Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg (4 May 1679 – 27 June 1704) was a Danish (originally German) noble (countess) and lady in waiting. She was the royal mistress and later the first morganatic spouse of King Frederick IV of Denmark
in a bigamous
marriage.
in Denmark
. Elisabeth Helene was made lady-in-waiting
to Princess Sophie Hedevig of Denmark, and entered in to a relationship with Frederick, who became King the same year (1699).
The relationship was initially a secret, but was discovered in 1701 after a letter from her father, defending their relationship, was made public. On 6 September 1703, she was given the estate Antvorskov and the title Countess of Antvorskov and secretly married to Frederick, who thereby committed bigamy. The church authorities had not forbidden the king to engage in polygamy, as there were doctrines based on biblical polygamy of Hebrew patriarchs. She gave birth to a son, Frederik Gyldenløve (1704–1705), and died in childbirth. She was given an elabourate public funeral by Frederick. After her death, she was replaced as royal mistress by her lady in waiting, Charlotte Helene von Schindel
.
Children :
Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel .-Foreign affairs:...
in a bigamous
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
marriage.
Biography
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg was the daughter of Adam Otto von Vieregg til Weitendorff from Mecklenburg, a minister in Prussia, and from 1698 to 1706, the Prussian ambassador in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Elisabeth Helene was made lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Princess Sophie Hedevig of Denmark, and entered in to a relationship with Frederick, who became King the same year (1699).
The relationship was initially a secret, but was discovered in 1701 after a letter from her father, defending their relationship, was made public. On 6 September 1703, she was given the estate Antvorskov and the title Countess of Antvorskov and secretly married to Frederick, who thereby committed bigamy. The church authorities had not forbidden the king to engage in polygamy, as there were doctrines based on biblical polygamy of Hebrew patriarchs. She gave birth to a son, Frederik Gyldenløve (1704–1705), and died in childbirth. She was given an elabourate public funeral by Frederick. After her death, she was replaced as royal mistress by her lady in waiting, Charlotte Helene von Schindel
Charlotte Helene von Schindel
Charlotte Helene von Schindel was a Danish noble, lady in waiting and a royal mistress of King Frederick IV of Denmark.Charlotte Helene von Schindel was originally from Silesia. She became the lady in waiting of Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, the morganatic spouse by bigamy of King Frederik IV...
.
Children :
- Frederik Gyldenløve (8 June 1704-9 March 1705)