Augusta Löwenhielm
Countess Christina Augusta Löwenhielm (née von Fersen; 10 March 1754 – 8 April 1846), was a Swedish noblewoman and courtier. She is known for her love affair with the future king Charles XIII. She is also famous in history as one of "the three graces" of the Gustavian age; three ladies-in-waiting (Augusta von Fersen, Ulla von Höpken and Louise Meijerfeldt) immortalized in the poem ''Gracernas döpelse'' by Johan Henric Kellgren, and known profiles of the epoch. Life Early life Augusta von Fersen was one of six daughters of the royal Crown Forester count Carl von Fersen, Carl Reinhold von Fersen and the lady-in-waiting Charlotta Sparre. She was as such also the niece of Axel von Fersen the Elder, a leading force within the Caps (party), Caps, and the cousin of the famous Count Axel von Fersen the Younger. Her father was described as "one of the most elegant and spirited gentlemen of his time", and her mother was celebrated for her beauty at the French royal court of Palace of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles XIII Of Sweden
Charles XIII or Carl XIII (; 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818) was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, sister of Frederick the Great. Though known as King Charles XIII in Sweden, he was actually the seventh Carl of Sweden (other), Swedish king by that name, as Charles IX of Sweden, Charles IX (reigned 1604–1611) had adopted his numeral after studying Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus, a fictitious history of Sweden. In Norway, he is known as Charles II. Early life Prince Charles was placed under the tutelage of Hedvig Elisabet Strömfelt and then Ulrica Schönström. He was appointed Swedish Navy#History, grand admiral when he was but few days old. He was described as a good dancer at the amateur theatre of the royal court. Reportedly he was not very close to his mother. The Queen preferred her ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maid Of Honour
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditionally, a queen regnant had eight maids of honour, while a queen consort had four. Queen Anne Boleyn had seven maids of honour and one mother of maids. A maid of honour was a maiden, meaning that she had never been married (and therefore was ostensibly a virgin), and was usually young and a member of the nobility. Maids of honour were commonly in their sixteenth year or older, although Lady Jane Grey served as a maid of honour to Queen Catherine Parr in about 1546–48, when Jane was only about ten to twelve years old. Under Mary I and Elizabeth I, maids of honour were at court as a kind of finishing school, with the hope of making a good marriage. Elizabeth Knollys was a maid of the court at the age of nine. Elizabeth gave gifts of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charlotte Slottsberg
Charlotte (Gustava Charlotta) Slottsberg (29 May 1760 – 29 May 1800) was a Swedish ballerina. She was one of the first native members of the Royal Swedish Ballet. She was also known as a courtesan and as the controversial mistress of the future Charles XIII of Sweden. She was the first native star of the Royal Swedish Ballet.Forsstrand, Carl, Sophie Hagman och hennes samtida: några anteckningar från det gustavianska Stockholm Sophie Hagman and her contemporaries. Notes from Stockholm during the Gustavian age' Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1911 Life Charlotte Slottsberg was born in Stockholm as the daughter and only child of the wig maker Andreas Slottsberg and the dancer Lovisa Charlotta Schumbardt. The home was described as poor. Her mother and maternal aunts were both active as dancers, and she was likely given her first training by them, and reportedly also performed with them during her childhood, though it is not confirmed where. Her father occasionall ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hans Henric Von Essen
Count Hans Henric von Essen (26 September 1755 – 28 June 1824) was a Sweden, Swedish officer, courtier and statesman. Biography Hans Henric von Essen was born at Kavlås Castle in Tidaholm Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. He was a member of the Essen family. He was educated at Uppsala University. He entered the army, becoming a cornet (rank), cornet at age 18. He accompanied Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III in his travels and campaigns. He accompanied Gustav III at the 1792 masquerade ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm on 16 March 1792, where the king was shot and mortally injured. Hans Henrik von Essen was credited with immediately ordering the doors to the ballroom to be locked, in order not to let the assassin getaway. In 1788, Hans Henric von Essen was the center of a scandal at the royal court. He had for about ten years been involved in a relationship with the famous lady-in-waiting Augusta von Fersen. In 1788, however, he proposed to Charlotta E ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Catherine The Great
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III. Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe. In her accession to power and her rule of the empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev, and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alexander Kurakin
Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled ''Kourakine'' (; 18 January 1752 – Weimar, 6 / 24 June 1818) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council (from 1810), who was ranked Active Privy Counsellor 1st Class (see Table of Ranks). Life Born in Moscow to a long line of Russian diplomats, he was the great grandson of Boris Kurakin, a Russian ambassador and close associate of Peter the Great. He moved to St. Petersburg in 1764 following the death of his father, Boris Alexandrovich Kurakin. There he became acquainted with Great Prince (Grand Duke) Pavel Petrovich, the future Emperor Paul I of Russia, and remained one of his most trusted friends. This friendship, though, did not meet the approval of the then reigning Empress Catherine II, and so Kurakin was forced to depart abroad. In 1776, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. After Catherine II's death, Kurakin was allowed to return to St. Petersburg in 17 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Of Saxony, Duke Of Courland
Prince Karl Christian Joseph of Saxony, also anglicized as Charles of Saxony (13 July 1733 – 16 June 1796), was a German prince of the House of Wettin. He was Duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1758 to 1763. Born in Dresden, he was the fifth son of Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, and Maria Josepha of Austria. He is an ancestor of the Italian House of Savoy. Life Causes of his election as Duke of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia had been created in 1561 by Gotthard Kettler, last master of the Livonian Order, and had been ruled by his descendants until the dynasty died out in 1737. Then, Empress Anna of Russia herself the widow of Frederick William the penultimate Duke of Courland, managed to place her lover, Ernst Johann von Biron, on the Ducal throne of Courland. Empress Anna died only three years later and was succeeded by her infant grand-nephew Ivan VI, at which time von Biron had become regent of Russia. His regency lasted only thre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adolf Fredrik Munck
Adolf Fredrik, Count Munck (Mikkeli, Finland, 28 April 1749 – Massa, Italy, 18 July 1831), was a Swedish and Finnish noble during the Gustavian era. His family name is sometimes inaccurately given as "Munck af Fulkila" because his father usurped this family's title in the Swedish Diet but, as a matter of fact, without genealogical justification. Biography Adolf Fredrik Munck was born to Anders Erik Munck (1720 Särestads sn, Skaraborg, 28 October 1720 - 4 September 1779) and wife Hedvig Juliana Wright (1729 - Lakspojo i Lojo sn, 30 December 1808), whom he had wed at St. Michel sn's then country church on 15 November 1747. The couple first lived in the second lieutenant's homestead Tarkia, part of the Rantakylä manor, in Mikkeli, the birthplace of their son Adolf Fredrik. They had a total of ten children, six of which lived to adult age. He entered the Swedish royal court, where he became a close friend of the king, Gustaf III. Munck became notorious for his love affai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adolf Ludvig Hamilton
Count Adolf Ludvig Hamilton (1747–1802) was a Swedish count and politician. His father was Count Gustaf David Hamilton. He was one of the leaders of the opposition of the nobility against King Gustav III of Sweden in 1789. He also authored a critical book about Gustav III: . Biography Adolf Ludvig Hamilton was the son of Gustaf David Hamilton. He became an ensign in 1759 and in 1766 he became chamberlain for the then crown prince Gustav III (later King Gustav III of Sweden). In 1771 he became chamberlain for Sophia Magdalena of Denmark. He resigned from this later post in 1782 and moved to the Blomberg estate in Västergötland, Sweden. Count Hamilton was initially in favor of King Gustav III. However, he gradually developed a considerable hatred against the king, and after his resignation as chamberlain he joined the opposition in the Riksdag of the Estates. He was the first to proclaim in the at Stockholm Palace that the Act of Union and Security proposed by King Gusta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth largest by area (after Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne), and the third-most populous city in the area of former East Germany, after Berlin and Leipzig. Dresden's urban area comprises the towns of Freital, Pirna, Radebeul, Meissen, Coswig, Saxony, Coswig, Radeberg, and Heidenau and has around 790,000 inhabitants. The Dresden metropolitan area has approximately 1.34 million inhabitants. Dresden is the second largest city on the River Elbe after Hamburg. Most of the city's population lives in the Dresden Basin, Elbe Valley, but a large, albeit very sparsely populated, area of the city east of the Elbe lies in the West Lusatian Hill Country and Uplands (the westernmost part of the Sudetes) and thus in Lusatia. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sophia Magdalena Of Denmark
Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (; ; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III. Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark-Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter of King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway and his first consort, Princess Louise of Great Britain. Already at the age of five, she was betrothed to Gustav, the heir apparent to the throne of Sweden, as part of an attempt to improve the traditionally tense relationship between the two Scandinavian realms. She was subsequently brought up to be the Queen of Sweden, and they married in 1766. In 1771, Sophia's husband ascended to the throne and became King of Sweden, making Sophia Queen of Sweden. Their coronation was on 29 May 1772. The politically arranged marriage was unsuccessful. The desired political consequences for the mutual relations between the two countries did not materialize, and on a personal level the union also proved to be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte Of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was the queen consort of Charles XIII of Sweden and II of Norway. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is known as ''Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte'', though her official name as queen was Charlotte (''Charlotta''). She was born in Eutin the daughter of Duke Frederick August I of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel. She grew up in Eutin and married her cousin Charles, Duke of Södermanland, in Stockholm on 7 July 1774 when she was fifteen years old. The marriage was arranged by King Gustav III to provide the throne of Sweden with an heir. The King had not consummated his marriage and had decided to give the task of providing an heir to the throne to his brother. Royal Duchess Prince Charles saw her for the first time in Eutin in 1770 and remarked that she was pretty. The marriage was suggested in 1772, and the first ceremony took place ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |