six, Christina wanted to command, not govern, her realm and any time she felt that her authority or opinion was being questioned, she lashed out angrily.
She quickly clashed with Oxenstierna after reaching her majority and actively tried to push him aside. In 1645 the leading players involved in the Thirty Years’ War agreed to meet for negotiations. Oxenstierna wished to continue the conflict, which had seen Sweden make significant territorial gains, and sent his son to negotiate. However, Christina disagreed and sent her own delegate with instructions to conclude peace by any means necessary.
The Peace of Westphalia was eventually agreed in 1648 and Oxenstierna was disappointed, believing that he could have negotiated a better deal for Sweden. Meanwhile, as a result of the negotiations, Christina gained hundreds of paintings, manuscripts, books, statues and other items that had belonged to the collection of Rudolf II, the late Holy Roman Emperor.
In 1649 the queen frustrated her advisers by steadfastly refusing to marry. Repulsed by the idea of childbirth, she had no intention of producing a successor for the throne and instead named her first cousin Charles as her heir presumptive. This, combined with her masculine behaviour, posture, unruly hair, crude sense of humour and preference for wearing male clothing, quickly led to rumours regarding her sexuality.
Many believed Christina had an affair with Countess Ebba Sparre, her close friend and lady-in-waiting. But Christina also had close relationships with several male favourites and she enjoyed shocking people with her scandalous, affectionate – and at times erotic – behaviour.
Even so, by the beginning of the 1650s Christina had become disillusioned with her role as queen and she had no desire to rule. Although the artistic culture in Sweden had improved during her reign, it was still nowhere near the high standard of that in Rome, which she deeply admired.
Another reason for her disillusionment was her wish to convert to Roman Catholicism, which she had been attracted to since her youth, particularly for its support of celibacy. An avid reader and free-thinker, Christina had developed doubts about Lutheran teachings and was frustrated when the conservative clergy of Sweden refused to consider reform.
Of course, as the head of the Swedish Lutheran Church, Christina’s hope to convert was in direct conflict with her responsibilities as ruler. The fact that Gustavus had fought and died for his Protestant beliefs made the queen’s desire even more troubling. As his daughter and successor, she should have been championing her father’s sacrifice and religious devotion.
In 1651, Christina suffered a nervous breakdown after years of spending several hours a day working and studying. That year her popularity in Sweden took a hit when, in a fit of fury, she had Arnold Johan Messenius, her royal historiographer, and his 17-year-old son executed after Messenius openly objected to her policies and accused her of being a ‘Jezebel’.
Tired of ruling, Christina attempted to abdicate her throne but relented when her council pleaded with her to stay, with the promise that she would not be pressured to marry. Nevertheless, in 1654 the queen again stated her intention to give up her crown, much to the distress of her advisers, with Oxenstierna asserting that she would regret her decision.
Negotiations were held with the Riksdag regarding the queen’s future financial security, with Christina being granted a pension and revenues from certain Swedish dominions. Having thought about her abdication for some time, Christina had secretly arranged for several of her valuables, including books, statues, paintings and manuscripts, to be sent to Antwerp in 1653.
Christina’s abdication ceremony was held on 6 June 1654 at Uppsala Castle.
The queen wore all of her royal regalia, which was ceremonially removed from her to symbolise her abdication. Count Per Brahe the Younger had been tasked
"CHRISTINA WAS KNOWN FOR HER HIGH-HANDEDNESS AND HER DETERMINATION TO GET HER OWN WAY"
with removing Christina’s crown but he refused, leaving Christina to remove it herself. It was a fitting moment for a queen who had always played by her own rules.
With Charles ascending the throne as King Charles X Gustav, Christina left Sweden days after her abdication, embarking on her journey to her new home in Rome. After reaching the border between Sweden and Denmark, Christina cut her hair and changed into male attire, partly to disguise herself as she travelled, but also because it was her preferred way to dress.
Christina did not immediately head to Rome but instead stopped off in the Spanish Netherlands. It’s thought this was to hide her intention to convert to Catholicism, which was a contentious issue in Sweden and would have put her revenues at risk. Nevertheless, she was always one to splurge and quickly found herself running out of money.
Christina eventually converted to Catholicism on Christmas Eve during a private ceremony in Brussels. The conversion was initially kept quiet to avoid controversy back in Sweden, but Christina publicly acknowledged that she had converted in November 1655, while she was in Innsbruck, Austria.
That December, 18 months after leaving Sweden, Christina finally arrived
in Rome to great fanfare. Her entrance into the city was arranged by Pope Alexander VII himself, who saw the conversion of a Protestant, former queen regnant as positive propaganda for the Catholic Church. There were fireworks, banquets, operas, jousting and various other celebrations held in her honour for over a month and Christina even attended Mass with the Pope himself, where she received the Holy Sacrament.
Christina’s new home in Rome was the Palazzo Farnese, where she quickly began building upon her artistic patronage, supporting scholars and artists and founding Rome’s first public theatre.
She also started a literary circle focused on theatre, music, debate, poetry and literature, which ultimately developed into the Pontifical Academy of Arcadia in 1690. All the while, the former queen was running up large debts, worsened by the fact that Sweden had stopped paying her revenue after her conversion to Catholicism was announced.
Never one to shy away from a scandal, Christina continued her habit of forming close relationships with men, which sent gossip swirling around. Her close relationship with Cardinal Azzolino, who served as her representative in the Catholic Church, and his repeated visits to her palace led to widespread speculation that they were lovers.
Christina’s scandalous behaviour in Rome caused problems just as it had done in Sweden and led to a strain on her relationship with the Vatican. Despite giving up her throne to convert, she was no more devout to Catholicism than she had been to Protestant Lutheranism.
In her new home, Christina had the independence and freedom that she had always craved. But, as she settled into her life in Rome, she soon understood that she no longer held that much importance without her crown. This must have been a sobering realisation for a woman who had been treated with deference her whole life and still saw herself as a queen – the Pope himself would famously describe Christina as “a queen without a realm”.
"IN HER NEW HOME, CHRISTINA AND THE INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM THAT SHE HAD ALWAYS CRAVED"
It wasn’t long before the former queen set her sights on gaining a new throne. In 1656, she opened negotiations with Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of France, suggesting that she should become the queen of Naples if France successfully conquered the kingdom from the Spanish. Not only would this restore her ability to rule, but it would have allowed her to become financially independent from Sweden.
However, her hopes for the crown were soon dashed. While staying at the Palace of Fontainebleau during a visit to France in October 1657 to discuss the plan, Christina controversially ordered the execution of her equerry Gian Monaldeschi. Although an angry Christina claimed that he had betrayed her, she failed to explain how and instead insisted it was within her royal authority to have him killed.
This incident greatly impacted her popularity. After the death of her cousin King Charles in 1660, she returned to Sweden and declared her intention to resume the throne if Charles’ son and successor, a young five-year-old boy, died. However, now that Christina was a Catholic, the mere thought of her returning to govern a Protestant realm was impossible. She would later set her sights on becoming queen of Poland after her cousin, John II Casimir Vasa, abdicated the throne, but this also came to nothing.
Christina returned to Rome for the last time in 1668 and she remained there for the rest of her life, continuing her artistic patronage and even producing an unfinished autobiography. She died at the Palazzo Corsini in April 1689 and although she had requested a simple burial, she was given a huge ceremony to emphasise her decision to sacrifice her throne for Catholicism. She was laid to rest within St Peter’s Basilica, where she remains one of only three women to be buried there.
Free-spirited, unapologetic and courageous, Christina was a queen who did what she wanted, even if her behaviour at times was reckless. She never once bent to the expectation of others and lived by her own code of conduct, regardless of criticism – and her extraordinary life continues to fascinate us all over three centuries later.