Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
KRISTINA, QUEEN OF CONTROVERSY
Queen Kristina (1626-89) lived an eccentric and eventful life. Her father, Gustav II, ex-
pecting great things from her, instructed that the girl be raised as a prince. He then
promptly went off and died in the Battle of Lützen, leaving his six-year-old successor and
his country in the hands of the powerful Chancellor Oxenstierna.
Kristina received a boy's education, becoming fluent in six languages and skilled in the
art of war, and she took her oath as king, not queen, earning her the nickname 'Girl King'.
Childish spats with Oxenstierna increased as she grew older. After being crowned queen
in 1644, she defied him even when he had the country's best interests at heart.
In 1649 Kristina made public her desire not to marry, and named her beloved cousin
Karl X Gustav her heir to the throne. Kristina's ever-erratic behaviour culminated in her
abdication in 1654. Disguised as a man, she rode through Denmark on horseback; tense
relations between the two countries would not have allowed her true self safe passage.
Kristina ended up in Rome, where she converted to Catholicism - a scandalous act for a
daughter of Protestantism's champion. To this day, she is the only woman to be buried in
the basilica of St Peter's in Rome.
A strong female character known for her bisexuality, in modern times Kristina has be-
come a lesbian icon, while her cross-dressing has made her a favourite of the trans-
gender community.
Rise & Fall of the Swedish Empire
The zenith and collapse of the Swedish empire happened remarkably quickly. During Karl
XI's reign, successful battles were waged against Denmark and Norway, the latter result-
ing in the seizure of Bohuslän, Härjedalen and Jämtland, and the empire reached its max-
imum size when Sweden established a short-lived American colony in what is now
Delaware.
Inheritor of this huge and increasingly sophisticated country was 15-year-old King Karl
XII (1681-1718), an overenthusiastic military adventurer who spent almost all of his reign
at war. Karl XII cost Sweden its Latvian, Estonian and Polish territory, with the Swedish
coast sustaining damaging attacks from Russia, and he perished by a mystery sniper's hand
in 1718.
