Anna Gyllander (born 1633 –

floruit ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicat ...

1659) was a Swedish

imposter An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...

, who during the reign of King

Charles X of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

, presented herself to be the abdicated queen

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his deat ...

The fraud

In 1659, rumours reached King Charles X that there was a woman travelling about the country who claimed to be the former regent queen Christina, who abdicated and was living in Rome. The alleged "Queen Christina" had travelled about the country for at least a year, toasting "her brother the king" and firing gunshots to his honour. When asked if she was "''Cristina Regina''", she reportedly replied: ''"Ni säger så"'' (In English: "I hear you say that," or: "So you say"), and said that her parents were King

Gustav II Adolf of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as G ...

and Queen Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, Maria Eleonora. She never said straight out that she was Queen Christina, but gave the impression this was the case, and never denied it when others claimed she was. The impostor was apprehended and identified as Anna Gyllander, daughter of Anders Gyllander from

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Link� ...

and married to a cavalry captain from

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

in the division of Kruuse. She defended herself by claiming that she had no idea how serious the whole thing would be considered and pleaded for mercy. The king sentenced her to one month imprisonment on bread and water, followed by banishment and exile from the kingdom and its provinces.Stålberg: Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor

References

* Stålberg, Wilhelmina:
Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyllander, Anna Impostors 1633 births Year of death missing Swedish criminals Impostor pretenders 17th-century Swedish people 1659 crimes People of the Swedish Empire 17th-century criminals Christina, Queen of Sweden 17th-century Swedish women

The fraud

See also

References