Vibeke Kruse (died 1648) was the official

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

of King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

between 1629 and 1648 and the mother of one of his three acknowledged, illegitimate sons, Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve. She was described as influential.

Life

Not much is known of her background, but it is believed that her parents were from Germany. Kruse had been servant of King Christian's spouse,

Kirsten Munk Kirsten Munk (sometimes "Christina Munk"; 6 July 1598 19 April 1658) was a Danish noble, the second spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark, and mother to twelve of his children. Early life and morganatic marriage Kirsten Munk was the daughter o ...

. She was fired in 1628, and employed by Munk's mother, Ellen Marsvin. In 1629, Christian was invited by Marsvin to her estate, where he met Kruse, and she became the King's mistress after his breakup with Munk the same year. It has been suggested, that Marsvin encouraged this. In 1631, she was given an allowance and the estate Bramstedt in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. In 1645, the French ambassador reported that she had a great deal of influence on the King. In 1646, when the Crown Prince asked his father for money, he was told to ask her. She was blamed for having turned Christian against his spouse and his morganatic children. Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon kvinfo.dk
/ref> After the King's death in 1648,

Corfitz Ulfeldt Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish statesman, and one of the most notorious traitors in Danish history. Early life Ulfeldt was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. He was educated abroad, concluding wi ...

and Kirsten Munk tried to sue her. They sealed her estates, turned her and her daughter out of the royal palace and demanded an extraordinary trial, where the law could be set aside. The trial never occurred, as she died of natural causes shortly thereafter. Kruse's enemies saw to it that she was buried unnoticed and without ceremony in a cemetery outside the city walls. In 1652 her body was moved to Kølstrup Church on the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

Issue

She had the following children; * Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve (1630–1658) * Elisabeth Sophie Gyldenløve (1633–1654); married Major-General Klaus Ahlefeld.

References

* Lars Bisgaard, Claus Bjørn, Michael Bregnsbo, Merete Harding, Kurt Villads Jensen, Knud J. V. Jespersen, ''Danmarks Konger og Dronninger'' (Copenhagen, 2004)
Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon kvinfo.dk
(in Danish)

External links

Vibeke Kruse
at the website of the Royal Danish Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Kruse, Vibeke 1648 deaths Mistresses of Christian IV of Denmark 17th-century Danish women Year of birth unknown