Henrietta Mariana "Marianne" Charlotta Koskull (19 February 1785, in Växjö – 30 March 1841, in Stockholm) was a Swedish noble and

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 ...

, known as the royal mistress of King

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 ...

and King

Charles XIV John of Sweden Charles XIV John (; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John () and before he became royalty in ...

Life

Mariana, or ''Marianne'' as she was often called at the French-influenced court, was born to Baron Gustaf Fredrik Koskull (a member of the aristocratic Koskull family) and Anna Charlotta Gjelstrup. Although the family belonged to the nobility, they were poor, which was illustrated by the fact that her sister Constance Koskull (nicknamed 'Stansa') was forced to break her engagement to marry Christian Fredrik Damm, with whom she was in love, and marry the rich merchant John Hall the Younger for money instead.Koskull, släkter, urn:sbl:11728, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, hämtad 2018-07-08. Reportedly, her father said to her: "Are you so stupid my Stansa!? Keep loving your Fredrik, but marry Hall – one does not prevent the other! We shall soon be reduced to beggary if you refuse Hall." Koskull was given a good education and, thanks to her rank, was appointed ''

hovfröken 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 Traditi ...

'' (maid of honour) to

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

, thus acquiring one of few professions socially acceptable for a noblewoman. She became a social success at court, where she was admired for her musicality and her talent as an actress. She was a good

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

player, and often played the main part in the

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

at court at special occasions and festivities, during which she was described as having as much talent as a professional actress. On 28 January 1811, Koskull participated to great acclaim in an amateur performance of ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'', which was given by members of the nobility at the Royal Palace in honor of the king's name day and the arrival of the crown princess. Koskull played the role of Rosina opposite Baron

Gustaf Löwenhielm Count Gustaf Carl Fredrik Löwenhielm (6 October 1771 – 29 July 1856) was a Swedish general and diplomat. Early life Löwenhielm was born on 6 October 1771 in the Royal Court Parish (''Hovförsamlingen''), Stockholm County, Sweden, the son of ...

as Bartholo, Count Axel Mörner as Bazile, Count Carl Löwenhielm as Figaro and Count Gustaf Adolf Sparre as Alzade, followed by a ballet also performed by members of the court nobility.

Royal mistress

Koskull was known as the mistress of King Charles XIII as well as the mistress to his adopted successor, King Charles XIV John (crowned 1818). Koskull and Charles John were said to have had a secret child together, but this is unconfirmed. After the succession of Charles XIII in 1809, Koskull was talked about as the mistress of the king. Queen Charlotte, however, brushed this aside with the comment that the king may have been infatuated with Koskull but was too decrepit to do anything about it. In parallel to being talked about as the lover of Charles XIII, Koskull was also identified as the lover of the king's adopted son and heir, Crown Prince Charles John, who arrived in Sweden in 1810. The affair reportedly started after Charles John's wife

Désirée Clary Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary (; 8 November 1777 – 17 December 1860) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 to 8 March 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Charles John was a French general and founder of the House o ...

left Sweden for France in 1811, and after the crown prince had first unsuccessfully courted Koskull's cousin

Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe (née Koskull; 22 November 1778 – 19 February 1852) was a Swedish lady-in-waiting and politically active salonist. Life Aurora Wilhelmina Koskull was the daughter of the courtier Baron Otto Anders Koskull and Amalia Bea ...

. The affair was evidently hidden for four years before being exposed, as Queen Charlotte commented in her famous journal that Koskull and Charles John had begun the affair the year of the departure of the crown princess to Paris in 1811, but that it was not exposed until the spring of 1815, when she the queen herself became certain of it.Hedvig Elisabet Charlotta, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok. 9, 1812-1817, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1942 In June 1815, Queen Charlotte summarized the relationship between Koskull, Charles XIII, Crown Prince and Prince Oscar in her journal: In 1816, when the crown princess was rumored to be returning to Sweden (which ultimately did not occur), the queen remarked that the crown prince did not wish her return because of his relationship with Koskull. During her parallel affair with the king and the crown prince, Koskull had a painting placed in one of the king's salons with a different image on each side, which was used to signal to the crown prince. One side of the painting showed Koskull painted as one of the muses (

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; , "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually d ...

), and the other side showed an image of a fortune teller. Reportedly, when the painting was turned with the image of the fortune teller visible, it was a sign to the crown prince that that day was her day with the king; if it showed the image of the muse, then she would spend the day with the crown prince. Koskull reportedly used her influence with both Charles XIII and Charles John (who was acting regent during the reign of Charles XIII) to promote relatives and proteges to lucrative offices. In January 1817, Queen Charlotte noted in her journal: At court, she was accused of abusing her influence over the crown prince to attain a promotion to Captain lieutenant of the royal guard for her brother Gustaf Adolf Koskull, who was ill-reputed for being a rake both at court and with his own relatives, the Brahe family. An anecdote was told about Koskull's influence upon Charles XIII: Her position made her courted by supplicants but also other influential people: statesman count

Johan Christopher Toll Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817) was a Swedish statesman and soldier. Early life He was born in Mölleröd, Scania (now part of Hässleholm Municipality, Skåne County). Toll came of from an old family of Dutc ...

courted her influence, not only because she was a royal mistress, but also because she was related to countess

, who was the well-liked stepmother of the royal favorite

Magnus Brahe (1790–1844) Nils Magnus Brahe (2 September 1790 – 16 September 1844) was a Swedish statesman and military officer during the War of the Sixth Coalition. He served as the Marshal of the Realm between 1831–1844 and was known as the influential favourite ...

. In 1818, Charles XIII died and Charles John became King Charles XIV John. During the years between the death of Queen Charlotte in 1818 and the arrival of Queen Désirée and Crown Princess Josephine in 1823 (and with Princess

Sophia Albertina of Sweden Sophia most commonly refers to: * Sophia (wisdom), a central idea in Hellenistic philosophy and religion * Sophia (Gnosticism), a feminine figure in Gnosticism * Sophia (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters named Sophia ...

preferring to live in retirement due to her age) there was no female royalty at court. Koskull was in effect the leading lady of the court as the official mistress of the king, who reportedly preferred to live "the life of a rich private citizen" in her company and did not uphold much of a court life. During this period, she lived in a grand apartment in the Royal Palace. Koskull had her sister Constance Koskull, who had been ostracized from the aristocracy because she had abandoned her husband and lived openly with a lover, formally presented at court. All the noblewomen who were asked to present her simulated illness until the last one, the lady-in-waiting countess Ruth, finally agreed to perform the presentation, and "fainted immediately afterwards."

Later life

In 1823, when Queen Désirée returned to Sweden in the company of the new crown princess after eleven years of absence, the king appointed Koskull, as well as the crown prince's mistress

Jacquette Löwenhielm Gustava Charlotta Jacquette Aurora Gyldenstolpe (4 July 1797 – 7 January 1839, Constantinople) was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting. She is known as the mistress of Oscar I of Sweden in circa 1819–1827. Biography Jacquette was the da ...

, as ladies-in-waiting to the queen."Min gud tocket hov! Det svenska hovet från Napoleon till Louis Philippe" in Ingvar von Malmborg (ed) Familjen Bernadotte - kungligheter och människor. Stockholm, 2010 Koskull was appointed to the position of '' kammarfröken'' (senior

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 Traditi ...

), the highest post possible for an unmarried noblewoman of the royal household, which she kept until her death. The queen seldom had any influence over who was appointed to her household, but the position of lady-in-waiting did not necessarily force her to spend time with any lady-in-waiting she disliked, and the position gave Koskull a high income and a legitimate reason to remain at court and live a comfortable life. After the queen and the crown princess were installed, the formal representational court life was revived in Sweden and Koskull was no longer an official mistress of the king, and it is noted that she moved out of her grand apartments in the Royal Palace, which illustrated her position as an official mistress, to a more modest one befitting a normal lady-in-waiting.Andreas Anderber:Sköna kvinnor och strategiska män. Om den koskullska släktkretsen vid hovet på 1700- och 1800-talen, i Arte et marte 2019:1 Whether the relationship between Koskull and Charles XIV John actually discontinued, or if it was simply conducted discreetly after this, is not known, but she is no longer mentioned in the position as his mistress after 1823. Koskull died unmarried and childless.

References

* Lars Elgklou: Familjen Bernadotte. En kunglig släktkrönika * Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok IX, Stockholm, P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag, 412070, (1942) * Lars Elgklou (1978). Bernadotte. Historien - eller historier - om en familj.. Stockholm: Askild & Kärnekull Förlag AB {{DEFAULTSORT:Koskull, Mariana Mistresses of Charles XIII 19th-century Swedish nobility 1785 births 1841 deaths Swedish ladies-in-waiting Mariana People from Växjö