"Jag önskar Eders fürsteliga nåde mycken wälsignelse af Gudi, och tackar E. F. N. för al then höga omwårdnad och stora affection E. F. N. härtil för mig dragit, synnerlig för thet E. F. N. mig med sina wänliga skrifwelser åtskilliga gångor besökt hafwer. Jag lefwer uti then goda förhopning, E. F. N. skal och härefter sin goda wändskap emot mig continuera och beholla: lofwar mig däremot altid wela temoignera en sådan benägenhet emot E. F. N. samt E. F. N. älskelige K. Gemåhl och hela Famillen." ("I wish Your Highness many blessings from God, and I thank Your Highness for all the concern and great affection you have shown me, especially for that Your Highness has honored me many times with your kind letters. I live in the good hope that you will continue and preserve your friendship toward me, I in turn promise to always show my gratitude to the person of Your Serene Highness as well as to your husband and entire family.") - Kristina in a letter to her/his/their aunt Princess Katarina, dated April 19, 1634
"Ett moste jagh mentionera, dett jagh inthe gerna gör. ... H. M:tt Enckiedråttningen bliffuer myckett oroligh; impedierar mycket vår unga Frökens institution, informerar henne till all vedervertighet och haat emot våre personer och nation, tillsteder ingen aga, lährer löpa om medh fåfengt snack som andra. Hooss Fru Moderen geller inge förmaningar. ... Synes altså, att dotter och moder moste skilias åht." ("I must mention one thing, I do not do it gladly. ... Her Majesty the Dowager Queen is very restless, greatly impedes our young Lady's education, informs her in all misery and hate against our persons and nation, there is no discipline, she lets her go around with idle talk like others. There are no admonitions from her Lady Mother. ... It therefore seems that the daughter and mother must be separated.") - High Steward Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna in his letter to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, dated March 20, 1635
"Inthet kan iagh mehra säija ähn att vår allernådigste uthkorade unge drotning ähr vedh helsan och mår temligh väl. Enkiedrotningenh ähr eder K. Herfader något oblijdh. Orsaken veet icke iagh och iagh troor inthet att hon sielf rätt väl veet henne." ("I can say nothing more except that our most gracious young Queen-elect is healthy and faring reasonably well. The Dowager Queen is somewhat displeased with you, dear Father. I do not know the reason and I do not think she herself knows well why.") - Count Johan Oxenstierna in his letter to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, dated April 30, 1636
"She took her model of all women from her mother, and declared that, of all human defects, to be a woman was the worst." - from Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"Jagh skulle ... haffva varit hemma bijvistats min svärmoder och henne uthi sine private saker assisterat, alt till den ände att jagh effter Min K. Herfaders commission och begäran skulle henne persuadera till att taga sigh H. K. M:ts min unge drotnings upfödzel upå, så vida hon det kan göra." ("I should ... have been home with my mother-in-law and assisted her in her private affairs, all to the end that I, after my dear Father's commission and request, should persuade her to take up, as well as she can, the upbringing of Her Royal Majesty my young Queen.") - Count Johan Oxenstierna in his letter to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, dated January 10, 1639
"Ich kan Ew[er] L[iebden] nicht genugsam die grose treu und dienste vergelten, so Ew[er] L[iebden] seelige in Gott ruhende hertzliebe Gemahlin mir bewiesen hat, als eine rechte Vater-Schwester: nicht dass ich sage allein Vater-Schwester, sondern als eine natürliche Mutter." ("I cannot give Your Lovingness enough to reward the great loyalty and service that Your Lovingness's dearly beloved wife has proven to me, resting in God, as a true aunt; not only as an aunt, but as a natural mother.") - Kristina in a letter to her/his/their uncle Count Palatine Johan Kasimir, dated February 25, 1639
"Jam jam venit Magistra aulæ Domina Beata Oxenstierna & Ejus filia. Quò plures, eò peius." ("The Grand Mistress of the Court, Lady Beata Oxenstierna and her daughter are arriving in the moment. The more of them that come, the worse it is.") - Kristina in a letter to her/his/their uncle Count Palatine Johan Kasimir, dated June 28, 1639
"Apres avoir heureusement traverse la deserte, puante et barbare Allemange ie suis enfin arive icy hier au soir icy et iay receu auec Joye vos lettres vn iour devan que dy arriver." ("After having happily crossed the deserted, stinking and barbarous Germany, I finally arrived here yesterday evening and received your letters joyfully one day before arriving there.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated June 23, 1666
"Jl Courent ysy des livres infames et sots Contre la Cour de rome, et la Vie de D. Olimpia est receue avec tan dapplaudissements qvelle est tradiuitte en touts les langes barvares cest le plus sot livre dv monde, et a moin qve destre Hretique ov allemant lon ne sauroit trouver plaisir au sotises quil dit. enCore Vaut Jl mieux destre Héretiqve qu'Aleman car enfin vn heretiqve peut devenir Catolique mais vne beste ne peut iamais devenir raisonable. maudit soit le pays et les sotte bestes quil produit." ("They are circulating here infamous and foolish books against the Court of Rome, and the life of Donna Olympia is received with so much applause that it is translated into all barbaric languages. It is the stupidest book in the world, and unless one is heretical or German, one cannot find pleasure in the nonsense it says. Still better to be a heretic than German, for in the end a heretic can become a Catholic, but a beast can never become reasonable. Cursed be this country and the silly beasts it produces!") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated July 28, 1666
"Jl mariva vne plaisante affaire avec vne des sibilliles des ses pays qui par malheur, me trouva avec un livre fransoy a la main. Cela luy donna malheureusement occasion dentre en matiere des livres, et de dire quelle avoit beaucoup leu en sa vie et quelle sen estoit gaste la veu et que cela faisoit qvelle ne lisoit plus puis quelle Craingoit de la perdre. Je luy repodis que ie lisois si peu que que ie ne Craingois pas ce malheur, et que iavois gace a dieu la veue raisonablement bonne. elle me dit que Cela nenpechoit pas quelle ne se fust reserve vn seul livre quelle lisoit enCore tous les iours sens y manquer iamais. et Conoissan quelle avoit grande envie que ie luy tesmoingasse de la Curiosite de savoir quel estoit ce livre, ie le fis et la pressay pour le savoir, et apres beaucoup de facons qui me firent qvasi passer lenvie de lapprendre, elle me dit que sestoit le Compendium de la filosofie d'Aristote quelle avoit Chosise pour son vnique livre. Cette reponse me donna la plus forte envie de rire qve ieuse iamais et ie ne say Comment ieuse la force de men empecher. ie luy dis donc quelle avoit tres bien Chosye et quoy que ie ne Conossoit Aristote que de reputation, Je Jay estois prest a le Croire digne delle puil quil avoit lhoneur de luy plaire. Je vous escrits cette Conversation pour vous faire Conoistre le genie des Allemandes quant par malheur on en renContre quelune qui sache quattre mots de latin qui ne sert qua les rendre plus sots que la nature les fait a lordinaire. Jugez quel plaisir lon pevt tirer des ces sorte de Conversations." ("A pleasant affair happened to me with one of the Sibylls of this country, who, unfortunately, found me with a French book in hand. This unfortunately gave her the opportunity to get talking about books and to say that she had read a lot in her life, that she had ruined her eyesight, and that this made it so that she no longer read since she feared losing her sight. I replied that I read so little that I did not fear this misfortune, and that I had, thanks to God, reasonably good eyesight. She told me that that didn't prevent her from reserving just one book, which she still reads every day without ever losing her sight. And knowing that she really wanted me to show her my curiosity to know what this book was, I did it, and pressed her to find out, and, after many ways, which almost made me want to do without the need to know, she told me that it was the 'Compendium of Aristotle's philosophy' that she had chosen as her only book. This response made me want to laugh as much as I ever had, and I don't know how I had the strength to stop myself. So I told her that she had chosen very well and that, although I only knew Aristotle by reputation, I was ready to believe him worthy of her, since he had the honour of pleasing her. I am writing this conversation to let you know the genius of the German women when, unfortunately, one meets someone who knows only four words of Latin, which only serves to make them more stupid than what nature made ordinary. Judge what pleasure one can get from these kinds of conversations!") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated September 23, 1666
Above: The now mostly-ruined Nyköping Castle, where the child Kristina lived with her/his/their mother in a nightmare of extreme and excessive mourning. Photo taken by Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, on Wikimedia Commons.
Above: Maria Eleonora and Kristina weeping over the body of Gustav Adolf in this 19th century imagining. For some reason, Kristina seems to be depicted as being much older than she really was at the time of her father's death.
Above: The widowed Maria Eleonora in mourning.
Above: Kristina as a child in mourning for her father.
Above: Gripsholm Castle, where Maria Eleonora lived in internal exile after losing custody of Kristina. Photo taken by Xauxa (Håkan Svensson) at Wikimedia Commons.
Above: Kristina's aunt, Princess Katarina.
Above: Stegeborg Castle, the residence of Princess Katarina and her family, as it appeared years later in 1700. It is now in ruins.
Above: Kristina as a child, painted by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, late 1630s.
Above: Kristina, painted by the same artist. Here she is probably around twelve years old.
Above: Kristina as a teenager.
Above: Young Kristina on a page preceding the texts in a Finnish Bible, year 1642.
Above: Kristina, year 1649.
The regency ruled in Kristina's place until the young monarch came of age in 1644, although her/his/their coronation was delayed until October 22, 1650 because of the war with Denmark. The coronation ceremony took place at Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral), preceded by a procession from Jakobsdal (now Ulriksdal) Palace. Kristina rode in a beautiful carriage draped in black velvet, embroidered in gold and pulled by three white horses. At the ceremony, he/she/they was anointed with oil and was presented with the orb, the scepter, and, of course, the crown. To end the ceremony, the harald proclaimed:
Nu är drotning Christina Crönter Konung öfuer Swea och Götha Landom och dess Underliggiande Provincier, och ingen annan. Now Queen Kristina is crowned King of the Swede and Goth Lands and their underlying Provinces, and no one else. Kristina's royal motto was
Columnia regi sapientia. Wisdom is the realm's support.
In celebration of the event, there was a dinner party at the castle, wine fountains stood in the marketplace for three days, a roast ox filled with various other roast meats was served (it was done again to celebrate Kristina's 25th birthday later that year), and there were illuminations. On October 24, there was a themed parade,
Lycksalighetens Ähre-Pracht (
The Illustrious Splendours of Felicity).
Above: Kristina as a young adult, circa 1650.
Above: Jakobsdal Palace, now Ulriksdal Palace. Photo taken by Holger.Ellgaard of Wikimedia Commons. The procession for Kristina's coronation began from here.
Above: Kristina's coronation procession.
Above: Storkyrkan, the cathedral in Stockholm where the coronation ceremony took place. Photo taken by Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, on Wikimedia Commons.
Above: The interior. Photo taken by Zairon at Wikimedia Commons.
Above: Kristina on her/his/their coronation day.
Above: The carriage in which Kristina rode to her/his/their coronation. Photo courtesy of Livrustkammaren via Wikimedia Commons.
Above: The Silver Throne, made in 1650 for Kristina's coronation by Abraham Drentwett and given as a gift to Kristina by one of her/his/their favourites, Count Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie. It is now kept in the Hall of State and was last used in 1975.
Above: Kristina's coronation robe.
Above: A view of Stockholm made by Wolfgang Hartmann in honour of Kristina's coronation.
During her/his/their reign, Kristina wanted peace for Sweden at any cost; and after a few years of peace negotiations, the Thirty Years' War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
"Utaff Edere skriwelser hawer Jagh nogsamt wornumit huru wida det med fritztractaten war kommit så wel som Mons de la Tuillery discurser medh eder om Cautionen. Nuh sedermera hawa the danske skridit saken nermare medh Halmstads tilbud. men for nimmer doch att medh seneste post dem intet wilia gripa sig nermare ahn, Medan i nuh vthi ett aff edre skriwelser mena att entligen stanna på halland och bleking skulle fulle wara det säkraste. och moste med Eder bekenna att, med mindre man bliwer realissime försäkratt är icke ens til tenkia på frid, men orsaken som migh hawa beweckt att giwa Eder gradus att stiga så witt neder som uthi resolutione giwne are i blandt alle andre icke den ringeste att Jagh wel märker, mestedelen aff Wort Rixens råhd wara fast aff en annan meningh en både J och iagh i det fallet wara kunna. frvcktar och fore att der det komme til ihlhelningen skvle somlige gierna (att hielpa kriget aff) vthan Caution wara att Contentera Jagh wil ingen beskülla men doch tror Jagh wist att tidernes afflop skal giörra min ord sand, och warder iagh i detta stendernes vtskot fuller kanske mera fornimmandes. J kunna wel besinna huru swårt det skal falle migh att strengia på den saken, som iagh wät att somlige wel funne råhdeligt att remittera, helst medan det skulle bliwa improberat (til äwentyrs) aff dem som der nogot påkomme billigt borde forswara de Consilia som med deras Consens wore tagne, tÿ tet skulle sedan hetas (der det annars en wel affginge) sådant spel allenast wara begunt aff nogra orolige hvwuden och gionnom mine och andre fleres Ambition wara Continuerat Wara. Sedan skulle min osküldige vngdom wara den Calumnie vnderkasta att den icke hade warit Capabel til helsosamt rhåd vthan transporterat aff libidine Dominandi, hawa sådanna fauter begongit. tÿ iagh kan wel sij min sort wara sadan att om nagot welbetenckt och flitigt giors aff mig, så hawa andra der ähran aff, men der nogot försummes som borde tages i acht aff androm, moste skulden wara min. Doch Jagh wil til gud hopas att ded skal alt gå wel aff. tecktes hans gudomeliga wilia att giwa wår flåtta wind hopades iagh att driwa werket så wit att man til äwentyrs, kunde hawa hop nogot mera at obtinera. Jagh beklagar högt den Edle tiden som så onyttigt löper sin kos, men det står nhu intet til endra, vthan moste befalas gud med hop att hans gudomelige almacht som alt hertil sa vnderligen hawer fort werket warder det och i sinom thid forandes til en önskelig vthgong. och wil hermed låta eder förnimma att, ner Jagh ret Considererar edert Consilium moste Jagh det helt aprobera och hawa Eder sake recommenderat, på det i moge giöra Conditiones de beste och säkreste Eder mögligit är. Eder flit, troghet och förstånd är migh nogsamt bekend, der är iagh aldeles vthan sorg att aff eder nogot skal forsvmmas. recommenderar alt så denne tractatz vtgång i gutz och edra hender, beder allenast att i icke will tröttas wed detta beswerliga arbete." ("I have sufficiently understood by your letters how far the peace treaty is advanced, as well as the talks that Monsieur de la Tuillerie has had with you concerning the guarantee. The Danes have since approached, making the offer of Helmstadt; although the last post marks us that they do not want to go further. I would be of your opinion, as being the surest, to fix myself on Halland and Blekinge, and I confess with you that unless we have a real security, we should not think of peace, but on other reasons, which have led me to give you degrees to decend to the point which is marked in the resolution. This is not the least, namely, that I realize that most of our kingdom's senators are of a completely different opinion than you and I can be, in this case. I am even afraid that if the case came to the point of the decision, there would be some who, to put an end to the war, would content themselves with giving it their hands, leaving the guarantee. I am not accusing anyone, but I am certain that time will verify what I say, and I will learn, perhaps, even more, in the present State Committee. You will understand that it will be difficult for me to insist too much on this point, since I know that some will find it convenient to relax from this affair, which perhaps will also be disapproved of by those who, in case of any unfortunate incident, should support the opinions agreed upon with their consent. For if this does not succeed, it will be said that this game was begun only by a few unsettled heads, and that it continued with my ambition and that of some others. Moreover, my innocent youth would be subject to this calumny, that she was not able to take salutary advice, but that, being transported by the desire to dominate, she committed such mistakes: because I foresee that my fate will be such that if I do something carefully and after having thought of it carefully, others will have the honor; but if something is neglected, to which others ought to have thought, the fault will pour upon me. However, I have confidence in God that all will be well; if it pleases His divine goodness to give wind to our fleet, I hope to push the matter to the point of obtaining something more. I am sorry for the loss of so precious a time, which flows instructively: but we are not in a position to stop it. It must be abandoned to the good God, in hope, that His omnipotence, which has so marvelously conducted this work so far, will also bring it to a desirable end. Upon which I must tell you, that when I examine your opinion well, I can not but approve it entirely. You are repeating the whole affair, so that you make the best and most secure conditions possible. Your ability, your genius, and your dexterity are well known to me. On this side I am not apprehensive that you neglect nothing, and that is why I place the result of this Treaty in the hands of God and yours. Please only do not get tired of this difficult work.") - Kristina in her/his/their letter to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, dated June 20, 1645
"Dertil medh att Jagh dageligen finner så stora dificulteter i fortsettiande aff kriget så att det wil falla ... medh så ringa medel ett så stort wessen att conducera, hvilket icke vthan hasard att taga dee Conditiones som nhu biudas icke skal affgå. Derhos medh moste och besinnas huru swårt det wil falla att suportera den Calumnien som oss påkomma warder både hos de swenske sielwe så wel som hos fremmande, hvilke alle der freden ginge sär skulle imputera skulden til alles wår ovtsleckliga ambition, den der sig på sielwe orettvissan funderade, och ingen annan finem hade ähn en begirlighet att dominera. och så som Jagh icke heller migh ret forsäkrat om hollendernes Cooperation, altså fruchtar iagh att der desse förreslagne Conditiones icke blewe accepterade, skulle the sökia att bliwa arbitri beleli ac pacis så att deres Jalousie kanske nogot oförmodeliget hos dem cavsera kunde, oansett Jagh förtiger hvad aff pollacken practiceras kan. Sedan det siste och förnemste ähr att contentera sin egen Consientie så att man må kunna för gudh och alle werden betÿga att man sigh til alle skelige fredtzmedel accomoderat hawer." ("I see further so many difficulties in carrying on the war, that I fear we shall have much trouble in attempting so great a task with means so small: and that it would be leaving too much to chance to refuse the conditions offered. We must recollect that, in case peace should be broken off, every one at home or abroad will lay it to the charge of our unmeasured ambition, based on injustice, and with the sole object of empire. And as I don't rely too much on the co-operation of the Dutch, I fear lest, if the proposed conditions are not accepted, they may try to become arbitrators, so that their jealousy may cause them to attempt something untoward; not to mention what the Poles might do. In short, we must make it plain before God and all the world that we applied ourselves to all reasonable means for obtaining peace.") - Kristina in her/his/their letter to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, dated June 24, 1645
"Betackar mig ... nådeligen för eder anwände flit och giorda communication: beder j wille därutinnan intet förtröttas, utan så härefter som härtils fortfara i den ifwer, som j hafwe alt härtil temoignerat för mig och Cronans tienst, försäkrande Eder, at ehuruwäl kan ske många tiläfwentijrs skulle söka at denigrera Eder, likwäl skal iag aldrig tillåta at någon skal kunna skada Eder i någon måtto, utan när Gud hielper Eder med hälsan, ock wäl förrättade saker hem igen, skal iag wäl låta i werket påskina at iag är och förblifwer Eder altid med all gunst bewågen." ("I thank you for the trouble you take in conducting this great matter to a successful conclusion, and your communication: I beg you not to grow weary, but continue in the zeal you have manifested till now in my service and that of the kingdom. In return I assure you that though many should attempt, perchance, to blacken you here, I will permit none of them to do you wrong in any respect; on the contrary, should you by the grace of God return in good health and successful, I will let you know by solid results that I am and remain always disposed to favour you.") - Kristina in a letter to Johan Adler Salvius, dated December 12, 1646
"Iag hafwer fått twänne Edra skrifwelser, hwilke mig mycket fägnat hafwa, och medan iag denna gången intet hafwer för tidens korthets skuld legenhet därpå at swara; beder fördenskuld at j på mina wägnar och på det aldra högste tacke Mons: d'Avaux för den stora och remarquable tienst, han mig har bewist, och giörer min enskyllan på det flitigaste, at Jag icke denna gången kan swara. Iag har så mycket at giöra, så at iag icke nog kan skrifwa. Iag hoppas at han aldrig lär twifla om min tacksamhet. Med nästa post skal iag intet manquera at complimentera honom. Hwad freds tractaten wedkommer, har iag optäkt Eder bägge min mening och resolution. Pousserer den saken som hon sig best giöra låter. Iag räds at iag lär få så mycket skaffa här hemma, så at iag wäl må tacka Gud at kunna få någorlunda en god fred. J förstån bättre än iag, quam arduum, quamque subjectum fortunæ regendi cuncta onus." ("I have received two letters from you which have pleased me greatly. I have not time to answer them as they deserve; accordingly, I beg you to thank M. D'Avaux for the essential service he has done me, and make my very particular excuses to him for not being able to write to him to-day. I have so much to do just now, that time is not sufficient for all my business. I hope he will never doubt my gratitude. I will not fail to thank him by the first courier. As to the Treaty of Peace, I have declared to both of you my opinion and my determination. Push matters on as best you can. I expect to have plenty to attend to here, so much so that I shall thank God if I am able to obtain, by hook or by crook, a good peace. You know better than me, quam arduum quamque subjectum fortunæ regendi cuncta onus!") - Kristina in a letter to Johan Adler Salvius, dated February 13, 1647
"Ser iag af alle omständigheter wäl, at en part sökia at protrahera Tractaten, åtminstone där de icke alldeles den kunna renversera. ... iag skal wisa all werlden se, at icke heller R. C. förmår allena röra werlden med ett finger, Sapienti sat. Mit bref som härhos fogadt är til eder bägge, måtte j lefwerera åt G. J. O.; och ehuruwäl iag der utinnan tastar eder hårt an, så är han doch allena dermed ment. Lager så at d'Avaux får weta dess Contenta, på det at Fransosener icke fatta wrånge tanckar om mig, utan at de måtte se hwars skulden är. ... när Gud en gång hielper Eder med fred hem, skal edre giorde tienster med Senatoria dignitate recompenseras. J weta sielf at det är den högsta äran som en ärlig man kan aspirera til i wårt Fädernesland, och der såsom någon högre gradus honoris wore, skulle iag ingen sky draga eder den at conferera." ("From all circumstances, I see how a certain person, not being able entirely to break the Treaty, seeks to put it off. ... I will let all the world see that the Chancellor cannot turn the whole world round his finger, sapienti sat. My letter herewith is addressed to both of you, give it immediately to Count Johan Oxenstierna; though I attack him and you equally in it, 'tis meant for him alone — let D'Avaux know the contents, that the French may not think ill of me, but see who is to blame. ... If by God's grace you come back here after the Peace, I will reward you Senatoriâ dignitate. You know it is in our country the highest honour to which an honest man can aspire — were there any higher gradus honoris I would not stick at conferring them upon you.") - Kristina in a letter to Johan Adler Salvius, dated April 10, 1647
"Messieurs. Desse få ord äro allenast adjousterade til mit publique bref, på det jag måtte uptäcka Eder med min egen hand den fruchtan jag hafwer, at den önskelige tractat, som alt härtil, har gifwit en så god förhoppning om et önskeligit utstag, genom någre orsaker som mig icke aldeles äre bekände, måtte blifwa studzad. Nu til at Eder om min wilja aldeles försäkra; så måge j Eder det wisserligen persuadera, at jag för alting åstundar en säker och honorable fred; Och emedan satisfactio Coronæ är redan aldeles sluten, och intet mera står igen än Soldateskens contentement och Riksens Ständers gravamina, så är det min wilje, at j hålla sakerne med godt maner gående, til des Erskein kan komma til Eder, och giöra Eder om sin commission kunnige, och då utan försummelse tractera wärket til en önskelig ända: giörandes Ständernes condition, Crononens satisfaction och soldateskens contentement det bästa sig giöra låter utan freds brott, och sedan icke längre solcka dermed, som härtils skedt är; där annorlunda sker, så måge j se til, huru j det in för Gud, Riksens Ständer och mig hafwa til at förswara: Ifrån denne scopum låter inga ambitieuse Menniskiors phantasier Eder movera, så kärt Eder är min högsta onåde at undwika, och der j icke hafwen lust at stå mig derföre blek och röder til swar: då må j wist tro at hwarken authoritet och slächters apuïs skal mig hindra at wisa Werlden det misshag Jag drager til oförnuftige procedurer; Ty Jag är nogsamt försäkrad, at der tractaten skulle gå swår, worde iag igenom edert försende brakt uti labyrint, der utur hwarken Edert eller deras (som sådane Consilia fovera) förstånd wore mig utur bringandes; derföre hafwe j Eder wäl at förese." ("Gentlemen: I add these few words to my public despatch, to discover to you with my own hand the fear I entertain lest this treaty, so earnestly desired, and for whose happy conclusion we have till now had reason to hope, should be arrested by causes not yet sufficiently well known to me. Therefore, to let you perfectly understand my will, you must thoroughly persuade yourselves that before all things I desire a sure and honourable peace. And since the satisfactio coronæ is already determined, and there remain only those of the soldiers and the gravamina of the Estates of the Empire, I will that you keep matters in good course till Erskein arrives and communicates to you his commission. Then without any further dawdling you must bring the negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion by securing the best condition of the Estates, satisfaction of the Crown, and contentment of the soldiery that may be possible without breaking the peace — and no longer drag matters out as at present; otherwise, you will have to look to it how you will answer it before God, the Estates of the realm and me. Let not the phantasies of ambitious men turn you from your goal, unless you wish to incur my extreme disgrace and displeasure, and stand accountable to me blushing and blanching: you may be sure that in that case, no authority nor support of great houses shall hinder me from showing all the world the displeasure I feel at insensate procedure. I am convinced that if things go ill with the Treaty your errors will have placed me in a labyrinth, whence neither you, nor the brains of those who foment such plans, will ever draw me. Therefore it behoves you to look well to yourselves.") - Kristina in a letter to Johan Adler Salvius and Abel Servien, dated April 10, 1647
"Jag kan icke nogsamt betyga min glädie öfwer de hugneliga tjdender som iag med nästa post fick af Eder. ... Wore Jag så lycksalig, at jag måtte sedan sättia Christenheten i ro, wore det alt mit begär och skulle ackta det för min del. ... När instrumentum Pacis är färdigt, så kommen sielf hit där med. ... Gud gifwe oss frid, så hoppas Jag at komma à bout de tous mes desirs. Blifwer frid, så få wi godt kiöp på långa näsor här hemma och wi få säija: Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni. Sapienti sat!" ("I cannot express to you the joy your pleasant news gave me. ... what I desire most of all and place above everything is to give peace to Christendom. When the instrumentum pacis is drawn up, you will bring it yourself. ... If God grants us peace I hope to compass all my desires, then we shall see some long faces here, and may say, victriæ causa Deis placuit, sed victa Catoni: a word to the wise.") - Kristina in a letter to Johan Adler Salvius, dated July 21, 1648
Kristina also wanted to bring learning, art and culture to Sweden. She/he/they were deeply interested in rare books and manuscripts, philosophy, the arts, religion, mathematics, alchemy and languages. Like any 17th century monarch, Kristina was required to speak multiple languages. In addition to her/his/their native Swedish, she/he/they also spoke fluent French, German, Latin and Italian; she/he/they also knew Dutch, Danish, Spanish, probably a bit of Finnish, and studied a bit of Hebrew, Arabic and Ancient Greek. She/he/they had a theater built in the castle (as she/he/they liked to perform, even being given the role of the goddess Diana in one of the plays written by the court poet Georg Stiernhelm) and began a "Court of Learning" by corresponding with and inviting the most learned and eminent scholars of the time to her/his/their court; the most prominent of them was the French philosopher René Descartes. According to his and Kristina's mutual friend, the French ambassador Pierre Hector Chanut, he died from pneumonia in February 1650; as he, unused to the cold, was ordered to come to Kristina's unheated library at 5 in the morning to give her/him/them philosophy lessons, during one of the coldest winters Sweden had yet seen. Kristina was reportedly devastated by his death (although she and Descartes turned out to not like each other much) and had planned an elaborate funeral for him, but soon forgot all about it. The great man was buried in a simple, humble grave in a Stockholm graveyard for unbaptised children.
"Ma curiosité me porta, il y a quelque temps, de vous faire demander par M. Chanut votre sentiment sur la question du souverain bien: là-dessus, Monsieur, vous l'avez déclaré dans une lettre que vous avez pris la peine de m'écrire, de laquelle je prétends de vous remercier par la présente, comme aussi du Traité des Passions que vous y avez joint: je vous assure, Monsieur, que ces pièces m'ont confirmé dans la bonne opinion que ledit sieur Chanut m'avait donné de vous. Je savais déjà que, pour être son ami, il ne faudrait pas avoir moins de vertu et de savoir que Dieu vous en a donné, et l'estime qu'avec grande raison j'ai donné à son mérite m'obligeait de n'en avoir pas moins pour vous; à cette heure vous vous êtes fait connâitre par les beaux livres que vous avez écrits, je vous remercie de tout mon cœur de ce que vous m'avez confirmé et augmenté l'estime que j'avais pour l'un et pour l'autre, et vous prie de croire que j'embrasserai avec plaisir toutes les occasions qui me permettront de vous témoigner que vos mérites vous ont acquis l'estime et l'affection de Christine." ("My curiosity led me, some time ago, to ask you to ask Monsieur Chanut for your opinion on the question of the sovereign good. On that point, Monsieur, you explained it in a letter that you have taken the trouble to write, of which I claim to thank you hereby, as well as the Treatice of the Passions that you have attached. I assure you, Monsieur, that these documents confirmed me in the good opinion that said Monsieur Chanut had given to you from me. I already knew that, to be his friend, one should not have less virtue and know that God gave it to one, and the esteem that with great reason I gave to his merit obliged me to have no less for you. At this hour you have become known from the beautiful books you have written. I thank you with all my heart for what you have confirmed to me and increased the esteem I had for one and the other; and I beg you to believe that I will gladly embrace all the opportunities that will allow me to testify to you, that your merits have earned you the esteem and affection of Kristina.") - Kristina in a letter to René Descartes, dated December 2, 1648
Kristina founded the Royal Turku Academy in Finland in 1640 and the first newspaper in Sweden,
Ordinari Post Tijdender, in 1645
. In 1648, on Kristina's orders, the Swedish army invaded Prague in the Holy Roman Empire (in what is now the Czech Republic) and raided the castle there, taking Emperor Rudolf II's art and manuscript collection with them back to Sweden. The most famous member of the collection, the
Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil's Bible, is still held in Sweden. For all this, Stockholm became known as the "Athens of the North", and Kristina became known as the "Minerva of the North", after the Roman goddess of wisdom.
Above: René Descartes (1596-1650).
Above: The seal of the Royal Turku Academy, year 1640. It is now the University of Helsinki.
Above: A page from the April 9, 1645 issue of Ordinari Post Tijdender
, now Post- och Inrikes Tidningar
.
Above: The Codex Gigas
. Photo courtesy of the Royal Library of Sweden.
Above: Kristina depicted as Minerva.
Above: Kristina in a portrait by David Beck, year 1650.
Kristina was very intelligent and had a remarkable memory, but she/he/they was also fickle, moody, easily bored and impatient, blunt and brutal in her/his/their honesty and the openness of her/his/their part of conversations, and had a dominant streak and, although she/he/they was generally cheerful, she/he/they could be very intense when angry, sad or anxious; and despite her adeptness at politics and dissimulation, she/he/they was also clumsy and tactless, always refusing to make compromises. She/he/they was described as having a "hot and dry" temperament, and Kristina attributed her/his/their "aversion" to beer and wine to ingestion of strong drinks heating the blood and bringing up the black bile within her/his/their body, as these were still the days when the study of medicine and health revolved around the four humours. Her/his/their disregard for social norms and rules (for example, it was noted that she often talked, laughed out loud, clapped her hands, swore, read, and openly showed signs of boredom in church and during plays), always doing, acting, and wearing things which she/he/they deemed logically practical, not understanding the need for most social norms, frequently missing social cues, and the intensity of her/his/their fascinations and interests in certain aforementioned subjects of literature and the arts has led some (myself included) to believe or at least suggest that Kristina was or might have been autistic. The comment about the blood being heated and consequent bile problem brought on by ingestion of beer or wine and Kristina's "aversion" to strong drinks could also support this theory, as many autistic people have sensitivities to certain tastes and textures (Kristina also did not like pork), it is not uncommon for autistic people to have gastrointestinal problems; and studies have shown that autistic people are more likely than the general population to be transgender and/or gender non-conforming due to being less understanding of, susceptible to and compliant with gendered social norms and expectations. Kristina's unusual spellings even in an era where standardised and consistent spelling was not yet the norm also suggest that she/he/they probably had mild dysgraphia (for example, she/he/they often capitalised Cs, Js, Vs and Ws and spelled "
témoigner" as "
tesmoinger", "
lettre" as "
lestre", "
travailler" as "
travallier", "
patience" as "
pacience" and "
épargner" as "
esparnger"; and her/his/their spelling of some French words seems influenced by Italian orthography, for example spelling "
secret" as "
segrette" and "
conjecture" as "
conietture"), and dyscalculia might explain her/his/their lack of understanding of finance and lifelong struggle in that area.
Kristina was also different physically. Aside from the drooping shoulder, she/he/they had a bent back, to the point that some obviously exaggerated accounts claim she/he/they had a hunchbacked posture; and Kristina's chest was also deformed: only one breast developed completely, and the bones of the chest also had an abnormal structure.
"Cum mihi persuaserim, Illustrissime Legate, exstare in quibusdam Regni Neapolitani Bibliothecis præclara quædam antiquitatis monumenta, tam Græca quam Latina, quæ magnam mihi possint adferre voluptatem; proficiscenti eò Nicolao Heinsio, id in mandatis dedi, ut pleraque quæ gustui meo consentanea esse crederet, ea vel ipse describeret, vel saltem per alios quam accuratissime describi curaret. Cum vero intellexerim nonnullas Bibliothecas valde solliciter recludi, & non tantum exteris, verum etiam inquilinis admodum raro patere, prætermittere non potui, quin supra memorato Heinsio commendatitias adderem, quarum beneficio felicius operam suam collocare, votoque meo satisfacere posset. Valde itaque te rogo, ut si quæ in Neapolitano aut Siculo regno sint Bibliothecæ, quæ difficiliores habeant accessus, ad eas ipsi patefacias aditum, procurando literas illi ad hoc necessarias; neque id tantum peto, ut obiter ad eas admittatur, verum ut etiam ad aliquot tempus versari possit in omnibus istis Bibliothecis, sive illæ in principum palatiis, sive in ædibus sacris, sive denique in religiosorum essent conventibus." ("Not doubting, Sir Ambassador, that there are in the libraries of the kingdom of Naples excellent ancient manuscripts, both Greek and Latin, which would be very pleasant to have, I have ordered Nicolaus Heinsius, who is leaving here, to himself make a copy of those he believes to be of my liking, or to have them copied exactly by others. However, as I have learned that some of these libraries are kept so carefully closed that they are only very rarely opened, either to foreigners or to rulers themselves, I could not let the said Heinsius leave without giving him this letter of recommendation so that he would be more successful in his commission and satisfy my wishes. This is why I urge you that if there are libraries in the kingdoms of Naples or Sicily which are difficult to enter, you will give him free access by letters of favour that will please you to make him have that access. But my imploring is not limited to the only point of making him see these libraries in a hurry, but that he can spend some reasonable time there, either that they are kept in the palaces of princes, or that they are in churches or in religious convents.") - Kristina in a letter to the Spanish ambassador Antonio Pimentel, dated January 1, 1651
"Mandez-moi les Catalogues des livres, que vous avez achetés, & de ceux que vous avez fait copier & les comptes de l'argent que vous avez dépensé & pour votre personne & pour vos achats. Je vous ferai tout païer: & mandez-moi aussi combien vous en avez besoin, afin que j'envoïe les changes pour votre voïage. Je ne vous puis rien dire, si non, que le remettant à votre discrétion, sans façon, il faut que vous sachiez, que je veux que vous ne quittiez pas l'Italie, sans avoir visité la Sicile. Pour votre demeure en tout & pour tout, faites-là aussi longue & aussi courte comme vous jugerez qu'il soit besoin pour mon service. Vous me rendrez un très-grand office, si vous pouvez me faire tenir correspondance avec le Chevalier del Pozzo & quelques autres Gens de mérite. Je serai ravie de cultiver leur amitié, s'ils m'en donnent quelque petite marque. Aïez aussi soin de remarquer ceux, qui travaillent ou en vers ou en prose pour mon honneur, afin que j'en sois ponctuellement averti pour les pouvoir régaler. Vous savez que je suis curieuse. Aïez soin de contenter ma curiosité en matiére de médailles. Continuez de m'envoïer le catalogue de ce qui est beau & curieux: mais ne vous embarquez point en aucun achat, pourvû que je sois instruite de ce qui est rare." ("Order the catalogues of the books you bought and those you had copied and the accounts of the money you spent, both for yourself and for your purchases. I will make you pay for everything; and also tell me how much you need so that I can send the change for your journey. I can tell you nothing except that handing it over to your discretion, in no way, you must know that I do not want you to leave Italy without having visited Sicily. For your home, in all and for all, make it as long and as short as you deem necessary for my service. You will do me a very great service if you can let me correspond with the Cavaliere dal Pozzo and some other people of merit. I will be delighted to cultivate their friendship, if they give me some little mark. Also, take care to notice thos, who write verses or prose for my honour, so that I am punctually informed so I can treat them. You know I am curious. Take care to satisfy my curiosity regarding medals. Continue to send me the catalogue of what is beautiful and curious; but do not embark on any purchase, provided that I am informed of what is rare.") - Kristina in a letter to Nicolaus Heinsius, dated May 1, 1652
"Ordinairement elle paroissoit un peu pensive, qu'elle passoit fort aisement, & fort souvent à d'autres mouvemens; que son visage, quelque revolution que se fist en son esprit, conservoit toûjours quelque chose de serein, & d'agreable; qu'il est vray que si quelques fois elle desapprouvoit ce qu'on luy disoit, ce qui luy arrivoit tres-rarement, on voyoit son visage se couvrir comme d'un certain nuage, qui sans le defigurer donnoit de la terreur à ceux qui la regardoient; qu'elle avoit pour l'ordinaire le son de la voix fort doux, & de quelque fermeté dont elle prononçast ses mots, on jugeoit bien clairement que c'estoit le langage d'une fille; quelquefois neantmoins elle changeoit ce son, mais sans affectation, ou cause apparente, pour en prendre un plus robuste, & plus fort que celuy de son sexe, qui revenoit petit à petit, & insensiblement à sa mesure ordinaire; Sa taille estoit un peu au dessous de la mediocre, ce qui auroit peu paru si cette Princesse eust voulu se servir de la chaussure dont les Dames se servent ordinairement, mais pour estre plus commodement dans son Palais, marcher a pied ou à cheval à la campagne, elle ne portoit que des souliers à simple semelle d'un petit Marroquin noir semblables à ceux des hommes. ... sa devotion envers Dieu paroissoit en la confiance qu'elle témoignoit avoir en sa protection, plus qu'en toutes autres choses: Au reste elle n'est point scrupuleuse, & elle n'affecte point les demonstrations d'une devotion ceremonieuse, elle n'a rien de plus present en l'esprit que l'amour incroyable d'une haute vertu, dont elle fait toute sa joye, & ses delices, à quoy elle joint une passion extreme pour la gloire, & à ce qu'on en peut juger elle souhaitte la vertu accompagnée de l'honneur. Elle se plaist quelquefois de parler comme les Stoïciens de cette éminence de la vertu, qui fait nostre souverain bien en cette vie, elle est merveilleusement forte sur ce sujet, & quand elle en parle avec des personnes, qui luy sont familieres, & qu'elle entre sur l'estime veritable que l'on doit faire des choses humaines: C'est un plaisir extreme de luy voir mettre sa Couronne sous les pieds, & publier que la vertu est l'unique bien où tous les hommes doivent s'attacher indispensablement sans tirer avantage de leurs conditions; mais parmy cet adveu elle n'oublie pas long-temps qu'elle est Reine, elle reprend incontinent sa Couronne, elle en reconnoist le poids, & met le premier degré pour aller à la vertu, à bien s'acquiter de sa profession, aussi a-t-elle de grands avantages de la nature pour y reüssir dignement: car elle une facilité merveilleuse à comprendre & à penetrer les affaires: Une memoire qui la sert si fidellement, qu'on peut dire que souvent elle en abuse; elle parle Latin, François, Allemand, Flamand, Suedois, & elle estudie à la Langue Grecque; elle a des personnes sçavantes qui l'entretiennent à ses heures perduës de tout ce qu'il y a de plus curieux dans les sciences; & cet esprit avide de connoistre toutes choses, s'informe de tour; il ne se passe jour qu'elle ne lise quelque chose de l'Histoire de Tacite, qu'elle apelle un jeu d'échets: Cet Auteur qui donne à penser aux sçavans, luy est tres-intelligible dans les endroits les plus difficiles, & où les plus doctes s'arrestent, comme hesitans sur le sens des paroles, elle les exprime mesme in nostre Langue avec une facilité merveilleuse, mais elle fuit, ou du moins elle neglige de paroistre avoir leu, & sçavoir; elle prend un extréme plaisir à oüir traiter des questions problematiques, particulierement parmy des personnes sçavantes qui sont de sentimens differends, sur lesquelles elle ne dit jamais son sentiment que tout le monde n'ait parlé, & encore en peu de paroles, & le tout si bien raisonné qu'il peut passer pour une décision formelle, & positive. ... ses Ministres, quand elle est dans son Conseil, ont peine à découvrir de quel côté elle planche; elle se garde à elle mesme le secret avec fidelité, & comme elle ne se laisse pas prevenir sur les rapportes qu'on luy fait, elle paroist deffiante, ou difficile à persuader à ceux qui l'abordent avec quelque proposition qu'ils affectionnent, parce qu'ils ne trouvent pas qu'elle acquiesse à ce qu'ils veulent aussi promptement qu'ils souhaittent; il est vray qu'elle panche un peu vers l'humeur soupçonneuse, & que par fois elle est un peu trop lente à s'eclaircir de la verité, & trop facile à presumer de la finesse en autruy. ("Usually she appears somewhat pensive, yet passes easily and often to other expressions. Her face, whatever be the revolutions of her mind, yet retains always a certain agreeable serenity; though certainly if, as but rarely happens, she disapproves of what is said to her, a sort of cloud may be seen to spread over her face, which without disfiguring her yet causes terror in those who see it. The tone of her voice is as a rule very soft, and however firmly she pronounces her words, they are clearly recognised as those of a girl: sometimes, however, yet without affectation or apparent cause, she changes this tone for one stronger and louder than that of her sex, which little by little sinks back to its ordinary pitch. She is rather below the average height, which would not have been obvious, had this princess been willing to make use of shoes such as ladies are wont to wear; but, in order to be more at ease in her palace, or in walking or riding, she wears only shoes with a sole and a little black heel similar to those of a man. ... Her devotion to God appears in the confidence which she manifests in His protection, greater than in any other thing; for the rest, she is not scrupulous, and does not affect an outwardly pious ceremonial. Nothing is more constantly in her mind than an incredible love for a lofty virtue, wherein lies all her joy and delight: to this she joins an extreme passion for glory, and, as far as we can judge, her desire is for virtue coupled with honour. Sometimes it pleases her to speak, like the Stoics, of that 'platform of excellence' which constitutes our sovereign good in this life; she is marvellously strong on this subject, and when she is talking to persons with whom familiar, and begins to discuss the true estimate which we should make of the things of this world, it is delightful to see her putting the crown beneath her feet, and announcing virtue as the only good, to which it behoves all men to apply themselves, without making capital of their rank; but during this avowal she soon recollects she is a queen, and therefore again assumes the crown, of which she is sensible of the weight. She places the final step towards acquiring virtue in doing one's duty, and in fact she is largely endowed by nature with the qualities necessary to enable her to perform her part worthily; for she has a marvelous facility in understanding and seeing into affairs, and a memory which serves her so faithfully that it may be said she often abuses it. She speaks Latin, French, German, Flemish, Swedish, and is studying Greek; she has savants by her who discourse with her in her idle moments of all the most curious details in the sciences; her mind, greedy of knowing all things, seeks information on all. No day passes that she does not read in her history of Tacitus, which she calls her game at chess; this author, who makes savants puzzle over him, she understands easily in his most difficult passages, and where the most learned pause, hesitating as to the meaning, she translates well in our tongue with extraordinary facility. Yet she avoids or at any rate does not study to seem learned or savante. She takes great pleasure in listening to the discussion of problematic questions, especially by learned people of different opinions; her own opinion she never gives till all have spoken, and then only in few words, the whole so well considered that it may pass for a formal and positive decision. ... Her ministers, when she is in council, can with difficulty discern to which side she leans; she preserves the secret faithfully; and as she never lets herself be prejudiced by what people tell her, she seems mistrustful, or difficult of persuasion, to those who gain access to her. ... 'Tis true she is inclined to be suspicious, and sometimes she is a little too slow at seeing the truth, and too ready to infer finesse in others.")
"Elle le [temps] ménage aussi avec avarice, car elle dort peu, & ne demeure ordinairement au lict que cinq heures, ainsi ce temps n'estant pas suffisant pour rétablir ses forces, elle est quelquefois obligée, principalement en Esté, de dormir pendant une heure après qu'elle a disné; elle s'attache peu à son habillement ni à sa parure, il n'en faut pas faire estat dans la distribution de sa journée; en un quart d'heure de temps elle est habillée, & si vous en exceptez les jours des grandes solemnitez, le peigne seul, & un bout de ruban fait toute sa coëffure, cependant ses cheveux ainsi negligez accompagnent fort bien son visage, mais elle en a si peu de soin, que ni au Soleil, ni au vent, ni à la pluye, ni dans la Ville, ni à la Campagne elle ne porte ni coeffe ni masque. Lorsqu'elle marche à cheval elle n'a pour toute deffense contre les injures de l'air qu'un chapeau avec des plumes; de sorte qu'un Estranger qui l'a veuë à la chasse avec sa hongreline, & un petit collet à la maniere des hommes ne la prendroit jamais pour la Reine: Il y a sans doute de l'excés dans cette negligence qu'elle a pour sa personne ...; mais toutes choses ne luy sont rien auprés de cet amour ardent qu'elle a pour l'honneur, & pour la vertu, & l'on peut dire que son ambition est plus à rendre son nom éclattant par un merite extraordinaire, que par des Conquestes, & qu'elle aime mieux devoir sa reputation à elle-mesme, qu'à la valeur de ses sujets." ("Of her time she is very avaricious, for she sleeps little, and usually stays in bed only five hours; this not being sufficient, however, to restore her forces, she is sometimes obliged, principally in summer, to sleep an hour after dinner. She cares little about dressing and adornment; we must not reckon it in the division of her day. She dresses in a quarter of an hour, and, excepting on great occasions or festivals, the comb alone and a knot of ribbon constitute her headdress. Nevertheless this negligent method of doing her hair suits her face very well; but so little care does she take of it that neither in sun, wind, rain, town or country, does she wear hat or veil. When she rides, she has for protection against the weather only a hat with feathers in it, so that a stranger who might see her hunting in her Hungarian habit with a little collar like a man's would never take her for the Queen. Perhaps she carries this too far. ... but nothing is important in her eyes except the ambition of making herself renowned for extraordinary merit rather than conquest; she loves to owe her reputation to herself, rather than to the worth of her subjects.") - Pierre Hector Chanut's description of Kristina from February 1648
"Et à la Cour Elle s'est aussi toûjours habillée fort modestement. Jamais je n'ai vû ni or ni argent, ni dans les ornemens de sa tête, ni sur ses habits, ni a son cou. Tout ce qu'Elle a d'or sur son Corps, c'est une bague. Elle n'a nul soin de sa parure. On ne peigne ses cheveux qu'une fois par semaine. Quelque fois Elle sera jusqu'à quinze jours sans se faire peigner. Le dimanche Elle met une demie heure à s'habiller; Les autres jours Elle ne prend pour cet ouvrage qu'un quart d'heure. J'ai remarqué quelques fois en lui parlant, que la manche de sa chemise étoit pleine de taches d'encre qu'Elle étoit faites en écrivant. Je lui ai aussi vû de linge dechiré. Quand on veut la faire souvenir de ne pas se negliger comme Elle fait, Elle repond, qu'il faut laisser ce soin aux personnes desœvrées. Elle n'emploi au sommeil que 3. à 4. heures se couchant fort tard & se levant de grand matin. On fait que pendant dix-huit mois à peine s'est Elle permise trois heures par nuit à dormir. A son réveil Elle donne 5. heures à diverses lectures. C'est un suplice pour Elle que de manger en public. Lorsqu'Elle mange seule, Elle demeure à peine une demie heure à table. Elle ne boit que l'Eau. Jamais on ne lui a entendu dire le moindre mot des viandes, qu'elles fussent bien ou mal aprêtées. Elle ne commande jamais la Cuisine. Je l'ai vû manger plusieurs fois, & j'ai vû qu'Elle ne touchoit qu'aux mets les plus communs qu'on lui présentoit, en renvoiant le reste. Je lui ai souvent ouï dire, qu'Elle vivoit sans chagrin & sans inquiétude, & qu'Elle ne conoissoit rien au monde d'assez grand, d'assez nuisible ou d'assez rude pour pouvoir troubler la tranquilité de son Esprit. Elle se vante de n'avoir pas plus de peur de la mort que du sommeil. Au fort de l'hiver, lorsque la mer est toute glacée, Elle se promene en traineau par les Campegnes & mêmes jusqu'à 4. 5. ou 6. heures de nuit. Elle destine la matinée aux afaires politiques, & assiste regulièrement à son Conseil. J'ai vû qu'un jour qu'Elle s'étoit fait saigner; Elle tint Conseil avec ses Ministres & qu'Elle y demeura prés de 5. heures. Incommmodée d'une fievre qui dura 28. jours, Elle ne se dispensoit jamais du soins des afaires d'Etat. Elle dit, que Dieu lui a confié le Gouvernement de son Roiaume; qu'Elle s'en acquittera de son mieux possible, & qu'en cas qu'Elle ne réüssisse pas toûjours, Elle aura du moins la consolation de n'avoir rien à se reprocher." ("At court she always dresses very modestly. I have never seen gold or silver in the ornaments of her head, nor on her clothes, nor on her neck. All she has on her body that is gold is a ring. She only combs her hair once a week. Sometimes it will go for up to fifteen days without being combed. On Sundays it takes her half an hour to get dressed; other days she takes only a quarter of an hour. I noticed a few times while talking with her that the sleeves of her chemise were splattered with ink stains that she had gotten while writing. I also saw that her clothes were torn. When one tries to convince her not to neglect herself the way she does, she replies: 'Leave it to idle people.' She only sleeps for 3 to 4 hours, going to bed very late and getting up very early in the morning. For barely eighteen months she's allowed herself three hours a night to sleep. When she wakes up, she devotes five hours to various readings. It is torture for her to eat in public. When she eats alone, she is at the table for barely half an hour. She only drinks water. No one has ever heard her say anything about the food, whether it is well or badly prepared. She never orders the kitchen. I have seen her eat several times, and I have seen that she does not touch the most common dishes presented to her, returning the rest. I have often heard her say that she lived without sorrow and without anxiety, and that she knew nothing of the world that was large enough, harmful enough, or harsh enough to disturb the tranquility of her mind. She boasts of having no more fear of death than of sleep. At the height of winter, when the sea is icy cold, she strolls in a sledge by the countryside, even up to 4, 5 or 6 o'clock at night. She destines every morning for political affairs, and regularly attends her Council. I saw that one day she was bleeding; she held a council with her ministers and remained there nearly five hours. Hindered by a fever that lasted 28 days, she never dispensed with attending to affairs of state. She says that God has entrusted to her the government of her kingdom; that she will do it as best she can, and that in case she does not always succeed, she will at least have the consolation of having nothing to reproach herself with.") - Father Charles Alexandre de Mannerschied's description of Kristina from October 1653
"The magistrates of Francfort would gladly have bestowed some entertainment upon her, but she refusing it, they only saluted her from their works with the canon, and she barely passed through over the bridge. In her passing through the multitude, she made several strange grimaces and faces, and was not able to keep her countenance long. When she approached the forts, she sat in the right boot of the coach in a black velvet coat, and a hat with feathers, whereof the people getting notice, they all got on that side to have the better view of her; but she coming nearer to the city itself, she suddenly changed her black coat, and put on a grey with a black hood about her head, and got to the left boot. That night she dispatched a courier to the prince elector, returning him thanks for his visit and invitation. And now she being on her journey again, in regard she was to touch yet upon one of the bordering towns of the Palatinat, (Boxberg,) his highness, together with the lady electress, and both his sisters, who were very desirous to see this wandering queen, did there once more attend her, but she hasted on, and the visit proved very short. A person of note and quality, that waited upon her when she was about Francfort, doth relate he heard her say, The people talk, that I am going to Loretto, to offer up a scepter and crown to the lady Mary there. I laid down these regalities in Sweden, and if I had another crown to dispose of, I would rather bestow it on the good poor king of England. And when it was told by some, that there was a rumour abroad as if she intended to put herself into a cloister, she is said to have answered, smilingly pointing at Piemontelli, He there likely may know, what cloister-flesh I have about me." - intelligence letter from 1655
"Je veux, dans le temps que je m'ennuie cruellement, penser à vous divertir, en vous envoyant le portrait de la reine que j'accompagne. Elle n'est pas grande, mais elle a la taille fournie et la croupe large, le bras beau, la main blanche et bien faite, mais plus d'homme que de femme; une épaule haute, dont elle cache si bien le défaut par la bizarrerie de son habit, sa démarche et ses actions, que l'on en pourroit faire des gageures. Le visage est grand sans être défectueux, tous les traits sont de même et fort marqués; le nez aquilin, la bouche assez grande, mais pas désagréable; ses dents passables, ses yeux fort beaux et pleins de feu, son teint, nonobstant quelques marques de petite vérole, assez vif et assez beau; le tour du visage assez raisonnable, accompagné d'une coiffure fort bizarre. C'est une perruque d'homme fort grosse et fort relevée sur le front, fort épaisse sur les côtés, qui en bas a des pointes fort claires; le dessus de la tête est d'un tissu de cheveux, et le derrière a quelque chose de la coiffure d'une femme. Quelquefois elle porte un chapeau. Son corps lacé par derrière, de biais, est quasi fait comme nos pourpoints; sa chemise sortant tout autour au-dessus de sa jupe, qu'elle porte assez mal attachée et pas trop droite. Elle est toujours fort poudrée, avec force pommade, et ne met quasi jamais de gants. Elle est chaussée comme un homme, dont elle a le ton de voix et quasi toutes les actions. Elle affecte fort de faire l'amazone. Elle a pour le moins autant de gloire et de fierté qu'en pouvoit avoir le grand Gustave son père. Elle est fort civile et fort caressante, parle huit langues, et principalement la française, comme si elle étoit née à Paris. Elle sait plus que toute notre Académie jointe à la Sorbonne, se connoît admirablement en peinture, comme en toutes les autres choses, sait mieux toutes les intrigues de notre cour que moi. Enfin c'est une personne tout-à-fait extraordinaire. Je l'accompagnerai à la cour par le chemin de Paris; ainsi vous pourez en juger vous-même. Je crois n'avoir rien oublié à sa peinture, hormis qu'elle porte quelquefois une épée avec un collet de buffle, et que sa perruque est noire, et qu'elle n'a sur sa gorge qu'une écharpe de même." ("I want, in the time that I am bored cruelly, to think of entertaining you by sending you the portrait of the Queen that I accompany. She is not tall, but she is full with a large bottom. Her arms are beautiful, her hands white and well formed, but more a man's than a woman's. She has a high shoulder, whose defect she hides so well with the oddness of her dress, her gait and her actions, that it could be disputed. Her face is large without being defectuous, all the features are the same and very marked; her nose is aquiline, the mouth is quite big, but not unpleasant. Her teeth are passable, her eyes very beautiful and full of fire, her complexion, notwithstanding some pockmarks, is quite lively and pretty; the outline of her face fairly reasonable, accompanied by a very odd hairstyle. It is a man's wig, very big and raised above the forehead, very thick on the sides, with some light points at the bottom. The top of the head is a mass of hair, and the back has something of a woman's hairstyle. Sometimes she wears a hat. Her corset laced from behind, on a biais, is almost like our doublets; her shirt hangs out all over her skirt, which she wears rather badly attached and not very straight. She is always heavily powdered with a lot of pomade and almost never wears gloves. She is dressed like a man, her tone of voice and almost all her actions are masculine. She sees herself very much as an Amazon. She has at least as much glory and pride as the great Gustav, her father, must have had. She is very civil and very flattering, speaks eight languages, mainly French, as if she were born in Paris. She knows more than all our Academy and the Sorbonne combined, is admirably familiar with painting, as well as all other things, she knows better all the intrigues of our court than I do. In conclusion, she is a very extraordinary person. I will accompany her to court through Paris so you can judge for yourself. I think I have forgotten nothing in her portrait, except that she sometimes wears a sword with a buffalo collar, and that her wig is black, and that she wears only a scarf of the same material on her breast.") - Henry, Duke of Guise, year 1656
"Aussitôt qu'elle vit la Reine, elle descendit de carrosse, et la Reine s'avança aussi deux ou trois pas au dehors de la terrasse pour l'aller recevoir. Elles se saluèrent toutes deux civilement. La reine de Suède voulut faire quelques complimens, et remercier la Reine du bon traitement qu'elle avoit reçu en France; mais ces paroles furent interrompues par celles de la Reine, qui lui témoigna la joie qu'elle avoit de la voir. L'impatience qu'eurent tous ceux qui les environnoient de voir cette reine fut si grande, qu'elle obligea les deux reines à finir leurs complimens, pour fuir la foule qui les accabloit. Le Roi, qui avoit déjà fait connoissance avec l'étrangère, lui donna la main pour la faire entrer dans la maison. Elle passa devant la Reine, et se laissa conduire où l'on voulut la mener. Plusieurs ont trouvé que la Reine fut trop civile de lui laisser prendre cet avantage; et le Roi même, devenu plus grand, en a eu depuis da la douleur et du chagrin, et en plusieurs occasions a reproché à la Reine sa mère qu'elle avoit eu tort d'avoir cédé chez elle à cette reine et à celle de Pologne, vu la grandeur de sa naissance, et le haut rang que lui donnoit la couronne de France. J'étois une de celles qui me trouvai le plus près de ces deux royales personnes; et quoique les descriptions si particulières que l'on avoit faites de la reine de Suède me l'eussent figurée dans mon imagination, j'avoue néanmoins que d'abord sa vue me surprit. Les cheveux de sa perruque étoient ce jour-là défrisés: le vent, en descendant de carrosse, les enleva; et comme le peu de soin qu'elle avoit de son teint lui en faisoit perdre la blancheur, elle me parut d'abord comme une Egyptienne dévergondée qui, par hasard, ne seroit pas trop brune. En regardant cette princesse, tout ce qui dans cet instant remplit mes yeux me parut extraordinairement étrange, et plus capable d'effrayer que de plaire. Son habit étoit composé d'un petit corps qui avoit à moitié la figure d'un pourpoint d'homme, et l'autre moitié celle d'une hongreline de femme, mais qui étoit si mal ajusté sur son corps qu'une de ses épaules sortoit tout d'un côté, qui étoit celle qu'elle avoit plus grosse que l'autre. Sa chemise étoit faite à la mode des hommes: elle avoit un collet qui étoit attaché sous sa gorge beaucoup plus qu'un pourpoint, n'étoit point couvert de ce collet. Cette même chemise sortoit par en bas de son demi pourpoint comme celles des hommes, et elle faisoit sortir, au bout de ses bras et sur ses mains, la même quantité de toile que les hommes en laissoient voir alors au défaut de leur pourpoint et de leurs manches. Sa jupe, qui étoit grise, chamarrée de petits passemens d'or et d'argent, de même que sa hongreline, étoit courte; et au lieu que nos robes sont traînantes, la sienne lui faisoit voir les pieds découverts. Elle avoit des rubans noirs, renoués en manière de petite oie sur la ceinture de sa jupe. Sa chaussure étoit tout-à-fait semblable à celle des hommes, et n'étoit pas sans grâce." ("As soon as she saw the Queen [of France], she got out of her coach, and the Queen also advanced two or three steps outside the terrace to go and receive her. They both greeted each other civilly. The Queen of Sweden wished to make some compliments, and to thank the Queen for the good treatment she had received in France; but these words were interrupted by those of the Queen [of France], who showed her the joy she had of seeing her. The impatience of all who surrounded them to see this queen was so great, that she obliged the two queens to finish their compliments, to escape the crowd which overwhelmed them. The King, who had already made acquaintance with the stranger, gave her his hand to bring her into the house. She passed in front of the Queen [of France] and allowed herself to be led where they wished to bring her. Several have found that the Queen was too civil to let her take this advantage; and the King himself, who had grown up, had since suffered from grief and sorrow, and on several occasions reproached the Queen his mother, whom she had been wrong to have yielded to that queen and to that of Poland, considering the grandeur of her birth, and the high rank which the crown of France gave her. I was one of those who found myself nearest these two royal persons; and though the particular descriptions which had been given of the Queen of Sweden would have represented it in my imagination, I confess, nevertheless, that at first sight, she surprised me. The hair of her wig was messy that day; the wind, while she was coming down from a coach, blew it off of her head; and because of how the little care she took of her complexion had made her lose her whiteness, she at first appeared to me like a shameless Egyptian street girl who, by chance, would not be too dark. Looking at this princess, everything in this moment that filled my eyes seemed extraordinarily strange, and more capable of frightening than of pleasing. Her coat was composed of a little body which had half the shape of a man's doublet, and the other half that of a woman's hongreline, but which was so ill fitted to her body that one of her shoulders bulged out on one side, which was the one that was bigger than the other. Her shirt was made in the fashion of men: she had a collar which was fastened under her throat much more than a doublet, and was not covered with this collar. This same shirt came out from below the half-doublet like those that men wear, and it made visible, at the end of her arms and on her hands, the same quantity of fabric that men show then for the defect of their doublet and of their sleeves. Her skirt, which was gray and studded with little gold and silver threads, like her hongreline, was short; and instead of our skirts that trail behind us, hers made her bare feet visible. She had black ribbons, knotted like a little goose on the waistband of her skirt. Her shoes were exactly like men's shoes, and not without grace.")
"Le Roi la mena dans une grande salle, où madame la maréchale de La Motte avoit fait préparer une grande collation. Le Roi, les deux Reines et Monsieur, en entrant s'assirent à table, et nons l'environnâmes pour voir cette personne en tout si différente des autres femmes, et dont la renommée avoit fait tant de bruit. Après l'avoir regardée avec cette application que la curiosité inspire en de telles occasions, je commençai à m'accoutumer à son habit et à sa coiffure, et à son visage. Je trouvai qu'elle avoit les yeux beaux et vifs, qu'elle avoit de la douceur dans le visage, et que cette douceur étoit mêlée de fierté. Enfin je m'aperçus avec étonnement qu'elle me plaisoit, et d'un instant à un autre je me trouvai entièrement changée pour elle. Elle me parut plus grande qu'on nous l'avoit dite, et moins bossue; mais ses mains, qui avoient été louées comme belles, ne l'étoient guères: elles étoient seulement assez bien faites, et pas noires; mais ce jour-là elles étoient si crasseuses qu'il étoit impossible d'y apercevoir quelque beauté." ("The King took her to a large room, where Madame la Marechale de La Motte had had a large brunch prepared. The King, the two Queens, and Monsieur, on entering, sat down at the table, and came out to see this person, so different from the other women, whose fame had given rise to so many rumours. After having looked at her with this application which curiosity inspires on such occasions, I began to accustom myself to her habit and her hairstyle, and to her face. I found that her eyes were beautiful and lively, that she had sweetness in her face, and that this sweetness was mingled with pride. At last I perceived with astonishment that she pleased me, and from one moment to another I found myself entirely changed for her. She seemed to me bigger than we had been told, and less hunchbacked; but her hands, which had been praised as beautiful, were barely that. They were only quite well formed, and not black; but on that day they were so filthy that it was impossible to perceive any beauty in them.")
"Aussitôt que la reine de Suède se fut un peu reposée dans sa chambre, elle vint faire visite à la Reine, d'où on la mena à la Comédie italienne. Elle la trouva fort mauvaise, et le dit librement. On l'assura que les comédiens avoient accoutumé de mieux faire. Elle répondit froidement qu'elle n'en doutoit pas, puisqu'on les gardoit. Après cela on la mena dans sa chambre, où elle fut servie par les officiers du Roi. Il fallut qu'on lui donnât jusqu'à des valets de chambre pour la servir et pour la déshabiller, car elle étoit seule, et n'avoit ni dames ni officiers, ni équipages, ni argent: elle composoit elle seule toute sa cour. Chanut, qui avoit été résident pendant son règne, étoit auprès d'elle, et deux ou trois hommes mal bâtis, à qui par honneur elle donnoit le nom de comtes. On pouvoit dire avec vérité qu'elle n'avoit personne; car, outre ces médiocres seigneurs, nous ne lui vîmes que deux femmes, qui ressembloient plutôt à des revendeuses qu'à des dames de quelque condition." ("As soon as the Queen of Sweden rested a little in her room, she came to visit the Queen, from whence she was taken to the Italian Comedy. She found it very bad and said it freely. She was assured that the actors were accustomed to doing better. She answered coldly that she did not doubt it, since they were kept. After that, she was taken to her room, where she was served by the King's officers. It was necessary to give her valet de chambre to serve her and to undress her, for she was alone, and had neither ladies nor officers, nor horse and carriage, nor money. She alone composed her whole court. Chanut, who had been a resident during her reign, was near her, and two or three poorly built men, to whom, by honour, she gave the title of count. It could be said with truth that she had no one; for, besides these mediocre lords, we saw only two women, who resembled, rather, street vendors than ladies of any condition.")
"Ce jour elle parut avec un justaucorps de camelot de couleur de feu, et une jupe grise, l'un et l'autre chamarrées de passemens d'or et d'argent: sa perruque étoit frisée et poudrée; son teint, par le repos de la nuit, avoit quelque beauté; ses mains étoient décrassées; et si elle eût été capable de se soucier des louanges, je crois qu'on lui en auroit pu donner en ce moment avec justice, car elle parut à tous plus aimable qu'elle ne le vouloit être." ("That day she appeared with a fire-colored camlet justaucorps and a gray skirt, both of them gilded with gold and silver. Her wig was curly and powdered. Her complexion, from the night's rest, had some beauty. Her hands were unclean; and if she would have been able to worry about the praises, I think she would have been able to be given them right now, for she seemed to all to be more amiable than she wanted to be.")
"Le soir, à la Comédie française, elle montra d'avoir l'ame passionnée: elle s'écria souvent sur les beaux endroits, paroissant sentir de la joie ou de la douleur, selon les différens sentimens qui étoient exprimés par les vers qui se récitoient devant elle; puis comme si elle eût été toute seule dans son cabinet, se laissant aller sur le dos de sa chaise après ses exclamations, elle demeuroit dans une rêverie profonde. La Reine même ne l'en pouvoit tirer, quoique souvent elle voulût lui parler." ("In the evening, at the French comedy, she showed her passionate soul: she often exclaimed at the beautiful parts, seeming to feel joy or sorrow, according to the different sentiments that were expressed by the verses that were recited before her; then, as if she had been alone in her study, letting herself recline in her chair after her exclamations, she remained in a deep reverie. Even the Queen [of France] could not stop it, though she often wanted to speak to her.") - Madame de Motteville's memoirs describing Kristina's visit to the French royal court in September 1656
"Comme j'arrivai, M. de Guise ... et tous les officiers du roi qui étoient à la servir, vinrent au-devant de moi. Elle étoit dans une belle chambre à l'italienne, ... elle y alloit voir un ballet; ainsi elle étoit entourée d'un nombre infini de gens; il y avoit des bancs à l'entour de sa place, de sorte qu'elle ne pouvoit faire que deux pas pour venir au devant de moi. J'avois tant ouï parler de la manière bizarre de son habillement, que je craignois de rire lorsque je la verrois. Comme on cria gare, et qu'on me fit placer, je l'apperçus; elle me surprit, et ce ne fut pas d'une manière à me faire rire: elle avoit une jupe grise avec de la dentelle d'or et d'argent, un juste-au-corps de camelot couleur de feu, avec de la dentelle de même que la jupe, au cou un mouchoir de point de Gênes, noué avec un ruban couleur de feu, une perruque blonde et derrière un rond, comme les femmes en portent, et un chapeau avec des plumes noires qu'elle tenoit. Elle est blanche, a les yeux bleus, dans certains instans elle les a doux, et dans d'autres fort rudes, la bouche assez agréable quoique grande, les dents belles, le nez grand et aquilin; elle est fort petite, son juste-au-corps cache sa mauvaise taille: à tout prendre, elle me parut un joli petit garçon. Elle m'embrassa, et me dit: J'ai la plus grande joie du monde d'avoir l'honneur de vous voir; je l'ai souhaité avec passion. Elle me donna la main pour passer sur le banc, et me dit: Vous avez assez de dispositions pour sauter. Je me mis dans la chaise; il y avoit une porte par où on voyoit un enfoncement pour voir un ballet. Elle me dit: Je vous ai attendue. Je voulois m'excuser de voir ce ballet, parce que je portois le deuil de ma sœur de Chartres, qui étoit morte il n'y avoit que quinze jours, elle me pria de demeurer, ce que je fis: ce ballet fut fort joli. ... La Reine me demanda combien j'avois de sœurs, des nouvelles de mon père, et où il étoit; elle me dit: Il est le seul en France qui ne m'ait pas envoyé visiter. Elle me demanda de quelle maison ma belle-mère étoit, me fit plusieurs questions, et des cajoleries infinies. Elle me louoit en toute occasion; puis elle me disoit sur le sujet du ballet, auquel elle voyoit que je n'avois pas grande attention: Quoi! après avoir été si long-temps sans en voir, vous vous en souciez si peu? Cela m'étonne fort. La comtesse de Fiesque arriva avec madame de Monglat; je les présentai à la reine de Suède, comme j'avois fait les autres dames qui étoient avec moi; elle me dit: La comtesse de Fiesque n'est pas belle, pour avoir fait tant de bruit. Le chevalier de Gramont est-il toujours amoureux d'elle? Quand je lui présentai M. le comte de Béthune, elle lui parla de ses manuscrits. Elle étoit bien aise de lui faire paroître qu'elle connoissoit tout le monde, et qu'elle en savoit des nouvelles. Après ce ballet, nous allâmes à la comédie; là, elle me surprit pour louer les endroits qui lui plaisoient; elle juroit Dieu, se couchoit dans sa chaise, jetoit ses jambes d'un côté et de l'autre, les passoit sur les bras de sa chaise; elle tenoit des postures que je n'ai jamais vu faire qu'à Trivelin et à Jodelet, qui sont deux bouffons, l'un italien et l'autre français. Elle répétoit les vers qui lui plaisoient; elle parla sur beaucoup de matières, et ce qu'elle dit, elle le dit assez agréablement: il lui prenoit des rêveries profondes; elle faisoit de grands soupirs, puis tout d'un coup elle revenoit comme une personne qui s'éveille en sursaut: elle est tout-à-fait extraordinaire." ("As I arrived, Monsieur de Guise and all the king's officers who were to serve her, came to meet me. She was in a pretty Italian-style room, where she went to see a ballet, so she was surrounded by an infinite number of people. There were benches around her spot, so that she could only take two steps to come to meet me. I had heard so much about the strange manner of her dress, that I was afraid of laughing when I saw her. As they shouted 'garé!' and had me placed, I perceived her. She did surprise me, and it was not in a way to make me laugh. She wore a grey skirt trimmed with gold and silver lace, a fiery orange camlet justaucorps with lace on it as well as on the skirt, a lace neckerchief of point, knotted with a fiery orange ribbon, a blond wig, and a hat with black feathers that she was holding in her hands. She had a fair complexion and blue eyes. Sometimes they had a gentle expression, and in other moments, a very wild one. Her mouth is quite pleasant, although great; her teeth are beautiful, her nose is large and aquiline. She is very small, her justaucorps hides her bad figure. In all, she appeared to me as though she were a pretty little boy. She kissed me, and said to me: 'I have the greatest joy in the world to have the honour of seeing you, I have wished for it passionately.' She put her hand on the bench, and said, 'You may sit down.' I sat down in the chair. There was a door through which we could see the ballet being performed. She said to me, 'I've been waiting for you.' I wished to apologize for seeing this ballet, because I was in mourning for my sister de Chartres, who had died only a fortnight ago. She begged me to stay, which I did: this ballet was very pretty. The queen asked me how many sisters I had, news of my father, and where he was; she said to me: 'He is the only one in France who did not send me to visit.' She asked me which house my mother-in-law was from, asked me several questions, and infinite cajolery. She praised me on every occasion; then she said to me on the subject of the ballet, which she saw I was not paying much attention to: 'What?! After going so long without seeing one, you care so little? I'm shocked!' The Countess de Fiesque arrived with Madame de Monglat; I presented them to the Queen of Sweden, as I had done with the other ladies who were with me. She said to me: 'The Countess de Fiesque is not beautiful, for having made so much noise. Is the Chevalier de Gramont still in love with her?' When I introduced her to the Count of Bethune, she spoke to him about his manuscripts. She was glad to make it appear that she knew everybody, and that she knew all news of them. After this ballet, we went to see the comedy; there she surprised me deeply. She praised the places that pleased her; she swore in God's name, she lay down in her chair, threw her legs to one side and the other and rested them on the arms of her chair. She held postures which I have never seen done except by Trivelin and Jodelet, who are two buffoons, one Italian and the other French. She repeated the verses that pleased her; she spoke on many subjects, and whatever she says, she says it rather pleasantly. She fell into deep reveries and uttered great sighs, then suddenly she came back like a person who awakes with a start. In all, she is quite extraordinary.") - Mademoiselle de Montpensier's memoirs describing Kristina's visit to the French royal court in September 1656
"Le lendemain le père Annat, confesseur du Roi, fut parler à la reine de Suède, sur quelques plaintes qu'elle avoit faites contre leur ordre: l'une étoit que le père général des jésuites ne l'avoit point été saluer à Rome; je ne me souviens pas des autres. Après les excuses que lui fit le révérend père, elle lui dit d'un ton moqueur, et avec cette brusque manière qui lui étoit naturelle, qu'elle seroit fâchée de les avoir pour ennemis, sachant leurs forces; et qu'elle choisiroit plutôt d'avoir querelle avec un prince souverain qu'avec eux; que par cette raison elle vouloit bien être satisfaite, mais qu'elle l'assuroit qu'en cas de confession et de tragédie elle ne les choisiroit jamais: voulant leur reprocher par là qu'ils étoient accusés d'avoir une morale trop indulgente, et se moquer de la mauvaise tragédie où elle avoit été le jour précédent; mêlant ainsi le burlesque avec le sérieux, afin de se venger de l'offense qu'elle croyoit avoir reçue de leur compagnie. Cette princesse gothique témoignoit estimer l'esprit et la capacité du cardinal, et lui de même paroisoit avoir beaucoup de vénération pour elle. Son extérieur, à qui en eût voulu juger à son désavantage, étoit digne de risée et de moquerie; quasi toutes ses actions avoient quelque chose d'extravagant, et on pouvoit avec justice la blâmer, comme on pouvoit avec sujet la louer extrêmement. Elle ne ressembloit en rien à une femme, elle n'en avoit pas même la modestie necessaire: elle se faisoit servir par des hommes dans les heures les plus particulières; elle affectoit de paroître homme en toutes ses actions; elle rioit démesurément quand quelque chose la touchoit, et particulièrement à la Comédie italienne, lorsque par hasard les bouffonneries en étoient bonnes: elle éclatoit de même en louanges et en soupirs, comme je l'ai déjà dit, quand les sérieuses lui plaisoient. Elle chantoit souvent en compagnie; elle rêvoit, et sa rêverie alloit jusqu'à l'assoupissement: elle paroissoit inégale, brusque et libertine en toutes ses paroles, tant sur la religion que sur les choses à quoi la bienséance de son sexe l'obligeoit d'être retenue: elle juroit le nom de Dieu, et son libertinage s'étoit répandu de son esprit dans ses actions. Elle ne pouvoit demeurer long-temps en même place. En présence du Roi, de la Reine et de toute la cour, elle appuyoit ses jambes sur des siéges aussi hauts que celui où elle étoit assise, et les laissoit voir trop librement: ... elle n'observoit nulle règle de toutes celles que les rois ont accoutumé de garder, à l'égard du respect qu'on leur porte. ... Cependant la Reine, qui étoit au contraire la plus régulière personne du monde, trouvoit des charmes dans l'agrément de son visage, et dans la manière libre de toutes ses actions. En effet il étoit difficile, quand on l'avoit bien vue et surtout écoutée, de ne lui pas pardonner toutes ses irrégularités, particulièrement celles qui ne paroissoient point essentiellement blâmables. Cette douceur et cet agrément étoient mêlés d'une rude fierté, et la politesse si naturelle à notre nation ne se rencontroit point en elle. Quelques-uns dirent qu'elle ressembloit à Fontainebleau, dont les bâtimens sont beaux et grands, mais qui n'ont point de symétrie. Elle partit de Compiègne le 23 de septembre; la Reine la fut conduire à deux lieues de là, et ces deux princesses se séparèrent avec quelques marques d'attendrissement. ("The next day Father Annat, the King's confessor, was talking to the Queen of Sweden about some complaints she had made against their order: one was that the Father General of the Jesuits had not been greeted at Rome; I do not remember the others. After the apologies that the reverend father gave her, she said to him in a mocking tone, and with that terse manner which was natural in her, that she would be sorry to have them for enemies, knowing their strength; and that she would rather choose to quarrel with a sovereign prince than with them; that for this reason she wished to be satisfied, but that she assured him that in case of confession and tragedy she would never choose them. Wishing to reproach them with this — that they were accused of having a too indulgent morality — and to make fun of the bad tragedy she had been to the day before; thus mingling burlesque with seriousness, in order to avenge the offense she thought she had received from their company. This Gothic princess testified to esteem the mind and capacity of the cardinal, and he too seemed to have a great deal of reverence for her. Her exterior, which she would have liked to judge to her disadvantage, was worthy of ridicule and mockery; almost all her actions had something extravagant, and she could justly be blamed for it, just as it was possible to praise her much. She did not look like a woman at all, she had not even the necessary modesty. She had herself served by men at the most peculiar hours. She appeared manly in all her actions. She laughed excessively when something struck her as funny, and particularly at the Italian comedy, when by chance the buffoonery was good. She also clapped her hands and sighed, as I have already said, whenever the serious parts pleased her. She often sang in company; she daydreamed, and her reverie went to drowsiness. She appeared unequal, curt and libertine in all her words, as much on religion as on things to which the propriety of her sex obliged her to be restrained. She swore the name of God, and her licentiousness was widespread in her mind and in her actions. She could not remain in one place for a long time. In the presence of the King, the Queen, and the whole court, she rested her legs on seats as tall as the one in which she was seated, and allowed herself to be seen too freely. ... She observed no rule of all those which kings are accustomed to keep, with respect to the respect which is carried to them. ... The Queen, who was, on the contrary, the most regular person in the world, found charms in the agreeableness of her countenance, and in the free manner of all her actions. In fact, it was difficult, when she had been well seen and especially listened to, not to forgive her all her irregularities, especially those which did not appear essentially blamable. This gentleness and this pleasure were mixed with a harsh pride, and the politeness so natural to our nation was not found in it. Some said that she was like Fontainebleau, whose buildings are handsome and tall, but which have no symmetry. She left Compiègne on the 23rd of September. The Queen was led two leagues away, and these two princesses parted with some marks of tenderness.") - Madame de Motteville's memoirs describing Kristina's visit to the French royal court in September 1656
"Elle avoit entendu parler de l'amour du roi pour mademoiselle de Mancini; de sorte que, pour faire sa cour, elle s'alloit mettre en tiers, et leur disoit qu'il falloit se marier ensemble; qu'elle vouloit être la confidente, et disoit au roi: «Si j'étois à votre place, j'épouserois une personne que j'aimerois.» Je crois que ces discours ne plurent ni à la reine ni à M. le cardinal, et qu'ils contribuèrent à hâter son départ; car à la cour, on n'aime pas les gens qui entrent en matière sans que l'on les en prie." ("She had heard of the King's love for Mademoiselle de Mancini; so that, in order to pay her court, she went to a third party, and told them that it was necessary to marry together; that she wanted to be the confidante, and said to the King: 'If I were in your place, I would marry a person whom I would love.' I believe that these speeches pleased neither the Queen nor the Cardinal, and that they contributed to hasten her departure; because at court, we don't like people who enter into matters without being asked.") - Mademoiselle de Montpensier's memoirs describing Kristina's visit to the French royal court in September 1656
"J'ai dit déjà que j'avois une espéce d'antipathie naturelle pour la biére & le vin, & que je n'en buvois qu'étant pressée par une extrême soif. Cette aversion s'augmentoit à mesure que je croissois & avançois en âge. Elle arriva à tel point, que je passois des jours entiers sans boire: ce qui m'incommodoit furieusement. Mais comme la nécessité est ingénieuse, je découvris que la Reine-Mére avoit, dans une retraite de son appartement, une grande provision d'eau de Rosée, dont elle se lavoit le visage. Je fis d'abord mes desseins sur cette eau, & j'allois ponctuellement en boire tous les après-diner, si secrétement qu'on ne s'en apperçut pas de quelque tems. Mais enfin la Reine-Mére, qui voyoit manquer sa provision, commença d'en gronder ses femmes, lesquelles assuroient qu'elles ne la buvoient pas, & qu'elles n'étoient pas si sottes que d'en tâter. Moi, qui savois la vérité de l'histoire, je commençois à craindre que je ne fusse découverte, comme il arriva; car on m'épia, & la Reine me trouva enfin sur le fait, & me donna elle-même le fouet bien serré, me faisant un grand crime d'avoir bû de l'eau. Je disois pour mon excuse, que je mourois de soif, & que je ne pouvois souffrir ni la biére, ni le vin." ("I have already said that I had a kind of natural aversion to beer and wine, and that I did not drink such things except when I was extremely thirsty. This aversion increased with age. In the end, it was so strong that I could go several days without drinking a drop, which was very bothersome. But since necessity is the mother of invention, I discovered that the Dowager Queen in a secluded part of her apartment had a large supply of rosewater which she used to wash her face. I immediately decided to use this water and went there punctually every day after dinner to drink in secret, so that for a while no one noticed anything. But eventually the Dowager Queen saw that her supply had diminished and began to interrogate her ladies-in-waiting, who assured her that they had certainly not drunk it, and that they really were not so stupid as to have even tasted it. I, who knew what was really going on, began to worry that I would be discovered. And I was, because I was spied on, and the Queen eventually caught me by surprise. She had me birch-whipped and made it a great crime of me for having drunk the water. I said as my excuse that I was close to dying from thirst and that I could not bear either beer or wine.") - Kristina in her/his/their autobiography, published by Johan Arckenholtz in 1759
"Cela obligea les gens à me permettre de boire de la petite biere, qui passe pour être si méchante, qu'il n'y a que la plus basse canaille parmi nous qui en boit. Mais enfin j'en bus par nécessité, l'aimant mieux toujours que la biere & le vin. Je crois que cela m'a si fort échauffé les entrailles & brulé si fort en dedans, que cela m'a causé tant d'incommodités de la bile; ma bile m'ayant brulé le sang d'une étrange manière: car je ne buvois jamais que pressée par une extrême nécessité. Je souffrois la faim de même, quand il le faloit: mais pour manger, tout m'étoit bon, excepté le jambon, & tout ce qui vient du pourceau, pour lequel j'ai une antipatie invincible." ("My stubbornness in that regard led my guardians to let me drink small beer, which passes to be so awful that only the lowest scoundrel among us would drink it. But I drank it out of necessity, because I still preferred it over beer and wine. It probably heated up my blood and caused the large amounts of black bile that have caused me so much suffering and trouble all my life, for I drank only if I had to because of severe thirst. I could endure hunger as well as thirst when it was required. As for food, I thought that most things tasted good, except ham and all pork, for which I have an invincible antipathy.") - Kristina in her/his/their autobiography, published by Johan Arckenholtz in 1759.
"Je n'ay suffert dan le boire qua faute de glasse ou de neige et de mais lhyver remediera a cet iconvenient Car ycy Jl ny a austre remede Car les gens ne save Ce que sest que de boie fray, et ie Vous avoue que sest la seulle inCommodite qui ma este insupportable de puis que ie sui sorti dJtalie des touttes les suffrances du Corps, mais lhyver y portera du remede et desia on Commence a sen sentir mieux. au reste ie bois vne espece de petitte biere qui est de mon invention et qui est a mon goust si excelante que ie ne la boiray pas seullement par necessite mais Casi par plaisir quoy ceux du pays la trouve abbominable." ("I have suffered in drinking only for lack of ice or snow, but winter will remedy this drawback, because here there is no other remedy. For people do not know what it is to drink cold, and I confess that it is the only inconvenience which has been unbearable to me, since I left Italy, from all the sufferings of the body; but winter will bring a remedy, and already one begins to feel better. Besides, I drink a kind of small beer which is of my invention and which is, to my taste, so excellent that I would not drink it only out of necessity, but almost for pleasure, although those of the country find it abominable.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated September 29, 1666
"Jay quitte la biere de puis quelque iours pour leau de Canelle qui est la seulle quon puisse boire en ce pays Car lon ny trouve que de Citrons povris, et toutte les austres delicatesse sont ignores de ces barbares iusques aux noms. Jay quitte la petite biere pour avoir trouve quelle me faisoit mal a lestomaque, et mon estomaque qui peut digerer le fer ny peut resister a la longe, et Vous savez que Cela marriva de mesme laustre fois. le froit excessif que nous avons souffert ces iours me fait la grace de pouvoir boire les eaux de Canelle qui cette Este faute de neige et glace, sembloit de medecine, et presentement Cet le boire le plus delicieux et honeste dAlemange a mon goust en Alemange Je Crains seullement quelle ne meschauffe trop a longe." ("I left the beer a few days ago for cinnamon water, which is all one can drink in this country, because there are only rotten lemons here, and all other delicacies are ignored by these barbarians, even their names. I left the small beer after finding that it made my stomach hurt, and my stomach, which can digest iron, cannot resist it in the long run, and you know that it happened to me the same last time. The excessive cold that we have suffered these days gives me the grace to be able to drink the cinnamon water which, this summer, for lack of snow and ice, seemed to be medicine, and at present it is the most delicious and honest drink, to my taste, in Germany. I only fear that it will overheat me in the long run.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated November 17, 1666
"le Courier Vient darriver et ne m'aporte aucune lestre de Vous ce qui me mest dans vne iquiétvde qvi ne peut estre explique iugez par Vous mesme par Vous et ayez Compassion mon malheur." ("The mail has just arrived and brings me no letter from you, which gives me a worry that cannot be explained. Judge for yourself, and have compassion for my misfortune.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated July 14, 1666
"Jugez de linqviétvde ou Je suis en me Voyant privie de la satisfaction de Vos lestres en vne temps ou cette Consolation nest si necssaire. iugez Vous dis ie de mon inquiétude par Vos propre sentiments et soulagez mon malheur par Vostre Compassion. ie ne say a quoy attribver ce malhevr, ny par quelle Cruelle aventure Je sois privie delaioye quont ascustvme de me donnerez Vos lestre, et apres avoir roules dans mon esprit Cent mille differentes imaginations ie ne say a quoy me determiner et suis forcee de suspendre mon iugement pour attendre de l'ecclairsiement a se soir. ma seule Consolation est que iespere que Vous Vous portez bien. ... mais devan qve de finir ma lestre il faut qve ie retourne a mon impacience et qve ie Vous exagere linquiétude ou ie suis et limpacience avec la qvelle iatens larrive de lordinaire pour savoir sil mapporte la mort ou la Vie. ie Vous prie de Croire de mon inquiétude surpasse tout ce qve lon se peut immaginer et que agitation est incocevable tout austre qu'a Vous qui seul povvez en vn semblable accident sentir quelque Chose resembleroit fort a ce que ie sen presentement mais ie souhaitte qu'un semblable malheur ne Vous arrive pas Car cette experience Vous Cousteroit trop.") ("Judge the anxiety I am in at seeing myself deprived of the satisfaction of your letters at a time when this consolation is so necessary. Judge, I tell you, my anxiety by your own feelings, and relieve my misery with your compassion. I do not know what to attribute this misfortune to, nor by what cruel adventure I am deprived of the joy which is accustomed to give me your letters, and, after having rolled in my mind a hundred thousand different imaginings, I do not know what to determine myself and am forced to suspend my judgment to wait for enlightenment tonight. My only consolation is that I hope you are well. ... But before finishing my letter, I must return to my impatience and exaggerate the anxiety I am in and the impatience with which I await the arrival of the ordinary to know if he brings me death or life. I beg you to believe that my anxiety surpasses all that can be imagined, and that my agitation is inconceivable to anyone other than you, who alone can in such an accident feel something that would resemble what I feel right now; but I wish that such a misfortune never happens to you, for this experience would cost you too much.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated July 21, 1666
"Je panse Vous avoir dit tout ce que iay a Vous dire, mais devanqve de finir ma lestre Jl faut que ie Vous parler dv ridicule personage dont ie Vous en Voy le portrait. Cet un Coquin qui serrige icy en neveaux du pape Vous trouverez le reste de son infame histoire au pie de son portrait. Jl nest pas pourtan Visible et crois qvils se Cage de Crainte destre maltraitte par nous austre Jtaliens (Car ie me tiens naturalise parmy Vous) si vne puisante Consideration ne mempechoit Jauray la plus grande tentation du monde a le faire Jetter en la riviere." ("I think I have told you all that I have to say to you, but before finishing my letter, I must speak to you of the ridiculous personage of which I send you the portrait. It is a rascal who stands here as nephew of the Pope. You will find the rest of his infamous story at the foot of his portrait. It is not yet visible, and I believe that it is hidden for fear of being abused by us Italians (because I am naturalised among you). If a powerful consideration did not prevent me, I would have the greatest temptation in the world to throw him into the river.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated July 28, 1666
"Je me porte bien mais ie menuye fort, et rien ne me peut Consoler du malheur qui mesloinge de rome." ("I am doing well, but I am very much bored, and nothing can console me for the misfortune which keeps me away from Rome.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated August 11, 1666
"Cepandant Je vous demande de mavoir Compassion du long exile ou Je suis condane, Car ie ne puis esperer de revoir Rome qu apres le terme de deux ans. Cest pour en mourir mais Jl faut avoir pacience et que ie ne merite la Satisfaction de revoir Rome quapres vn Ciecle de Suffrances." ("However, I ask you to have compassion on me for the long exile in which I am condemned, for I cannot hope to see Rome again until after the end of two years. One could die of it; but one must have patience and believe that I deserve the satisfaction of seeing Rome only after a century of suffering.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated August 18, 1666
"mais Je ne veux pas savoir plus que vous voules que ie sache, et ie vous diray tout ce que ie say qui est que vous aves raison de dire que le Maiorchin savoit plus qvaucun austre, et quil y a quelque gran mýstere dans son Vase de fer. tout ce que ie say est quil y mettoit sa matiere pilee dans ce Vase et leschauffauoit avec vn fev leger tenant le trou bouche pour quelqve moments et apres Il lovvroit et laissoit exhaler la fvmee durant vn miserere et puis lostoit dv feu et Il repetoit son operation trois fois et Voila tout ce que ien say. Sa matiere nestoit austre chose si non le Cinobre Mineral ov la miniere de Mercure, pour les matieres enferme dan la petitte fiole de Verre qui me laissa Il massura que cestoit les Mercures de Six metaux, car le Vvlgaire a ce quil dit ny estoit pas. Pour la matiere concegle Il disoit ausi que cestoit de la mesme sorte, et quil avoit prepare cette matiere pour en faire un miroir dor Jl contoit des merveillies, et lestimoit plus que la piere. il confessoit pourtan a son depart quil ne pouvoit lachever et me laissa tout ce la entre les mains me promettent de revenir. Il disoit que qvant son miroir estoit parfait Il ne faloit faire austre chose sinon de raccler vn peu et le mesler avec les mercures quen vn moment ce la en Veritable piere des filosofe mais si puissante et pretieuse quil ny a point de paroles pour exprimer sa vertu, et que cette piere saugmentoit de quantite par le mercure vulgaire. Voila tout ce que ien say ie voudrois que cela pouvoit servir a vostre intention." ("But I do not want to know more than you want me to know; and I will tell you all that I know, which is that you are right to say that the Majorcan knows more than anyone else, and that there is some great mystery in his iron pot. All I know is that he put some finely ponded material in this pot and heated it over a low fire, keeping the opening plugged for some time, and after he opened it and let out the smoke for as long as it takes to recite a miserere, and then he took it off, and he repeated this three times; and that's all I know. The material was nothing else but the mineral cinober or the mineral mercury; for the materials enclosed in the little glass vial, which he left me, he assured me that it was mercury of six metals; for the common mercury, as he says, was not there. For the solid material, he also said that it was of the same kind, and that he had prepared this material to make a golden mirror. He told of how wonderful it was and esteemed it more than the philosophers' stone. He confessed, however, to his departure that he could not finish it, and left all this in his hands, promising to return. He said that when his mirror was perfect, it was not necessary to do anything else but scrape a little of the material and mix it with mercury; that in a moment it would transform into a real philosophers' stone, but so powerful and precious that there are no words to express its virtue, and that this stone was increased in quantity by the common mercury. This is all I know. I hope it will serve your purpose.") - Kristina infodumping about an alchemy experiment in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated February 16, 1667
Kristina had a very masculine and hardy character: it is said that she/he/they rode, sat and carried herself/himself/themself like a man, and it is said that she/he/they even had a man's face and a deep voice (a comparable case in today's world: online celebrity Diamanda Hagan). Kristina swore "like the roughest soldier" and loved dirty jokes. Her/his/their hair and even wigs were often uncombed, she/he/they indeed often wore men's clothes (sometimes with a skirt over a pair of men's pants), and she/he/they could spend up to ten hours on horseback without getting tired and then coming back indoors with a dirty or sunburnt face and dirty hands, regardless of the weather. Three to five hours of sleep were indeed sufficient, and Kristina rarely ever felt tired. She/he/they was seemingly insensitive to and unaffected by heat and cold (yet another indicator that Kristina might have been on the autism spectrum). In her/his/their autobiography, which was begun in June 1681 and was never finished (although several drafts are known to exist), Kristina writes that as a child, due to her/his/their hatred of beer and wine and not being allowed to drink water due to that being too dangerous, she/he/they could go for days without drinking anything at all, she/he/they often intentionally went hours without eating, that she/he/they drank small beer for the weaker taste (and even then she/he/they only drank it out of extreme necessity), that she/he/they wanted to give herself/himself/themself a tough, spartan upbringing, and that he/she/they never drank anything unless pressed by extreme necessity.
"Le Roi avoit ordonné à toutes ces personnes de me donner une éducation toute virile, & de m'apprendre tout ce qu'une jeune Prince doit savoir, pour être digne de régner. Il déclara positivement, qu'il ne vouloit pas qu'on m'inspirât aucun des sentimens de mon Sexe, que les seuls de l'honnêteté & de la modestie. Il vouloit que dans tout le reste je fusse Prince, & que je fusse instruite en tout ce qu'un jeune Prince doit savoir. Ce fut en cela que mes inclinations seconderent merveilleusement bien ses desseins. ... J'eus ... une inhabileté insurmontable pour tous leurs ouvrages de main. On ne trouva jamais moyen de m'en rien apprendre. Mais en échange j'appris avec une merveilleuse facilité toutes les langues, les sciences, & tous les exercices qu'on vouloit m'apprendre. Je savois à l'âge de quatorze ans toutes les langues, toutes les sciences & tous les exercices dont on voulut m'instruire. Mais depuis j'en ai appris bien d'autres sans le secours d'aucun Maître: & il est certain que je n'en eus jamais, ni pour apprendre la langue Allemande, la Françoise, l'Italienne, ni l'Espagnole, non plus que pour m'apprendre mon Suédois, qui est ma langue naturelle. Il en est de même des exercices. J'appris seulement un peu à danser & à monter à cheval. Je sai pourtant les autres exercices, & je me sers de toutes les armes passablement bien, sans avoir presque appris à les manier. Enfin, entre ce qu'on m'apprit & ce que j'ai voulu savoir de moi-même, vous m'avez fait la grace, SEIGNEUR, de me rendre capable de tout ce qu'un Prince doit savoir, & de tout ce qu'une fille peut apprendre avec honneur. Du plus, j'étois infatigable. Je couchois souvent au serein sur la dure. Je mangeois peu & dormois moins. Je passois deux ou trois jours sans boire, parce qu'on ne me permettoit pas de boire de l'eau, ayant pour le vin & la biere une aversion presqu'invincible. ... Je souffrois le chaud & le froid sans aucune peine. Je marchois de longues traites à pied. Je courois à cheval sans me lasser jamais. Je faisois une vie si extraordinaire, malgré tout le monde. On fit tout ce qu'on put pour m'en empêcher, mais il faloit avoir patience & me laisser faire. J'aimois l'étude avec passion: mais je n'aimois pas moins la chasse, la course, le jeu. J'aimois les chevaux, les chiens; mais aucun divertissement de plaisir ne m'a jamais fait perdre un moment, ni de mes études, ni de mon devoir: & vous savez, SEIGNEUR, que je n'ai rien à me reprocher là-dessus, par votre grace. Bienque j'aimasse la chasse, je n'étois pas cruelle, & je n'ai jamais tué un animal sans en avoir senti une sensible compassion. Les femmes & les hommes qui étoient de garde auprès de moi, se desespéroient, car je les fatiguois furieusement, & je ne leur donnois du repos, ni jour, ni nuit: & quand mes femmes vouloient me détourner d'une si fatiguante maniére de vivre, je me moquois d'elles, et leur disois: si vous avez sommeil, allez vous reposer: je n'ai que faire de vous. Les heures de mes jours étoient occupées entre les affaires, les études & les exercices." ("The King had ordered all my guardians to give me an entirely manly education and to teach me all that a young prince must know in order to be worthy of ruling. He had explicitly stated that he did not want me to be given any of the attitudes of my sex other than honesty. In everything else he wanted me to be like a prince and to be taught everything a young prince should be able to do. Here my own inclinations were in a strange way consistent with his intentions. ... I was unskilled in all kinds of needlework, and it was impossible to teach me anything in that area. On the other hand, I learned with great ease all the languages and all the sports I was taught. At the age of fourteen, I had mastered the skills that I was to learn. But all the other knowledge that You, Lord, have since given me, I have acquired it without the help of any teachers. From what I have been taught and what I have taught myself, You have shown me the grace to let me become proficient in all that a young prince must know, as well as in all that a young girl may have the honour of learning. Furthermore, I was indefatigable. I often slept in the open air, right on the ground. I ate little and slept even less. I could go two or three days without drinking because I was not allowed to drink water, and I felt an almost invincible aversion to wine and beer. ... I endured heat and cold without difficulty. I could ride long distances on horseback without ever getting tired. I was stubborn, even though everyone opposed this strange life; but in the end they had to put up with it and leave me be. I loved studying with a passion, but I did not love hunting, running, or playing any less; I even loved horses and dogs. But never have studies, sports, pastimes, games, or pleasures ever made me neglect a moment of the time when I should or could fulfill my duties, and You know, Lord, that through Your grace I have nothing to reproach myself for in that respect. Although I loved hunting, I was never cruel, and I have never killed an animal without feeling great compassion for it. Those who participated in my upbringing were in despair, for I completely exhausted them and never let them rest, neither day nor night. When they tried to make me stop this tiring way of life, I made fun of them and said, 'If you are sleepy, go to bed, I can take care of myself.' Consequently, my days and hours were divided into affairs of state, studies, and sport.") - Kristina in her/his/their autobiography, published by Johan Arckenholtz in 1759.
"It is a rather boastful account, and a touch defiant, but Christina's description of her girlhood self is more or less accurate. She was clever, and generally hardy, though given to sudden illnesses, most apparently emotional in origin, and she did spend her days more or less charging at the world, infuriating and exhausting those about her." - from Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"She was rather small, not quite five feet tall, and her habit of wearing flat shoes made her seem even smaller to her high-heeled contemporaries. Her delicate upper body was marred by a pronounced unevenness of the shoulders, the result of her fall in infancy, but her arms were round and womanly, tapering to fine, small hands. Her face was finely made and oval-shaped, framed by straight fair hair, and her forehead was high. Her long, hooked nose led to a small mouth, from which most of the back teeth, it seems, were already missing, narrowing the delicate jaw and emphasizing the small, pointed chin. All accounts agree that her large, blue, close-set eyes were beautiful, lit with intelligence and humor; they revealed pride, too, and often anger, and at times a kind of penetrating stare that seems to have alarmed every recipient into quick submission, but their expression does not seem to have ever been cold. Despite her small stature and fairly delicate build, the young queen's movements and gestures were far from feminine. She walked like man, sat like a man, and could eat and swear like the roughest soldier. Her voice was deep and gruff, and her temper warm — her servants were no stranger to blows or bruises. She was clever and well read, but she liked best to talk of manly things, and whenever she spoke of military action, she adopted a sort of martial pose, planting one foot in front of the other. Her many unusual traits notwithstanding, she formed an impressive figure, and she left her old counselors broadly reassured for the future of their country." - from Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"Elle est indefatigable au travail de la Campagne, jusques à demeurer à cheval dix heures à la chasse, le froid ni chaud ne l'incommodent point, son manger est simple, negligé, & sans delices; il n'y a personne en Suede, qui sçache mieux qu'elle arrester un liévre en courant d'un coup de fusil avec une balle seule; elle fait faire à un cheval toutes sortes de maneges sans aucune affectation, bien loin d'en vouloir tirer de la gloire." ("She is indefatigable in field exercises, and will even when hunting be ten hours in the saddle. Cold and heat are indifferent to her; in eating she is simple, careless and entirely without epicureanism. No one in Sweden knows better than her how to knock over a hare in its course with a single ball; she can put a horse through all its paces, without pluming herself on it.") - Pierre Hector Chanut's description of Kristina from February 1648
"... She recognized in each opportunist the genuine dissembler that she believed herself to be. Christina was very proud, and would not have found it easy to admit to an error of judgment, but her intelligence was considerable, too, and it should not have been easy to deceive her. It would have been hardest of all for her, perhaps, to accept that she herself was not party to the joke but rather the butt of it, that the deceiver's ground had been whisked out from under her, and that she, too, could find herself, bereft and foolish, among those deceived." - from
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"Dabbling ... was Christina's forte. She dabbled in philosophy, and dabbled in history; she dabbled in astronomy and alchemy. She dabbled in music and dabbled in dance, and in all areas, with her quick mind and her excellent memory, she picked up enough to make a strong first impression on everyone who met her. Still in her early twenties, she presented already a rich façade of learning that sparkled with extra gems of gossip from a dozen different courts. She had read about everything, and heard about everyone, and a judicious mixture of boasting and teasing ensured that her visitors were quickly apprised of those facts. They lent her a daunting air, a perfect match for her sense of her own innate majesty." - from
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"Christina was a creature of impulse. Lacking a kernel of self-confidence, she lived in a constant swirl of defensive responses to the people around her, swamping them with gifts, lying to them, lashing out, undermining them, withdrawing from them completely. Only her image of herself remained the same: brilliant, powerful, authoritative — even, in the face of the clearest evidence, tall. It was no more than the thickest layer of bravado, and it concealed an interior world of fearful fragility. Christina almost always managed to convince herself of the truth of her own illusion. ... She was surprised and hostile toward those, like the chancellor, who did not accept her at her own estimation, but she would reserve her bitterest revenge for those who attacked her sense of personal greatness." - from
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
Kristina made it very clear that she/he/they were determined never to marry and had an "insurmountable distaste" for marriage, explaining this distaste before her Council in February 1649. Since she/he/they was nine years old, Kristina had been interested in celibacy, which was the beginning of her leaning toward Catholicism. She/he/they also had a disgust for pregnancy and childbirth, to the point where she referred to pregnant women as "cows", refusing to talk to them or even have them in her/his/their presence; and his/her/their ladies-in-waiting would be petrified of revealing their pregnancies for fear of getting fired. Kristina hated women in general, seeing them as weak in body and soul; she/he/they believed that women were also too weak to be in positions of power and that this should not be allowed, and she/he/they only saw herself/himself/themself as the exception that proved the rule, although she did greatly admire the example of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the other famous "virgin queen". Kristina greatly preferred the company of men and did not like women at all unless she/he/they thought certain ones to be particularly beautiful; and it is believed that she/he/they had a romantic relationship with one of her/his/their female courtiers, Countess Ebba Sparre (1626/9-1662), whom Kristina nicknamed "Belle". Kristina made no secret of the relationship and often called attention to Ebba's beauty and intellect, and once introduced her to the English ambassador Whitelocke as her/his/their "bedfellow" and said that Ebba's insides were "as beautiful as her outside", although it is unknown whether the two ever had a sexual relationship or how sexual it was if they did. After Kristina left Sweden, she/he/they and Ebba continued to exchange passionate letters in which Kristina wrote that she/he/they would never stop loving Ebba, who had married the younger Count Jakob de la Gardie. Kristina officiated at the wedding, but the marriage was unhappy. All of Ebba's children died in infancy, and she herself died in her early 30s in March 1662.
But it is possible that Ebba did not really love Kristina, at least not in the way Kristina believed. Because of the huge power imbalance and dynamic between the two, and also because of Kristina's possible autism, which would have made it difficult to understand and interpret other people's intentions, feelings and wishes, especially when unspoken, Kristina might have seen Ebba's patriotic and duty-bound love for her/him/them as the sovereign and mistaken that for personal and romantic love; and due to the uneven power dynamic and court etiquette plus the monarch's hot temper, Ebba would have been unable to say no to Kristina.
It is unknown if Kristina ever had sexual relations with anyone, and she/he/they probably died a virgin. Aside from Ebba Sparre, Jane Ruthven, Louise van der Nooth and much later Angelica Quadrelli, Kristina had little to no interest of any kind in her/his/their female courtiers, kept conversation and association with them to a minimum, and seems to have seen herself/himself/themself as stronger and more masculine than them. No one knows whether she/he/they was straight, lesbian, bisexual or asexual. It is possible that Kristina was demisexual, meaning that she/he/they required a strong emotional attachment to someone in order to be sexually attracted to them. I don't rule out other possibilities, but in my mind one possiblity is that Kristina was biromantic and asexual or demisexual, meaning that she/he/they probably experienced romantic attraction to both men and women but little or no sexual attraction to them.
"Ingen kan och tvinga migh till gifftermåhl. ... Om det stodo i min förmågo at giffta migh, ville jagh thet gerna göra. Jagh säger det uthtryckeligen, at det är migh omöjeliget att giffta migh. Således är migh denne saken beskaffat. Rationes härtill förtijger jagh. Men mitt sinne är dertill inthet. Jagh hafver bedet flitigt Gudh derom, at jagh måtte få det sinnet, men jagh hafver det aldrigh kunnat få. ... Men at jagh skall anmodas till giffta migh, är een svår saak at resolvera till; ty sedan blefve jagh aldrigh frij uthan bonden och kunde aldrigh derifrån slippa." ("No one can force me into marriage. ... If it were in my capability to marry, I would gladly do it. I say it expressly that it is impossible for me to marry. This is how it is to me in this matter. I shall keep silent on the reasons hereto. But my mind is not for it. I have diligently prayed to God about it, that I may have the mind for it, but I have not got it. ... But that I should be asked to marry is a difficult matter to decide, for then I would never be free, but bound, and I would never be able to escape from it.") - Kristina's exact words to the councilmen, recorded in the transcript of the council meeting of February 26, 1649
"Elle parle rarement aux Dames de sa Cour, parce que les exercices qu'elle pratique à la Campagne, où les soins des affaires de son Estat qui la retiennent leur ostent sa conversation, & elles ne la frequentent point, si ce n'est en quelque forte de visite, & encore les laisse-t-elle en un costé de la Chambre apres la civilité pour s'entretenir avec les hommes. Quand elle est avec des personnes de qui elle ne croit pas pouvoir apprendre quelque chose, elle tranche court, & ne s'étend en discours qu'autant que la necessité le demande, aussi tous ses domestiques luy parlent peu, mais ils ne laissent pas de l'aimer, parce que pour peu qu'elle leur parle c'est avec douceur, & elle leur est tres-bonne Maistresse, liberale mesme au de-là de la puissance de son Estat; Elle se divertist quelquefois à railler avec eux, & elle le fait de fort bonne grace, & sans aigreur. Il seroit peut estre mieux qu'elle s'en abstint; parce qu'il reste toûjours quelque apprehension de mépris en ceux qui ont esté raillez; mais cela ne luy arrive que rarement, parce que les affaires, & l'estude ne luy laissent presque aucun temps." ("She rarely speaks to the ladies of the court, since her exercises, or the cares of state which keep her, give no opportunity for conversation, and they do not even see her, except by way of a visit; and then after the necessary civilities she leaves them in a corner of the room in order to go and converse with men. If she is with those from whom she thinks nothing is to be learned, she cuts down the conversation to the absolute minimum; accordingly her servants say little to her — still they like her, since, however little she addresses them, it is always with sweetness, and she is a good mistress, liberal even beyond her means. Sometimes she amuses herself by jesting with them, which she does with good grace and without bitterness, yet it might be better if she abstained because this always leaves a suspicion in those who have been its objects that they are despised; still business and study leave her little time for this.") - Pierre Hector Chanut's description of Kristina from February 1648
"Je ne sai ce qui m'empêche de vous dire des injures, après tout ce que vous m'avez fait pour m'y obliger. Quoi? Faut-il après avoir gardé deux années le silence, que vous croiez en être quitte pour un simple baise-main, que je trouve dans la lettre de votre ami. A la vérité vous mérites pour le moins des reproches. Sachez que je suis quasi en colère & que votre silence a pense m'offenser cruellement. Je le pardonne pourtant à condition que vous ne soiez plus muette. A propos de votre taciturnité, je suis tentée de vous citer les Pythagoriciens, mais à une ignorante comme vous, il n'en faut point parler; c'est pourquoi je m'en abstiens: de peur aussi de paroitre une Fée, je ne veux pas dire toutes les belles choses que j'ai oui dire de ces bons Barbons. Parlez donc afin de n'être pas soupçonnée d'être de cette classe. Et pour vous faire connoître ce que je veux de vous, mandez-moi les entretiens du Cercle, & les badineries du petit couché. Je ne veux pas savoir de vous les misteres de l'Etat; quand la fantaisie me prendra d'en être informée, je m'addresserai a tout autre qu'à vous, parce que je crois que vous ne les savez pas. Car enfin si j'étois Roi en France, je vous croirois plûtôt propre à toute autre chose qu'à gouverner & je me servirois de vous pour autres affaires que pour celles d'Etat. Nous autres femmes n'y entendons guères, & il n'y a que votre incomparable Maitresse qui s'en soit mélée bien à propos." ("I can't tell what keeps me from using hard words to you, after all you have done to deserve them. What! after keeping silence for two years do you think you can cry quits by simply 'kissing my hand' in your friend's letter. Really you ought at least to be scolded. Know that I am, so to speak, very angry with you, and that your silence has gone hard to wound me deeply. Still I pardon you, on condition you are dumb no longer. A propos of your silence, I am tempted to quote the Pythagoreans to you, but one must not speak of them to an ignoramus like you. So I refrain; neither will I mention all the fine things I have heard of those excellent Longbeards, for fear of being taken for a fairy. Speak, then, so as to escape the suspicion of belonging to their order. To tell you what I want, send me news of your excellent Mistress, and your young Prince; tell me of the conversations of your circle, and the playful ways of the little fellow. I will have no State secrets from you; when the fancy seizes me for them I will apply to some one else, for I believe you know nothing about them. In fact, were I king of France, I should consider you suited for quite other things than government, and employ you in a service quite distinct from that of the State. We women don't understand statecraft: your incomparable Mistress alone has shown herself an adept in it.") - Kristina in a letter to Charlotte Saumaise de Chazan, Comtesse de Brégy, dated April 2, 1653
"She desired Whitelocke's assistance in a buisnes in England concerning one of her servants, the lady Jane Ruthen, daughter to general Ruthen; wherin Whitelocke promised his service." - Ambassador Bulstrode Whitelocke's third-person style diary entry of December 31, 1653
"J'eus une aversion et une antipatie invincible pour tout ce que font et disent les femmes. Leurs habits, ajustements et façons m'étoient insupportables. Je ne portais jamais ni coiffe ni masque, je n'avois aucun soin de mon teint, de ma taille, ni du reste de mon corps, et, à la propreté et à l'honnêteté près, je méprisais tout l'apanage de mon sexe. Je ne pouvais souffrir les habits longs, je ne voulais porter que des jupes courtes, surtout à la campagne." ("I had an invincible aversion to everything that women are wont to do and talk about. I found their clothes, their passivity and their ways unbearable. I never wore a wig or mask, I took no care of my complexion, my figure or anything else that had to do with my body, and aside from cleanliness and honesty, I despised all the prerequisites of my sex. I could not stand long dresses and only wanted to wear short skirts, especially in the countryside.") - Kristina in her/his/their autobiography.
"Elle faisoit profession de mépriser toutes les femmes, à cause de leur ignorance, et prenoit plaisir de converser avec les hommes sur les mauvaises matières, de même que sur les bonnes ... Ses deux femmes, toutes hideuses et misérables qu'elles étoient, se couchoient sur son lit familièrement, et faisoient avec elle à moitié de tout. ("She professed to despise all women because of their ignorance, and took pleasure in conversing with men on bad subjects, as well as on good ones. ... Her two women, hideous and miserable as they were, lay in her bed familiarly and did half of everything with her.") - Madame de Motteville's memoirs at the time of Kristina's visit to the French royal court in September 1656
"Saumaise me raconta que durant toute l'année qu'il avait passée à Stockholm près de la reine Christine, il avait été retenu au lit par le goutte. La reine l'étant venue voir, un jour que, pour faire diversion à sa douleur, il lisait le Moyen de parvenir, livre fort sale, mais plaisant, dit-on, de Beroalde de Verville, il se hâta de glisser le livre sous ses draps, de peur que la reine ne s'en saisit et ne parût choquée de cette lecture obscène. Mais ce mouvement n'avait point échappé à l'œil furtif et curieux de Sa Majesté. Elle s'empara du livre, l'ouvrit, en lut quelques lignes en courant, et rit des plaisanteries pleines de malice qu'elle y rencontra. Appelant alors sa favorite, Mlle de Sparre, noble et belle jeune fille, elle lui indiqua quelques passages et lui commanda de les lire. Celle-ci eut beau résister, il fallut obéir. Elle en rougit jusqu'au blanc des yeux; mais l'assistance éclatait de rire." ("Saumaise told me that during the whole year he had spent in Stockholm at Queen Kristina's court, he had been kept in bed by gout. The queen having come to see him one day, a day on which, to divert his pain, he read Le Moyen de Parvenir, very dirty book, but pleasant, it is said, by Beroalde de Verville. He hastened to slip the book under his sheets, lest the queen should seize them and be shocked by this obscene reading. But this movement had not escaped the furtive and inquisitive eyes of Her Majesty. She seized the book, opened it, read a few lines, and laughed at the mischievous jokes she saw there. Calling then her favorite, Mademoiselle de Sparre, a noble and beautiful young girl, she showed her some passages and ordered her to read them. It was necessary to obey. She blushed to the whites of her eyes; but the audience was bursting with laughter.") - Bishop Pierre Daniel Huet in his memoirs
"The queen was in a very good humor, and taking Whitelocke by the hand, she ledde him to a lady in the roome, whom they called La Belle Comptesse, the fayre countesse, the wife of Grave Jacob de la Garde: the queen sayd to Whitelocke, discourse with this my lady, my bed-fellowe, and tell me if her inside be not as beautifull as her outside. Whitelocke discoursing with her, found it so; and great modesty, virtue, and witt, accompanying her excellent beauty and behaviour. The queen pulled off the countesse's gloves, and gave one of them to Whitelocke for a favour; the other she tore in four pieces, and distributed them to Piementelle, the Italians, and to Grave Tott. In recompense of the glove, Whitelocke sent to the belle comptesse a douzen payre of english white gloves, which are in much esteem in this countrey." - Ambassador Bulstrode Whitelocke's third-person style diary entry of February 8, 1654 (source says 1653 even though Whitelocke was not at court until December of that year.)
"Que mon bonheur seroit sans second, s'il m'étoit permis de le partager avec vous, & si vous étiez témoin de ma félicité! Je vous jure que je serois digne de l'envie des Dieux, si je pouvois jouir du bien de vous voir; mais puisque je désespére si justement ce bonheur, il faut que vous me donniez au moins cette satisfaction, de croire qu'en quelque endroit du monde que je me trouve, je conserverai éternellement le souvenir de votre mérite, & que j'emporterai, au de-là des monts, la passion & la tendresse que je vous ai toûjours portée. Conservez-moi du moins votre cher souvenir, & ne troublez pas la douceur de la félicité, dont je jouis, par un injuste oubli de la personne du monde qui vous honnore le plus. Adieu, Belle, souvenez-vous de votre Christine." ("My happiness would be supreme if I were allowed to it were permitted to share it with you, and if you were a witness of my happiness! I swear to you that I would be worthy of the envy of the Gods, if I could enjoy the good of seeing you; but since I lack this happiness so much, you must give me at least this satisfaction, to believe that in any part of the world that I find myself, I will forever preserve the memory of your merit, and that I will take through the mountains the passion and the tenderness I have always had for you. Keep me at least in your dearest memory, and do not disturb the sweetness of this happiness, which I enjoy, by an unjust forgetfulness of the one person in the world who honours you most. Goodbye, Belle, and remember your Kristina.") - Kristina in a letter to Ebba Sparre, dated 1655
"Que je serois heureuse s'il m'étoit permis de vous voir, Belle, mais je suis condamnée du sort à vous aimer & vous estimer toûjours sans vous voir jamais; & cette envie que les astres portent aux felicités humaines, empéche que je ne sois entiérement heureuse, puisque je ne la puis être, étant éloignée de vous. Ne doutez pas de cette vérité, & croïez qu'en quelque lieu du monde que je me trouve, vous y avez une personne qui vous est entiérement acquise, comme je l'ai toûjours été. Mais est-il possible, Belle, que vous vous souveniez encore de moi? Vous suis-je encore aussi chère que je vous l'étois autrefois? Ne me suis-je pas trompée, lorsque je me suis persuadée que j'étois la personne du monde que vous aimiez le plus? Ha, si cela est, me me détrompez pas: laissez-moi plûtôt mon erreur, & ne m'enviez point la félicité imaginaire que me donne l'opinion d'être chérie de la plus aimable personne du monde. Conservez-moi, s'il se peut, ce bien, & ne souffrez pas que le tems ni l'absence me privent de la satisfaction d'être aimée de vous, & croïez que quoiqu'il puisse arriver, je ne cesserai d'être à vous. Adieu, Belle, adieu. Je vous embrasse un million de fois." ("How happy I would be if I were allowed to see you, Belle, but I am doomed to love and esteem you without ever seeing you; and this envy that the stars have for human happiness prevents me from being entirely happy, since I cannot be, since I'm so far away from you. Do not doubt this truth, and believe that in whatever part of the world I find myself, you have someone who is wholly yours, as I have always been. But is it possible, Belle, that you still remember me? Am I still as dear to you as I once was? Am I not mistaken when I persuaded myself that I was the person in the world you loved most? Oh, if that's the case, do not reveal it. Just leave me in my error, and do not forget the imaginary happiness which the memory of being beloved by the most amiable person in the world gives me. Let me keep, if it is possible, this good, and do not allow time or absence to deprive me of the satisfaction of being loved by you, and believe that whatever happens, I will never stop being yours. Goodbye, Belle, goodbye! I kiss you a million times.") - Kristina in a letter to Ebba Sparre, dated January 6, 1656
"Madame, vous avez trop de connoissance de Vous-même pour n'être pas persuadée, qu'en quelque endroit du monde que je sois, Vous y faites toujours une partie de mon souvenir, et que le tems n'a pas de pouvoir sur l'amitié que je vous ai jurée... Celui qui vous rendre ce billet, me sera témoin auprès de Vous, que je sais toûjours justice à votre mérite et à votre beauté. Après avoir vît dans le plus beau et le plus poli pais du monde, tout ce qu'il y a le charmant et de beau en notre sexe, je soutiens avec plus de hardiesse, qu'il n'y a personne qui osât vous disputer l'avantage que vous emportez sur tout ce qu'il y a de plus aimable au monde. Dites nous après cela, si l'on se peut consoler, quand on est condamné à une absence éternelle. Mais si je suis assurée de ne vous voir jamais, je suis assurée de vous aimer toûjours, et vous êtes cruelle si vous en doutez. Une amitié qui est éprouvée par trois ans d'absence, ne vous doit pas être suspecte, et si vous n'avez oublié le droit que vous avez sur moi, il vous souviendra qu'il y a déja douze ans que je suis en possession d'être aimée de vous. Enfin qui je suis à vous d'une manière qu'il est impossible que vous puissez me perdre, et ce ne sera jamais qu'avec la vie, que je cesserai de vous aimier. Le Sieur Baladrier vous portera de mes nouvelles et pour moi, je vous dis ceci de plus particulier, que je serois aujourd'hui la plus heureuse Princesse du monde, s'il m'étoit permis de vous avoir pour témoin de mes félicités, et si je pouvois espérer un jour la satisfaction de vous être utile. Si cette occasion se présente, faites état du pouvoir que vous avez sur moi, et soïez assurée, qu'il n'y aura que l'impossible, qui me dispensera de vous servir. Adieu, vivez heureuse et souvenez-Vous de moi. Je vous embrasse un million de fois et vous prie d'être assurée, que je vous aime de tout mon Cœur." ("Madame, you have too much knowledge of yourself to be unconvinced that, wherever I may be in the world, you always make up a part of my memory, and that time has no power over the friendship I have sworn to you. ... The one who will give you this note, will be a witness to you, that I always know justice to your merit and your beauty, after having seen in the most beautiful and the most polite creature in the world all that is charming and beautiful in our sex. I argue with more boldness, that there is no one who dares to dispute the advantages you take that are some of the kindest in the world. Tell us after that, if one can console oneself, when one is condemned to an eternal absence. But if it's certain that I'll never see you again, it's certain that I will never stop loving you, and you are cruel if you doubt this. A friendship which has experienced three years of absence should not be suspicious, and if you do not forget the right you have over me, you will remember that it is already twelve years since I was in possession of being loved by you. Finally, who am I to you in such a way that it is impossible for you to lose me, and that I will ever in my life stop loving you? Sir Baladrier will bring you news of me, and as for me, I'm telling you more particularly, that today I would be the happiest princess in the world I were allowed to have you as a witness of my congratulations, and if I could hope to one day have the satisfaction of being useful to you. If this opportunity ever presents itself, please mention the power you have over me, and be sure that there will be only the impossible, which will excuse me from serving you. Goodbye. Live happily and remember me. I kiss you a million times and ask you to rest assured that I love you with all my heart.") - Kristina in a letter to Ebba Sparre, dated March 27, 1657
Above: Ebba Sparre, painted by Sébastien Bourdon, year 1652 or 1653. She was a celebrated beauty at court, was given the role of Venus in the plays performed in the castle's theater, and was nicknamed La Belle Comtesse
(The Beautiful Countess).
During Kristina's reign, the number of noble families in Sweden tripled to 600. She/he/they was too free in giving away crown lands (which were leased or mortgaged to accommodate each new noble family), and she/he/they had very little to no interest in or even understanding of finance, to the point that her/his/their financial extravagance from spending money on this, musicians and works of art brought the state to the verge of bankruptcy and caused public unrest over her/his/their extravagant and wasteful ways in the years before her/his/their abdication. In the late 1640s, a fanatical student from the theology school tried to assassinate Kristina while she/he/they was in church, but was quickly apprehended.
"... In time she came to view the crown's assets like the loaves and fishes on the Mount of Olives — miraculously renewable, no matter how many hands dipped into the basket. Moreover, she could not distinguish, or would not distinguish, between the crown's property and what belonged to her personally. It was all endlessly available for public works or for presents to favorites or for libraries or paintings or armies or orchestras. She used it all, sometimes justly, rewarding a soldier's bravery or a civil servant's hard work, but more often at random, and always more lavishly than was needed. She had little understanding of finance, and she made no attempt to learn." - from
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"... Her inquisitive and responsive nature left her constantly at the mercy of the latest new idea. Her need to dominate made things worse, and she wasted time and money that she could not spare on project after project that never came to fruition." - from
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
"She was alight with grand ideas, but none of them could sustain her interest for long, and she lacked the stamina even to see them brought to fruition by others. Few ideas lasted beyond their first, fine, careless rapture, and too often she found herself with unpaid bills for fireworks that had long since fizzled out." - from
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004), by Veronica Buckley
In 1651 Kristina began to suffer physical health problems such as bad eyesight, high blood pressure, a stiff neck, and fainting spells that would leave her/him/them unconscious for hours. She/he/they most likely was suffering from adult-onset diabetes. After one of these fainting spells, a Dr. Pierre Bourdelot was summoned. Unlike the Swedish doctors, he did not believe in bloodletting, a common medical treatment of the time. He instead prescribed Kristina a healthier diet, warm baths, and relaxation. Kristina had always been very hard-working, but she/he/they had now overworked herself/himself/themself, and she/he/they suffered a nervous breakdown or burnout and probably even depression as a result. He/she/they later cited the stresses of ruling as the reason for the health problems that were ultimately cited as the reason for her/his/their abdication.
"Jagh har her set så stor ynka att Jagh har haft behoft al min Constace til at intet troublera migh. Gudh wet hvadh her wil bliwa aff, doch ske hans wilie j alt, mera kan Jagh jntet skriwa." ("I have seen such misery here that I've had to muster all my strength to not let it disturb me. Only God knows what will happen, but His will be done in everything.") - Kristina in her/his/their letter to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, written at Ulvsunda on August 14, 1652
Dr. Bourdelot quickly became one of Kristina's favourites, and as such, she/he/they showered him with gifts. Knowing her/his/their love of dirty jokes and crude humour, he shared with her/him/them the 16 erotic sonnets of Pietro Aretino. Rumours began to spread about the two. The fact that "Dr." Bourdelot was not officially a doctor added to his shady reputation. Kristina took Bourdelot's advice to heart, and she/he/they became an Epicurean in her/his/their philosophy and started devoting more time to amusement and relaxation, inadvertently humiliating her/his/their scholar friends in trying to make them do things to entertain her/him/them, and Kristina's behaviour seemingly became even more nonchalant and eccentric than it already was. In 1651, Arnold Johan Messenius and his son accused Kristina of being a Jezebel and devoting too much time to sport and pleasure and that she/he/they was bringing the country to ruin. In response, Kristina ordered for their executions. Messenius was beheaded whilst his son, who was also beheaded, was put on the rack, and a year later, presumably out of guilt, Kristina ordered for the boy's body to be taken down and buried. The double execution caused Kristina to become even more unpopular.
Bourdelot was eventually dismissed after pressure from Maria Eleonora and others, but not without being given parting gifts.
Kristina caused a scandal that shocked all of Europe when she/he/they abdicated in favour of her/his/their older cousin and heir by way of adoption, Karl Gustav (1622-1660), on June 6, 1654, at the young age of 27. When she/he/they first announced her/his/their intention to abdicate, the councilmen refused to allow it, and Kristina reluctantly agreed to stay under the condition that they never again ask her/him/them to marry. It took several more tries before the councilmen finally gave in.
The abdication ceremony was very emotional and solemn, with Kristina giving a speech that moved everyone to tears; and, according to legend, one of the men stepped forward and made a speech of his own, hoping to convince Kristina to stay as queen and everyone would help her/him/them to "bear the burden". But Kristina was unmoved by his tearful plea, and the men reluctantly took the mantle off of her/him/them and took the orb and scepter from her/his/their hands. It is said that when one of the men refused to remove the crown from her/his/their head, Kristina took the crown off with her/his/their bare hands. Kristina left Sweden soon after the abdication, travelling through Denmark while disguised as a man for safety reasons.
It is possible that Kristina may have been considering abdicating even as early as before her/his/their coronation.
"Hennes Kongl. M:t är född till rijket och hafver ingen orsak till at resignera. Hvadh H. M:t sägher om qvinnokönet, thet hafver Konungh Gustaf Adolff nogsampt considereradt, när hon anno 1627 valdes. H. K. M:t hafver anammet eed af alle Stender, såsom och giordt allom edh, är klook, hafver courage etc., är qvalificerat mehr ähn nogon qvinnespersohn. Derföre kan H. M:t inthet görat; eij heller ryggat uthan genom dödhen och extremam necessitatem." ("Her Royal Majesty is born for the realm and has no reason to resign. What Her Majesty says on the female sex was carefully considered by King Gustav Adolf when she was elected in 1627. Her Royal Majesty has taken the oath of all the Estates, as did they all; she is wise, has courage, etc., is qualified more than any woman. Therefore, Her Majesty cannot do it, neither can it be repealed except through death and extreme necessity.") - the councilmen's conclusion on the day Kristina first announced her/his/their intention to abdicate, August 7, 1651
"I går bekommo vi vår nya Konung; Gud ge H. Maj:t et långt och godt Regiment. Men till att beskrifva huru hårdt det rörde alla människor, som tillstädes voro, när H. Maj:t aflade sig Kronan och Sceptern och steg ned af Thronen och talte vid gemenheten, med en sådan synnerlig vältalighet och sedan förde vår nu varande Konung derinpå, det kan jag intet nogsamt göra, allenast kan jag försäkra, att ifrån Dronningen, som sist med stor möda hölt sig från att gråta, alt intill den ringaste som tillstädes var, fanns icke en, som thet ju högt till hjertat gick, att tårarne föllo dem somligom ur ögonen. Jag må bekänna, det var en klagelig Act att se på, att hon med rätta kan liknas vid en Moder, som skils bort från sina Barn." ("Yesterday we received our new King; God give His Majesty a long and good reign. But how greatly it touched everyone present when Her Majesty divested herself of the Crown and Scepter and stepped down from the throne and spoke to the public with such eloquence and then led our present King there, that I can hardly describe. I can only assure you that because of the Queen, who only with great difficulty kept herself from weeping, everyone present, even the lowliest — there was not one whose heart was not touched, and tears fell from their eyes. I must admit, it was a pitiful act to witness; she can quite rightly be likened to a mother being separated from her children.") - Johan Ekeblad in his letter to Kristoffer Ekeblad, dated June 7, 1654
"Och såsom the uthi Nårkepings Besluth hafwa deriverat in på migh denne rätt till Chronan för min Faders skuld, som med sin blodh har köpt edher mycket, der öfwer J hafwe Eder nu att hugna, menandes på det sätt göra Edher önskan för dhe tillkommande thider tillfyllest; så hafwer iagh denne Edher åstundan inthet kunnat fullgöra, uthan welat den fauten ij bäste måtto remediera, och fördenskull opdraga Hans Kärlighet min käre Frände Rijkzens Scepter och Regering, att iagh på dette sätt måtte continuera för eder succession, som eliest genom Naturen icke skee kan. Önskar både honom och Edher der till den lycka som J meriteren. Jagh æstimerar migh glorieuxe, att iagh på denne stundh kan seija Edher hwem iagh är, wetandes i mitt samweet att iagh ingen orsaak har att begära pardon af någen. Jagh skulle räkna det högt, att dhe wille komma ihugh den gode intention iagh altid har hafft till deres wälfärd: tackar ock dem, som uthi deres hörsame plicht inthet har welat försuma sitt devoir; der emot iagh ock dem försäkrar att wela i alle occasioner sökia deres wälstånd; dhe wille ock hafwa det förtroende till migh, att om iagh changerar condition, så förandrar iagh doch aldrigh den affection iagh bärer till Eder. Och der iagh icke hafwer kunnat beneficera alle effter deres önskan och willje, så wille dhe der hoos sij på den wälwilligheet iagh der til har hafft: Och som sådanne beneficier äre inthet annat än ett tekn af een siäl, så kan iagh wäl seija, att dhe, som dhe mine hafwe åthniutit, hafwe dem af een willigh Siäl. Önskar att Gudh Edher alle uthi ett önskeligit tillstånd wille uppehålla, och att iagh altidh höra motte, det eder wäl går; der af skulle iagh hafwa min satisfaction: dhe wille ock göra migh den ähran, och troo att iagh skall hafwa dem altidh uthi ett gott minne etc." ("And as they have in the Norrköping Resolution given me this right to the Crown for my father's sake, who, with his blood, has given you much, you may satisfy yourselves thereover, meaning in that way to wish for the coming times sufficiently. So I have not been able to grant you this wish, but wanted to remediate that fault in the best manner, and for this reason His Lovingness, my dear cousin, takes up the scepter and governance of the realm, so that in this way I could continue the succession for you, which otherwise cannot happen save through nature. I wish both him and you the happiness thereto that you deserve. I esteem myself glorious that I at this hour can say to you who I am, knowing in my conscience that I have no reason to ask pardon of anyone. I should account it highly that they would remember the good intention I have always had for their welfare; and I also thank them, as in their obedient duty they have not wished to delay their devoir. In return I also thank them and assure that I wish on all occasions to seek their well-being, they would also have the confidence in me that, if I change my condition, I however would not change the affection I bear for you. And because I have not been able to benefit everyone according to their wish and will, they would see the good will I have had thereto. And as such benefits are nothing more than a sign of a soul, I can well say that they who have enjoyed mine have them from a willing soul. I wish that God keep you all in desirable standing, and that I may always hear that you are well; I would derive my satisfaction from that. They would also do me honour and believe that I shall always have good memory of them, etc.") - part of Kristina's abdication speech
The motives for Kristina's abdication are debated to this day. The reasons Kristina gave were that ruling was taking a toll on her/his/their health, and that the business of ruling was therefore not suitable for a woman and Sweden needed a man to rule (because of her/his/their refusal to marry and produce an heir, she/he/they adopted her/his/their cousin, the aforementioned Karl Gustav, as her/his/their son). However, the secret and most likely motive was that Kristina intended to convert to Roman Catholicism, which she/he/they had already done secretly — in her/his/their heart — in 1652. But the state religion of Sweden was Lutheranism, which Kristina was skeptical of and found illogical and cruel, and Catholicism was illegal in Sweden at that time; the penalty being death. But in spite of everything, Kristina was provided and secured with a pension and revenue from the town of Norrköping as well as from her/his/their islands and estates (Gotland, Öland, Ösel (now the Estonian island Saaremaa), Poel, Wolgast, Neukloster and estates in Pomerania), although she/he/they would suffer financial difficulties for most of her/his/their life.
Above: Uppsala Castle, where Kristina's abdication took place. Photo taken by Per Enström on Wikimedia Commons.
Above: Kristina's abdication act, with her/his/their signature at the bottom.
Above: The abdication ceremony.
Above: Karl Gustav.
Above: A dramatic, stripped down retelling in illustration of Kristina's decision to abdicate.
Kristina converted during her/his/their stay in Brussels on Christmas Eve 1654, although the conversion was not publicly announced until November 3, 1655, when she/he/they was in Innsbrück, Austria. The child of the man who gave his life to protect Protestantism had now converted to Catholicism, the religion of "the enemy". Upon her/his/their arrival in Rome on December 20, 1655, Kristina was greeted with great pomp and splendour, and she/he/they was treated to near-constant parties, plays, operas, jousting, acrobatics, and even fireworks displays. The Pope Alexander VII welcomed Kristina to the Vatican and officially received her/him/them there; but he, like many others in Italy and France, soon came to grow tired of the ex-queen/king's eccentric, inappropriate and "off-putting" behaviour and jokes. Kristina's conversion seems to have been more her/his/their love of plotting than the result of any religious feeling, and she/he/they was never outwardly pious: during her/his/their first Mass, she/he/they joked about the doctrine of transubstantiation. Pamphlets began to circulate that accused Kristina of being a hermaphrodite, a lesbian and an atheist, and even the most outlandish rumours about her/his/their behaviour were accepted as fact.
"Those, that have had a personal and near relation to her, count her a very atheist." - letter by anonymous author, dated June 26, 1654
"No body is able to tell as yet how she stands disposed for matters of religion, she sheweth every where such an indifference, and no devotion at all. What his holiness may work upon her, time will shew." - from an intelligence letter dated October 27, 1655
"Ie suis heureusement arrive icy, ou I'ay trouvè la permission, & l'ordre de Sa Sainctetè, de me declarer ce que ie suis il y a long temps. Ie me suis estime heureuse de lui obeir, & ay preferez cette gloire a celle de regner sur ces puissantes Estats, que vous possedes. Vous debuez aymer cette action, quand mesme vous croires, que Iay mal choisi, puis qu'elle vous est si utile, et si glorieuse. Ie vous proteste pourtant, que ie n'ay point changè le sentimens d'amitie que Iay tousiours eu pour vous, ny l'amour, que ie doibs à la Suede, Ie la conserverez aultant que ma vie." ("I am happily arrived here, where I found the Permission and Order of his Holinesse, to declare my self what I am, and have been long ago. I think my self fortunate in obeying him, and have preferred this glory before that of reigning o're the potent Dominions you possesse. You should like my resolution, though you thought it not good, since to you 'tis so profitable and so glorious. However I protest unto you, I have not at all changed the sense of the friendship I have ever had for you, nor the love I owe Swedland, which I will preserve as long as I live.") - Kristina in a letter to Karl Gustav, dated November 4, 1655
"Queen Christina of Sweden is now become wholly popish, having publickly recanted at Inspruck; which indeed is great scandal to all evangelical nations, yet would have been far greater, had she not heretofore been specially noted for a woman of no religion at all, and one which knew not herself what she was." - from an intelligence letter dated November 27, 1655
"The queen of Sweden has bin very sumptuosly received at Rom by the pope. She made her entrance a horsbac betwixt two prince cardinals, the Lantgrav of Hessen, and the great duk's brother cardinall Medici. The pope allowes her 1000 dollars a day to continue for 3 monthes. 'Tis reported shi is no zealous papist, wherfor 'tis lykly by the 3 monthes end she may retorn as good a protestant as ever she was." - Charles Longland in his letter to secretary John Thurloe, dated December 31, 1655
"It is said, that even at this day, amidst the Spanish Gravity, she shews so much levity, that the Venerable Fathers of the Society of Iesus, have much ado, with all their wit, to know the temper of so Motley a Genius, that assumes more shapes and postures, than ever Proteus himself did: They have so much ado, to know of what Religion she is, that they that make it their only business to decide the points of Faith, cannot tell what to make of hers: They are in doubt also, what to think of her Sex, because sometimes they see her in mens apparel, and sometimes in womens; and for the most part, they see her in such a fashion as partakes of both, as if she were an Hermaphrodite." - from A relation of the life of Christina Queen of Svveden: with her resignation of the crown, voyage to Bruxels, and journey to Rome. Whereunto is added, her Genius (1656), by Urbain Chevreau and translated by a J. H.
"I forgot in my last to tell you, that the good queen Christina hath sent away don Antonio de la Cueva and his wife, to whom she declared, that she was resolved to stay at Rome. And as she was told, that that was not what she had promised, she made answer, she would remain in a neuter state; and that moreover she had found in the Low Countries but two sorts of people, fools and blockheads. The fools were the Spaniards, and the stupid were the Walloons." - Jacques Carpentier de Marigny in his letter to (I believe) Dominique Barrière, dated February 25, 1656
"They ar extreamly weary at Rom of theyr ghest the queen of Sweden, her carryage being so infinitly high and lofty, that she nether suffers man to be covered before her, nor woman to sit; besyd her behaviour in her new religion is not with such zeal, as with other new converted catholiks." - Charles Longland in his letter to secretary John Thurloe, dated April 14, 1656
"The queen of Sweden hath earnestly desyerd to see the cardinall before she come to court; tells him, she hath matters of great importance to discourse with him. He meets her at Chantilly upon tuesday next, and stays there with her that night. Her stay at court is expected not to exceed four or fyve days, though I doubt much if they shall gett ridd of her so soon." - Ambassador William Lockhart of Lee in his letter to secretary John Thurloe, dated September 1/11, 1656
"An Itallian, that was steward of the hous to the queen of Sweden, is put into the inquisition at Rom. The pope had latly allotted twelv thousand crownes a year towards the queen of Sweden's maintenance, and a councel called Collegio di propagando fede has contradicted it. I believ, if that queen does not carry her self more modest, they will go near to put her into a monastery." - Charles Longland in his letter to secretary John Thurloe, dated June 29, 1657
"Mons.r io non Vi Credo, ne Vintendo, benChe il purgatorio sia vn articolo di fede io non Ci Credo niente a qvel dal qvale Voi mi parlate, gran gusto haverei Che il gloria patri Volese Caminar il mondo ma mi par impossibile." ("Monsignor, I do not believe you, nor do I understand you. Although purgatory is an article of faith, I do not at all believe what you are talking about. It would be a great pleasure to have Gloria Patri through the world, but it seems impossible to me.") - Kristina in a letter to Gasparo Lascaris, dated July 13, 1657
"Je vous prie de dire au pere fozio de ma part quil perdt son temps a prier dieu qve ie devienne sainte Car ie nauray iamais asse de vertu pour lestre ny asse infamie pour le feindre." ("I beg you to tell Father Fozio, on my behalf, that he is wasting his time praying to God that I become a saint, for I will never have enough virtue to be one, nor enough infamy to pretend to be one.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated September 15, 1666
Above: Kristina becomes a Catholic.
Above: Kristina's grand entry into Rome on December 20, 1655.
Above: Kristina meeting Pope Alexander VII, painted by Angelo Trevisani.
Above: Kristina and the Pope feasting together.
Above: The festivities held in honour of Kristina at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, February 26, 1656, by Filippo Gagliardi.
Above: Kristina's grand entry into Paris, September 8, 1656.
Kristina caused yet another shocking scandal in 1657 when, during her/his/their stay at Fontainebleau Palace in France, she/he/they ordered the execution of Count Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi after she/he/they intercepted letters he had secretly copied in which he betrayed Kristina by revealing to the Pope her/his/their plan to become Queen of Naples (there was also a plot for Kristina to be elected as Queen of Poland, another kingdom ruled at the time by the Vasas, and even a plot for Kristina to retake the Swedish throne after her cousin's death in 1660 in case his son were to die during his minority, although both plans also fell through). Monaldeschi and others desperately begged Kristina to have mercy on him, but she/he/they was unmoved. There was a frantic chase, and eventually Monaldeschi was stabbed to death. Rumours quickly began claiming that Monaldeschi had been Kristina's lover and that she/he/they had him executed when she/he/they tired of him. Her/his/their courtiers advised her/him/them to cover up the execution, but she/he/they refused and openly accepted sole responsibility for having done it. Kristina prayed that God would have mercy on Monaldeschi's soul. She/he/they regretted that he died the way he did, but still insisted that the execution was necessary and that it would not have been right to take it back. As a 17th century monarch, despite no longer having real political power, Kristina legally had power over the members of her/his/their household, and being the judge to sentence them for any crime they committed was part of that power. In other words, the execution was legal. But even in this violent age, people were shocked at the brutality of the execution. This caused Kristina's reputation to suffer, and her/his/their return to Rome was not warmly received. The Pope now thought of her/him/them as a "barbarian", "with barbarous thoughts". Kristina would live in Rome for the rest of her/his/their life, with the exception of a stay in Hamburg, Germany from 1666 to 1668 and a second unsuccessful visit to Sweden in 1667. Kristina was also a permanent guest of the Vatican and lived in Rome under the tenures of five consecutive popes.
"The queen of Sweds murdering her Roman marques has much displeased the pope and al the court of Rome, whither if she should again repair, I suppos she would fynd but cold welcom." - Charles Longland in his letter to secretary John Thurloe, dated January 5, 1658
Above: An artist's imagining of Kristina ordering for Monaldeschi's execution.
Above: The Galerie des Cerfs in Fontainebleau Palace. Monaldeschi was condemned to death in this room.
During her time in Rome, Kristina found a close friend in Cardinal Decio Azzolino, whom she/he/they became very fond of and also wrote passionate letters to, although he did not reciprocate her/his/their feelings. Kristina was an avid art collector and sponsor of many Baroque composers, sculptors and artists, including Arcangelo Corelli, Bernardo Pasquini, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. She/he/they founded the Tor di Nona theater in 1671 and posthumously founded the Academia dell'Arcadia, which was founded in 1690. Kristina was also very tolerant of other religions, which was extremely unusual in those days, and had Rome's Jewish population put under her/his/their protection. She/he/they now had a reputation as the queen of the culture scene.
In addition to her/his/their autobiography, Kristina also wrote two essays, one on Julius Caesar and the other on her/his/their hero, Alexander the Great, as well as a series of maxims. All these were written in French.
"ie Vous prie de destre persuade qve quoy qve mon inquietude me face suffrir son toument me tient presentement lieux de toutte ma ioye puisqve son effect extraordinaire me fait Conoistre qve ie Vous estime d'vne amitié qui est digne de Vous. Je prie dieu qui Vous Conserve en sante, et qve iay la ioye de Vous revoir tel que ie Vous ay laisse Vous asseurant que lamitie que ie Vous professe naura iamais daustre terme ny bones que celles de ma Vie." ("I beg you to be persuaded that, although my anxiety makes me suffer, its torment is at present the place of all my joy, since its extraordinary effect makes me aware that I esteem you for a friendship worthy of you. I pray to God that He will keep you healthy and that I will have the joy of seeing you again as I have left you, assuring you that the friendship I profess to you will never have any other terms or limits than those of my life.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated July 21, 1666
"Je ne Vous sauerez faire Comprendre qvelle a este ma Joye en recvant le dovble depeche qvi me manquoit par lordinaire passe, san qvil me manque auCune de Vos depeche iusques a Ce iour. Je Vous ren grace de tout ce quils Contiennent dobligent pour moy Vous asseurent qve si Je ne merite vne telle amitie dalieurs Je la merite dv moins par la sincerite et par lardeur de celle qve ie Vous professeray inViolable iusques a la mort. et Comme iay de la reconoissance pour Vous ayez avsi la iustice pour moy destre fortement persuade de Cette Verite." ("I cannot tell you what my joy was in receiving the double dispatches I missed by the ordinary post, without missing any of your dispatches for today. I thank you for all that is obliging for me, assuring you that if I do not deserve such a friendship elsewhere, I deserve it at least by the sincerity and ardour of the one I profess to you, inviolable until death. As I have gratitude for you, also have justice for me to be strongly persuaded of this truth.")
"lon ne parle plus de diette, et ien ay Casi perdu lesperance quelle se face et avec cela Je pers celle de Vous revoir de long temps. iugez quel effroyable Coup de malhevr m'accable. Je vous advoue que ie suis dans un desespoir estrange et si lestat de mon asme Vous estoit Connev ie masseure que Vous ne me refuseray pas Vostre Compassion." ("One no longer speaks of the Riksdag, and I have almost lost the hope that it will convene, and with that I lose that of seeing you again for a long time. Judge what a frightful blow of misfortune overwhelms me! I confess to you that I am in a strange despair, and if the state of my soul is known to you, I make sure that you do not refuse me your compassion.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated July 28, 1666
"Vous avez Veu mon assiduite a Vous escrire, et Je suis ravie de Voir qve Vous lavez remarque, ie nay iay mais manque a ... de Vous escrire et si vous navez receu plus de lestre cest qve ie nay trouve plus doccasion de Vous escrire Car si i'en eusse eu tous les iours et tous les moments ie n'evsse laisse passer aucune san Vous donner les marques de mon souvenir. et Vous ne devez pas men tenir Conte de cette pvntualite Car Vous escrire et recevoir Vos lestre est toutte la ioye qvi me reste en ce monde depuis qve ie vous ay quitte et quant Jl ne faudroit pas Vous escrire pour Vostre Consolation Jl faudroit au moins Vous escrie pour la mienne. faittes de mesme Je Vous en prie et donnons nous reciproquement le plus sovvent qve Nous povvons les tesmoinages dune amitie qvi ne peut et ne doit finir qu'avec nostre Vie. Jepanse navoir plus rien a Vous dire si nest que ie me porte parfaittement bien et que ie seray trop heureuse sil mest permis de Vous revoir enCore vne fois devan mourir." ("You have seen my diligence in writing to you, and I am delighted to see that you write, and if you have received no more letters, it is because I have not found more opportunities to write to you, for if I would have missed every day and every moment without giving you the marks of my memory. And you must not take into account this punctuality, because your writing and my receiving your letters is all the joy that remains in this world since I left you, and when you should not write for your consolation, you should at least write to me for mine. Do the same, I pray you, and let's give each other, as often as we can, the testimonies of a friendship that can and must end only with our lives. I think I have nothing more to say to you except that I am perfectly well and that I will be too happy if I am allowed to see you again before dying.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated August 4, 1666
"Continuez a me Consoler Comme Vous faites, de Vostre souvenir et soyez fortement persuade de la fidele et inviolable amitie que ie Vous professeray iusques a la mort." ("Continue to console me, as you do, with your remembrance, and be strongly persuaded of the faithful and inviolable friendship that I will profess to you until death.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated August 11, 1666
"Vous soyez mon amy et sovvenez Vous de moy qui me souviendray etternellement de Vous." ("You are my friend, and remember me who will remember you forever.") - Kristina in a letter to Cardinal Decio Azzolino, dated August 25, 1666
Above: Kristina, early 1660s.
Above: Kristina, painted by Abraham Wuchters, year 1661.
Above: Cardinal Decio Azzolino.
Above: Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).
Above: Kristina probably in her/his/their 40s or 50s.
Above: Kristina painted by Jacob Ferdinand Voet, year circa 1670.
Above: Kristina, year 1674.
Above: Kristina painted again by Voet, year circa 1680.
Above: The seal of the Academia dell'Arcadia, which was founded in 1690, a year after Kristina's death, but had its origins in the literary circle that began to gather around her/him/them as early as the 1650s.
Above: A bust of Kristina sculpted by Bernini, 1680s.
On April 19, 1689, Kristina died in the Palazzo Corsini (then Riario) at the age of 62. Her/his/their cause of death was diabetes mellitus, pneumonia and a streptococcal skin infection (erisypelas), and she/he/they lapsed into a coma and died with Azzolino, whom she/he/they had made her/his/their heir in her will, at her/his/their bedside. Kristina had only recently recovered from an illness that almost killed her/him/them, and when she/he/they found out that one of her/his/their favourites, Angelica Quadrelli, had been raped, Kristina ordered for the attacker to be killed and basically hired a hitman to go after him; but upon learning that the rapist had escaped despite a search, she/he/they fell into such a rage that she/he/they tried to physically attack the hitman, but she/he/they fainted in the middle of it, having suffered a relapse of the illness that was clearly brought on by emotional stress, which was the very reason that the assault on Angelica was initially kept a secret from the inquisitive Kristina.
Although Kristina had requested a simple funeral, she/he/they was laid in state following an autopsy, given an elaborate funeral procession, and buried four days after death in St. Peter's Basilica with white brocade, a crown and scepter, and a silver death mask.
Above: The funeral procession for Kristina in Rome, 1689.
In Pope Alexander VII's words, Kristina was "a queen without a realm, a Christian without faith, and a woman without shame."
Above: Kristina as painted by Michael Dahl, year 1687, two years before her/his/their death. Still looking youthful at almost-61, although, like most portrait paintings from the Baroque era, it is most likely heavily idealised from what she/he/they actually looked like.
Above: A less flattering portrait of Kristina.
In the nearly four centuries since she/he/they lived and died, Kristina has been the subject of many books, operas, films and plays. In each, her/his/their cultural and gender identity play a great role; and in recent decades her/his/their crossdressing and masculine behaviour has made her/him/them an early icon for the lesbian and transgender communities. In the English language, dramas based on Kristina's life have been put to the big screen three times, each one varying in levels of historical accuracy, and each portrays Kristina as consistently identifying as female, although the second film does have her feeling torn and insecure about her gender due to rumours and drinking songs about her being a hermaphrodite; and at one point in the film, immediately before having a violent meltdown, she whispers tearfully: "I'll tell you what sex Kristina is: she isn't any!".
The first of these films was the 1933 Pre-Code Hollywood film Queen Christina, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, in which the monarch was portrayed by Swedish actress Greta Garbo as an adult and as a child by American child actress Cora Sue Collins. In this film, alongside having to cope with the demands of being a wartime leader during the final years of the Thirty Years' War, Kristina is expected to marry a suitable royal man and produce an heir to the throne; but instead she falls in love with the visiting Spanish envoy Antonio, whom she is forbidden to marry because he is a Catholic. Kristina is torn between love and royal duty, culminating in her abdication. A few famous scenes from the film: Kristina kisses Ebba Sparre on the lips and has a brief, informal chat with her before going to host an audience and take care of affairs of state — a daring move for a film made in an era that was more conservative and less accepting than today; and later when Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna warns Kristina that she cannot die "an old maid", Kristina retorts: "I have no intention to, Chancellor. I shall die a bachelor!", and nonchalantly walks away. But two other moments from the film are considered particularly iconic. The first of these shows Kristina wandering around examining and caressing various objects in the bedroom of the inn in which she has spent two passionate nights with Antonio; when he asks her what she is doing, she replies: "I've been memorising this room." The second comes at the very end of the film during the closing shot, showing Kristina standing silently and expressionlessly at the bow of a ship bound for Spain.
Above: Kristina as portrayed by Greta Garbo (adult) and Cora Sue Collins (child) in the 1933 film Queen Christina.
The second film is the 1974 film The Abdication, based on Ruth Wolff's 1972 stage play of the same name. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and has Kristina portrayed by Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, with the young Kristina portrayed by English actress Suzanne Huddart. In this film, the recently abdicated Kristina arrives at the Vatican and is interrogated, to her consternation and amusement, over the course of a few days about the sincerity of her conversion by Cardinal Azzolino, whom she comes to fall passionately in love with. Sadly, the film is somewhat obscure and is rarely seen or shown.
Above: Kristina as portrayed by Liv Ullmann in the 1974 film The Abdication.
The third and most recent of these films is the 2015 film The Girl King, based on a French-language screenplay by Michel Marc Bouchard that first debuted as a stage play in 2012 when the film got stuck in development hell. Although it was filmed primarily in Finland and has a Finnish, Swedish, German, French and Canadian cast, it was filmed in English with some dialogue in French, German, Latin and Italian. It was directed by Mika Kaurismäki and stars Swedish actress Malin Buska as Kristina, with Finnish violinist Lotus Tinat portraying the monarch, as a child as well as an uncredited baby actress playing the brief glimpses of the infant Kristina. The film focuses on the ten years of Kristina's reign and shows her as a spirited and eccentric but fiery and brilliant young woman who fights the conservative forces around her that resist her ideas to modernise and bring peace to Sweden, and at the same time she becomes good friends with the French ambassador Pierre Hector Chanut and Descartes as she explores the latter's study on human emotions and awkwardly but devotedly pursues a romantic and sexual relationship with Ebba Sparre. But things eventually go wrong and overwhelm Kristina with depression before she ultimately makes good on her intention to abdicate the throne and become a Catholic.
Above: Kristina as portrayed by Malin Buska (adult) and Lotus Tinat (child) in the 2015 film The Girl King.
Kristina is also featured among the world leaders in the 2019 turn-based strategy video game Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, and also here is shown as consistently identifying as female. For those who aren't familiar with it, the object of the games in the Civilization series is to develop a titular civilization from an early settlement through many millennia to become a world power and achieve one of several victory conditions, such as through military domination, technological superiority or cultural influence, over the other human and computer-controlled opponents. Players do this by exploring the world, founding new cities, building city improvements, deploying military troops to attack and defend from others, researching new technologies and cultural civics, and engaging in trade and negotiations with other world leaders. Kristina's intro reads: "Minerva of the North, unmatched in learning and wisdom, you chose a life of wisdom over that of power. Light up your kingdom with art and music. Let Sweden be the guiding star for other civilizations to follow. Once more the world has a need for great patrons of the arts and culture — and it looks to you." In the game, Kristina's unique agenda is Bibliophile. She tries to collect as many great works as possible and resents other leaders who have a large number of Great Works. Her leader ability is Minerva of the North. All of her buildings with three or more Great Work slots and all of her wonders with two or more Great Work slots are automatically themed once their slots are filled, and she is able to build the Queen's Bibliotheque in her Government Plaza.
Above: Kristina in the 2019 game Civilization VI: Gathering Storm.
As all the leaders in the Civilization games speak their native languages, Kristina in the game speaks Early Modern Swedish (or at least a contemporary spin on it), although her unvoiced lines are in English. She has different lines depending on the player's actions, and they all reflect her personality and the way she spoke and wrote in real life.
Kristina's greeting: "Jag är Kristina, Sveriges drottning. Patron av konst och litteratur. Hälsar jag en annan kunskapsälskande person?" ("I am Kristina, queen of Sweden, patron of arts and letters. Do I greet a fellow lover of learning?")
Kristina's quote from Civilopedia: "Glädje ligger ej i andras opinioner." ("Happiness does not lie in the opinion of others.")
Kristina's agenda-based approval: "Vi har nyligen fått ett helt nytt konstverk och jag ska vara värd snart för en konstvisning. Era sändebud äro inbjudna." ("I've just acquired a new work and will host a viewing soon. Your emissaries are invited to attend.")
Kristina's agenda-based disapproval: "Jag förmodar att du bara synar konst i god när den förenar rummets estetik, din borgarbracka!" ("I suppose you think art is great when it ties a room together, you philistine.")
When Kristina is attacked: "Sverige ska tukta dem som hotar världen. Förbered er på krig!" ("Sweden will chastise those who threaten the world. Prepare yourself for war!")
When Kristina declares war: "Sverige skall göra sin del för att hålla världens ondska stången. Konst är ett sätt att uppnå detta, krig mot er ett annat." ("Sweden will do her part to push back the evils of the world. Art is one way to do this — war with you is another.")
When Kristina is defeated: "Jag älskade aldrig makt, och nu saknar jag konsten. Bara ånger och förlust återstår för mig." ("I never loved power, and now I am left without art. Only regret and loss remain for me.")
Kristina's unvoiced lines:
If Kristina sends a delegation: "I send you a gift of bandy sticks, pickled herring, lingonsylt, and knäckebröd. Don't eat the bandy sticks."
If Kristina accepts a delegation: "I will accept your delegation, and they will stay as my honored guests. My Dramaturge has a new work to share for them."
If Kristina refuses a delegation: "Sweden has no need of these petty trifles."
If Kristina accepts player's declaration of friendship: "I do consider you a friend! I should be delighted to share this with the world."
If Kristina rejects player's declaration of friendship: "I think you confuse your admiration of me with friendship. We are not yet friends. Perhaps someday."
If Kristina requests player's declaration of friendship: "Will you join me as we tell the world that our nations are friends with one another? We will surely inspire them all."
If player accepts Kristina's declaration of friendship: "I agree."
If player rejects Kristina's declaration of friendship: "This cannot be."
If Kristina accepts a trade deal: "This is a fair exchange."
If Kristina is denounced by player: "I will tell the whole world of your villainy, of your boorishness, of your perfidy!"
If Kristina denounces player: "In Sweden, we have many amusing folk songs that depict you as a villain. Even the simplest arts imitate truths of life."
If there are too many troops near her border: "Do not march your units up and down along our border like a child playing with toy soldiers. Move them now."
If Kristina invites player's delegates to the capital: "I will inform your delegates of the location of our capital, but I expect that you will grant us the same favor."
If Kristina invites them to the city: "Your representatives are most welcome to come and view my collections for themselves."
If Kristina accepts player's invitation: "Sweden thanks you, as do I."
Note: Although Kristina used female pronouns and the title of queen (again, although her/his/their official title was king), she/he/they expressed a wish to change his/her/their gender from female to male; it is thought that the confusion over her/his/their gender at birth might have been due to a malformation of the genitals or even an intersex condition (in which an individual has both male and female genitals and hormones). In a written description dating from a year before the end of Kristina's life in 1688, she/he/they is described as having a few tufts of beard on the chin. A possible explanation for this could be polycystic ovary syndrome, the main symptoms of which are male-type or male-pattern hair growth (hirsutism), infertility, and obesity (Kristina is known to have been obese in later years); and another candidate, which I myself propose, is a similar condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia. There is also an incident that occurred in 1676 when Kristina believed she/he/they had grown a penis after seeing a piece of flesh dangling between her/his/their legs, which the doctors diagnosed as a prolapsed uterus.
In 1965, Kristina's remains were exhumed so as to answer the question of whether or not she/he/they was intersex (although that was only one of the reasons). The examination was inconclusive other than that Kristina had a normal female skeletal structure because there were no longer any soft tissue remains, and it was noted by Kristina's doctors that she/he/they did have monthly menstruation, but this does not rule out the possibility of intersexuality. Two of Kristina's biographers, Elis Essen-Möller and Sven Stolpe, suggested that Kristina was a "pseudo-hermaphrodite", someone with normal genitalia for the gender they were assigned at birth but with the hormones of the opposite sex. Because the word and concept of "transgender", "intersex" (the word "hermaphrodite" would have been used in Kristina's day) and related concepts did not exist or were not known of or understood in the 17th century and because people at that time did not have the vocabulary for gender non-conforming people, it is possible that had Kristina lived today, she/he/they may have identified as non-binary or a trans man; and she/he/they almost definitely seems to have been genderfluid. I use for Kristina female, male and gender-neutral pronouns for these reasons.
