Anna Maria Clodt (died 1708), was a Swedish courtier. She served as a Danish agent at the

Swedish Royal Court The Royal Court () is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court. Organizational structure The Royal Court is d ...

and was widely reputed and consulted by supplicants for her contacts and acquired a great deal of influence. She was the daughter of Baron Gustaf Adolph Clodt and Brita Stuart and married Baron

Åke Rålamb Åke is a masculine Swedish given name, possibly derived from the medieval Germanic name ''Anicho'', derived from ''ano'' meaning "ancestor". In Sweden, May 8 is the Name day for Åke. There are variant spellings, including the Danish/ Norweg ...

in 1689. She served as

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

to Queen Hedvig Eleonora in 1668–1680, Queen Ulrika Eleonora in 1680–1693 and to Princess

Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), also known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of Frederick, her husband. Upon h ...

in 1693–1708. She became a personal friend of the queen and are counted as belonging to the circle of intimate friends to the queen along with the royal chaplain confessor Johan Carlberg, Maria Elisabeth Stenbock and

Sophia Amalia Marschalk Sophia Amalia Marschalk, also called Anna Marschalk, was a Danish noble and courtier. She was the favorite of the queen of Sweden, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark. Marschalk became the maid of honor to Ulrika Eleonora in 1678, and followed her to Swede ...

. She used her position as a courtier by creating a net of influential contacts, which she could use to forward requests and make recommendations from supplicants to power holders at court in exchange for money. This was a common way for a female courtier to earn money, but Clodt was very successful in her line of business, especially since she was somewhat of a favorite of Queen Ulrika Eleonora. Already in 1673, she stated in a letter that she was consulted so often by clients that she had grown weary of it. She also accepted foreign clients, which in fact made her a spy: she acted as an informer of

Bolle Luxdorph Bolle Luxdorph (19 February 1643 – 5 September 1698) was a Denmark, Danish civil servant and landowner. He was ennobled under the name Luxdorph family, Luxdorph in 1679. He owned the estates Rosengaard, Sandbygaard, and Sørupgaard. He left th ...

(Danish envoy to Sweden in 1691–1698).

References

* Eva Österberg, ed (1997). ''Jämmerdal & Fröjdesal. Kvinnor i stormaktstidens Sverige''. Stockholm: Atlantis AB. * Fabian Persson (1999). ''Servants of Fortune. The Swedish court between 1598 and 1721''. Lund: Wallin & Dalholm. * Åke Rålamb, urn:sbl:6297, ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' (art av Per Dahl), hämtad 2014-02-16. 1708 deaths Swedish ladies-in-waiting 17th-century spies Year of birth unknown Swedish maids of honour People from the Swedish Empire 17th-century Swedish nobility {{Sweden-bio-stub