Sophia Magdalena of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Sofia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway (Christiansborg Palace
, Denmark, 3 July 1746 – Ulriksdal Palace
, Sweden, 21 August 1813) was a Queen consort
of Sweden as the spouse of Gustav III of Sweden
.
She was the eldest surviving child of King Frederick V of Denmark
and Norway and Louise of Great Britain
.
, who was since long in conflict with the Parliament and who favoured a match with her niece, Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt, instead. On 1 October 1766 she was married to Gustav by proxy at Christiansborg Palace
in Copenhagen
. The two married in person in Stockholm
on 4 November.
At the Swedish Court, she was received with kindness from the King but her mother-in-law, Louisa Ulrika, the dominating presence in the Court, hated her and her spouse completely ignored her. Louisa Ulrika encouraged the distance between her son and daughter-in-law. Sophia Magdalena was described as beautiful; she brought the largest dowry a Swedish royal bride had brought since 1680 and was carefully educated to be a perfect Queen. She received a great deal of praise but never became popular as her strict upbringing made it difficult for her to adjust to the Swedish Court. Being of a reserved nature, she was considered cold and arrogant. After King Adolf Frederick of Sweden
died in 1771, Gustav III
became King of Sweden. The following year, Sophia Magdalena was crowned Queen.
, whenever she could.
In the famous diary of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, she is described as beautiful, cold, silent and haughty, very polite and formal, reserved and unsociable. On formal occasions, she was at her best: she performed beautifully according to Court etiquette, and was seen as dignified and impressive. She had two very intimate friends, Maria Aurora Uggla Ehrengranat
and Baron
ess Virginia Charlotta Duwall Manderström. She loved solitude, spending her days in her apartments and dining alone. She held a grand formal salon every two weeks and loved the theatre, which she often attended. During the King's Italian journey in 1783–84, she held a grand formal public dinner for the city every two weeks. Several of her ladies-in-waiting were well known Swedish women of the era; among them were The Three Graces
, as Augusta von Fersen
, Ulla von Höpken
and Lovisa Meijerfelt were called, and the artists Marianne Ehrenström
and Charlotta Cedercreutz
.
She did not have anything to do with politics, except on one occasion; during the War in 1788, she was given the task of initiating peace negotiations with Denmark, and called upon the Danish Ambassador, spoke to him and handed him a letter for the Danish King
. During the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790), there is a note that she met two Russian prisoners of war in the park of the Haga Palace, and gave them 100 kronor
each. It is said that she preferred English fashion because French fashion was too revealing.
of her marriage and the questioned legitimacy of her son. Her marriage was a then normal arranged royal match for political convenience, in which Sophia Magdalena at first was described by her husband as "cold as ice". Their marriage was not consummated until 1775, nine years after the wedding. This was a topic of gossip and ridicule among some European Courts; there were rumors that the King was a homosexual or sexually underdeveloped. His sexuality, which had much affect on Sophia Magdalena's life, as a royal marriage was designed to produce offspring, has been much debated. Various documents written during his lifetime alleged that he was bisexual. His sexual inexperience has been blamed on immaturity or his also being asexual. As a teenager, he had a crush on Axel von Fersen's mother, Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie
, and in 1768, had a deep emotional attachment to the noble Charlotte Du Rietz
, although it is not known if their affair was ever consummated. Reliable sources explain that both the Queen and the King had serious anatomical problems resulting in erotic complications. Erik Lönnroth
has concluded that there is no factual proof for the rumours that Gustav III was inclined toward homosexuality or bisexuality, nor that Gustav Adolf was illegitimate.
The status quo between Gustav III
and his wife was nurtured by the Queen Dowager, who did not want competition in her influence over her son. Sophia Magdalena's religious upbringing and introverted character made her avoid the lively and spontaneous Gustavian court life, which made her even less attractive in the eyes of her outgoing husband.
In 1774, the King arranged the marriage between his brother, the future Charles XIII of Sweden
and Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp to solve, for the time being, the immediate question of an heir to the throne. The Duchess had false pregnancies and miscarriages only, which may have hastened the King to expediate the consummation of his own marriage and produce a son of his own.
In 1778, Sofia Magdalena gave birth to Gustav Adolf
, successor to the throne, and in 1782, she gave birth to a second son, Charles Gustav, who only lived for one year. It was suggested in some circles that King Gustav's first son was sired by someone else. When the heir was born, the father was believed, by the Queen Dowager among others, to be Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila
, then Riksstallmästare. This rumor was believed by elements of the public and the royal court, and her acquiescence to it led to a year-long break between the Queen Dowager and her son.
, the Queen's chamber maid. Munck and Ramström were to be present in a room close to the bedchamber, ready to be of assistance when needed, and he was, at some points, called in to the bedchamber. Munck himself writes in his written account, which is preserved at the National Archives of Sweden, that in order to succeed, he was obliged to touch them both physically.
When it became known that Munck participated in the reconciliation between the royal couple, there were rumours that he was the father of Sophia Magdalena's firstborn.
These became the subject of accusations from the political opposition, as late as in 1786 and 1789, where it was claimed that the whole nation was aware of the rumour that the King had asked Munck to make the Queen pregnant. Pamphlets to that end were posted on street corners all over Stockholm.
This was also caricatured by Carl August Ehrensvärd
in a private letter discovered later — his drawing was published in 1987 —, where he passed on a number of rumors and jokes about Gustav III, Sophia Magdalena and Munck without inferring that he believed they were true. There was also a rumour that the King and Queen had divorced in secret and that the Queen had married Munck.
There is no proof that Munck was the father of the crown prince. Neither the King nor the Queen were ever described as having a large interest in sex. Professor Lönnroth (see above) suggested that their anatomical problems, known only to a few initiated persons, were a primary factor in their delay in producing an heir. At the time, the rumours became more persistent, however, when the royal couple presented Munck with gifts: the King promoted him, and the Queen gave Munck a watch with her image, a pension and a diamond ring.
A few socialites took the Queen Mother's side in supporting and spreading the rumors, such as Anna Charlotta Schröderheim and Eva Helena Löwen
.
The circle around the King's brother, Duke Charles, the future Charles XIII of Sweden
, who desired the throne, also encouraged these rumours. Their mother was quoted as saying, during the pregnancy of Sophia Magdalena, that there were rumours among the public that the future child was illegitimate, and that she herself believed that the King had hired Munck to impregnate the Queen, and that she would never accept that the throne would come into the hands of "a common nobleman's illegitimate offspring".
The Queen Mother ordered Duke Charles to interrogate Munck, and word spread to the King, who was shocked. Sophia Magdalena was equally shocked by the accusations; she swore she would never speak to the Queen Dowager again, and indeed she did not do so.
The King arranged for his mother to make a public apology for her accusation in the presence of the rest of the Royal Family (12 May 1778). The scene gained a lot of attention and broke the bonds between the Gustav III and his mother. The scandal disturbed celebrations, as did an accident with the public banquet. The public was invited to a great feast to celebrate the birth of the heir, but too many people were let in, and the crowd panicked. Between sixty and one hundred people were trampled to death in the crowd.
Still, the years between 1775 and 1783 were probably Sophia Magdalena's happiest. Her relationship with the King was happier and she was treated with respect after having done her duty to the dynasty. After her younger son's death (1783), however, the marriage deteriorated. A brief reconciliation (1787) was deemed by Duchess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in her diaries as temporary, with no hope of being complete and lasting, as the King was not "receptive to female charm"; another insinuation that he was homosexual.
In 1787, Sophia Magdalena deposited a sum of 50.000 riksdaler
in an account for Munck, which was generally rumoured to be a "farewell gift". At this point, Munck had started an affair with the ballerina
Giovanna Bassi
, to whom Sophia Magdalena showed great dislike. The King was terrified when he heard that the queen had made that deposit, and he tried to prevent the transaction from becoming public knowledge, which, however, did not succeed.
A child of Giovanna Bassi's, rumoured to be the child of Munck, bore a strong likeness to the Crown Prince.
In 1792 Gustav III was murdered. The conspirators had the intent to make her the regent of her son during his minority She was deeply horrified by the murder of her spouse, but made a scandal as it was noted that she did not dress in mourning in private, but only during formal visits. It was a great relief for her to retire from public life. Her brother-in-law, Duke Charles, became regent, and she eschewed a political role. As a widow, Sophia Magdalena lived a withdrawn life and spent much effort on charity.
In 1797, she insisted on skipping the protocol to receive her daughter-in-law, Frederica of Baden
, upon her arrival, as she remembered how lonely she herself had felt when she arrived as a bride. During the reign of her son, she seldom showed herself at court except on Sundays and at court presentations, and preferred to stay at her estate.
In 1809 she witnessed the abdication
of her son, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
, after Sweden lost Finland to Russia. She was deeply affected by his deposition. He was sent into exile and replaced by his paternal uncle Charles XIII
, but she remained in Sweden until her death. In 1810–11, she was one of few in the Swedish Court who were nice to Désirée Clary
. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte regarded her with suspicion, despite her assurance that she did not blame neither him nor his son for taking the place of her son and grandson, and would be happy to receive them.
It has been said of her: She remained one of the most tragic and isolated people in the history of the Swedish court.
's period drama production of "Gustav III:s äktenskap" (The Marriage of Gustav III) in 2001, where Sophia Magdalena was portrayed by Danish actress Iben Hjejle
.
It was also used to inspire the novel Drottningens juvelsmycke
, famous in Sweden, where the character of Tintomara is portrayed as a half sibling of Gustav IV Adolf through Count Munck.
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...
, Denmark, 3 July 1746 – Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 as a country retreat...
, Sweden, 21 August 1813) was a Queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Sweden as the spouse of Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
.
She was the eldest surviving child of King Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...
and Norway and Louise of Great Britain
Louise of Great Britain
Louise of Great Britain was the youngest surviving daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and became queen consort of Denmark and Norway.-Early life:...
.
Early life
At the age of five (1751), she was betrothed to the Heir to the throne of Sweden, Gustav, and she was brought up to be the Queen of Sweden. The marriage was arranged by the Parliament, not by the Swedish Royal House, and was disliked by the Queen, Louisa Ulrika of PrussiaLouisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia was Queen of Sweden between 1751 and 1771 as the spouse of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden.-Background:...
, who was since long in conflict with the Parliament and who favoured a match with her niece, Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt, instead. On 1 October 1766 she was married to Gustav by proxy at Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
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...
. The two married in person in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
on 4 November.
At the Swedish Court, she was received with kindness from the King but her mother-in-law, Louisa Ulrika, the dominating presence in the Court, hated her and her spouse completely ignored her. Louisa Ulrika encouraged the distance between her son and daughter-in-law. Sophia Magdalena was described as beautiful; she brought the largest dowry a Swedish royal bride had brought since 1680 and was carefully educated to be a perfect Queen. She received a great deal of praise but never became popular as her strict upbringing made it difficult for her to adjust to the Swedish Court. Being of a reserved nature, she was considered cold and arrogant. After King Adolf Frederick of Sweden
Adolf Frederick of Sweden
Adolf Frederick or Adolph Frederick was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach....
died in 1771, Gustav III
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
became King of Sweden. The following year, Sophia Magdalena was crowned Queen.
Life as queen
Queen Sophia Magdalena was a serious and shy person and was never a member of the King's inner circle. She and Gustav had very different personalities which put even more distance between them. She did her ceremonial duties, but disliked the vivid lifestyle of the Court around her outgoing spouse. When she performed her duties as Queen, her sister-in-law, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, described her as "Forced to meet people". She preferred to stay at her private residence, Ulriksdal PalaceUlriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 as a country retreat...
, whenever she could.
In the famous diary of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, she is described as beautiful, cold, silent and haughty, very polite and formal, reserved and unsociable. On formal occasions, she was at her best: she performed beautifully according to Court etiquette, and was seen as dignified and impressive. She had two very intimate friends, Maria Aurora Uggla Ehrengranat
Maria Aurora Uggla
Maria Aurora Uggla, as married Ehrengranat , was a Swedish lady in waiting and noble. She was the lady in waiting and confidant of the Swedish Queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, and later the head of the court of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf....
and Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
ess Virginia Charlotta Duwall Manderström. She loved solitude, spending her days in her apartments and dining alone. She held a grand formal salon every two weeks and loved the theatre, which she often attended. During the King's Italian journey in 1783–84, she held a grand formal public dinner for the city every two weeks. Several of her ladies-in-waiting were well known Swedish women of the era; among them were The Three Graces
Grâces
Grâces is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Grâces are called gracieux.-External links:*...
, as Augusta von Fersen
Augusta von Fersen
Christina Augusta von Fersen, as married Löwenhielm , was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting. She is a well-known figure of the Gustavian Age, and is known in history as one of "The Three Graces" at court, and as royal mistress to king Charles XIII of Sweden.-Background:Augusta was the daughter of...
, Ulla von Höpken
Ulla von Höpken
Ulla von Höpken, later von Wright, née von Fersen , was a Swedish lady-in-waiting and noble...
and Lovisa Meijerfelt were called, and the artists Marianne Ehrenström
Marianne Ehrenström
Marianne Ehrenström, née Pollet , was a Swedish writer, singer, painter, pianist, culture personality, memorialist, principal and lady-in-waiting...
and Charlotta Cedercreutz
Charlotta Cedercreutz
Maria Charlotta Cedercreutz, as married surname Wrangel , was a Swedish artist, lady-in-waiting and baroness. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts....
.
She did not have anything to do with politics, except on one occasion; during the War in 1788, she was given the task of initiating peace negotiations with Denmark, and called upon the Danish Ambassador, spoke to him and handed him a letter for the Danish King
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
. During the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790), there is a note that she met two Russian prisoners of war in the park of the Haga Palace, and gave them 100 kronor
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
each. It is said that she preferred English fashion because French fashion was too revealing.
The question of the succession
Sophia Magdalena is mostly known in Swedish history for the scandal created around the consummationConsummation
Consummation is the initial sexual act made within a marriage.Consummation can also refer to:* Consummation , 1970 recordingSee also:* Consummation of days, event predicted in Daniel Chapter 12, verses 1-4...
of her marriage and the questioned legitimacy of her son. Her marriage was a then normal arranged royal match for political convenience, in which Sophia Magdalena at first was described by her husband as "cold as ice". Their marriage was not consummated until 1775, nine years after the wedding. This was a topic of gossip and ridicule among some European Courts; there were rumors that the King was a homosexual or sexually underdeveloped. His sexuality, which had much affect on Sophia Magdalena's life, as a royal marriage was designed to produce offspring, has been much debated. Various documents written during his lifetime alleged that he was bisexual. His sexual inexperience has been blamed on immaturity or his also being asexual. As a teenager, he had a crush on Axel von Fersen's mother, Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie
Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie
Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie was a Swedish noblewoman of the French-descent De la Gardie family. She was the daughter of the General and statesman Magnus Julius De la Gardie and the political salonist Hedvig Catharina Lilje, and sister of scientist Eva Ekeblad.She married Axel von Fersen the...
, and in 1768, had a deep emotional attachment to the noble Charlotte Du Rietz
Charlotte Du Rietz
Charlotte du Riez or Du Rietz, née De Geer was a Swedish noblewoman , known as a love object of King Gustav III. It is unknown whether or not she was ever physically involved with the monarch....
, although it is not known if their affair was ever consummated. Reliable sources explain that both the Queen and the King had serious anatomical problems resulting in erotic complications. Erik Lönnroth
Erik Lönnroth
Erik Lönnroth was one of the most notable Swedish historians of the 20th century. He was a life member of the Swedish Academy from 1962 and member of various faculties.-Background:...
has concluded that there is no factual proof for the rumours that Gustav III was inclined toward homosexuality or bisexuality, nor that Gustav Adolf was illegitimate.
The status quo between Gustav III
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
and his wife was nurtured by the Queen Dowager, who did not want competition in her influence over her son. Sophia Magdalena's religious upbringing and introverted character made her avoid the lively and spontaneous Gustavian court life, which made her even less attractive in the eyes of her outgoing husband.
In 1774, the King arranged the marriage between his brother, the future Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII & II also Carl, , was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death...
and Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp to solve, for the time being, the immediate question of an heir to the throne. The Duchess had false pregnancies and miscarriages only, which may have hastened the King to expediate the consummation of his own marriage and produce a son of his own.
In 1778, Sofia Magdalena gave birth to Gustav Adolf
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden also Gustav Adolph was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. He was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and his queen consort Sophia Magdalena, eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain. He was the last Swedish...
, successor to the throne, and in 1782, she gave birth to a second son, Charles Gustav, who only lived for one year. It was suggested in some circles that King Gustav's first son was sired by someone else. When the heir was born, the father was believed, by the Queen Dowager among others, to be Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila
Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila
Adolf Fredrik, Count Munck af Fulkila was a Swedish and Finnish noble alleged to have been the biological father of King Gustaf IV Adolf.- Biography :...
, then Riksstallmästare. This rumor was believed by elements of the public and the royal court, and her acquiescence to it led to a year-long break between the Queen Dowager and her son.
The succession scandal
Munck actually acted as sexual instructor. The King, claiming to be sexually inexperienced, called upon Munck to help him with a reconciliation with his spouse, instruct the couple in the ways of sexual intercourse, and physically show them how to consummate their marriage. Munck, a Finnish nobleman and, at the time, a stable master was, at that point, the lover of Anna Sofia RamströmAnna Sofia Ramström
Anna Sofia Ramström was the chamber lady of the Queen of Sweden, Sophie Magdalena of Denmark. She was known for her involvement in the famous affair of the consummation of the marriage between the royal couple....
, the Queen's chamber maid. Munck and Ramström were to be present in a room close to the bedchamber, ready to be of assistance when needed, and he was, at some points, called in to the bedchamber. Munck himself writes in his written account, which is preserved at the National Archives of Sweden, that in order to succeed, he was obliged to touch them both physically.
When it became known that Munck participated in the reconciliation between the royal couple, there were rumours that he was the father of Sophia Magdalena's firstborn.
These became the subject of accusations from the political opposition, as late as in 1786 and 1789, where it was claimed that the whole nation was aware of the rumour that the King had asked Munck to make the Queen pregnant. Pamphlets to that end were posted on street corners all over Stockholm.
Carl August Ehrensvärd
Count Carl August Ehrensvärd was a Swedish naval officer, painter, author, and neo-classical architect.Ehrensvärd was born in Stockholm, and died in Örebro. Though active as a naval officer during his entire life, he is mostly remembered for the burlesque caricatures of often famous people from...
in a private letter discovered later — his drawing was published in 1987 —, where he passed on a number of rumors and jokes about Gustav III, Sophia Magdalena and Munck without inferring that he believed they were true. There was also a rumour that the King and Queen had divorced in secret and that the Queen had married Munck.
There is no proof that Munck was the father of the crown prince. Neither the King nor the Queen were ever described as having a large interest in sex. Professor Lönnroth (see above) suggested that their anatomical problems, known only to a few initiated persons, were a primary factor in their delay in producing an heir. At the time, the rumours became more persistent, however, when the royal couple presented Munck with gifts: the King promoted him, and the Queen gave Munck a watch with her image, a pension and a diamond ring.
A few socialites took the Queen Mother's side in supporting and spreading the rumors, such as Anna Charlotta Schröderheim and Eva Helena Löwen
Eva Helena Löwen
Eva Helena Löwen , was a politically active Swedish noble socialite and royal favourite. She was active as a French agent in Sweden....
.
The circle around the King's brother, Duke Charles, the future Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII & II also Carl, , was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death...
, who desired the throne, also encouraged these rumours. Their mother was quoted as saying, during the pregnancy of Sophia Magdalena, that there were rumours among the public that the future child was illegitimate, and that she herself believed that the King had hired Munck to impregnate the Queen, and that she would never accept that the throne would come into the hands of "a common nobleman's illegitimate offspring".
The Queen Mother ordered Duke Charles to interrogate Munck, and word spread to the King, who was shocked. Sophia Magdalena was equally shocked by the accusations; she swore she would never speak to the Queen Dowager again, and indeed she did not do so.
The King arranged for his mother to make a public apology for her accusation in the presence of the rest of the Royal Family (12 May 1778). The scene gained a lot of attention and broke the bonds between the Gustav III and his mother. The scandal disturbed celebrations, as did an accident with the public banquet. The public was invited to a great feast to celebrate the birth of the heir, but too many people were let in, and the crowd panicked. Between sixty and one hundred people were trampled to death in the crowd.
Still, the years between 1775 and 1783 were probably Sophia Magdalena's happiest. Her relationship with the King was happier and she was treated with respect after having done her duty to the dynasty. After her younger son's death (1783), however, the marriage deteriorated. A brief reconciliation (1787) was deemed by Duchess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte in her diaries as temporary, with no hope of being complete and lasting, as the King was not "receptive to female charm"; another insinuation that he was homosexual.
In 1787, Sophia Magdalena deposited a sum of 50.000 riksdaler
Swedish riksdaler
The riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the...
in an account for Munck, which was generally rumoured to be a "farewell gift". At this point, Munck had started an affair with the ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
Giovanna Bassi
Giovanna Bassi
Giovanna Bassi was an Italian ballerina who spent the majority of her career in Sweden. She was regarded as the prima donna of the Swedish Ballet during the Gustavian age.- Biography :...
, to whom Sophia Magdalena showed great dislike. The King was terrified when he heard that the queen had made that deposit, and he tried to prevent the transaction from becoming public knowledge, which, however, did not succeed.
A child of Giovanna Bassi's, rumoured to be the child of Munck, bore a strong likeness to the Crown Prince.
Later life
In 1797, she insisted on skipping the protocol to receive her daughter-in-law, Frederica of Baden
Frederica of Baden
Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmina of Baden was Queen consort of Sweden from 1797 to 1809. Daughter of Karl Ludwig of Baden and Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, she was the younger sister of Empress Elisabeth Alexeievna , wife of Tsar Alexander I of Russia.-Biography:She was born in Karlsruhe...
, upon her arrival, as she remembered how lonely she herself had felt when she arrived as a bride. During the reign of her son, she seldom showed herself at court except on Sundays and at court presentations, and preferred to stay at her estate.
In 1809 she witnessed the abdication
Abdication
Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...
of her son, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden also Gustav Adolph was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. He was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and his queen consort Sophia Magdalena, eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain. He was the last Swedish...
, after Sweden lost Finland to Russia. She was deeply affected by his deposition. He was sent into exile and replaced by his paternal uncle Charles XIII
Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII & II also Carl, , was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death...
, but she remained in Sweden until her death. In 1810–11, she was one of few in the Swedish Court who were nice to Désirée Clary
Désirée Clary
Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary , one-time fiancée of Napoleon Bonaparte, was a Frenchwoman who became Queen of Sweden and Norway as the consort of King Charles XIV John, a former French General. She officially changed her name there to Desideria, a Latin version of her original name...
. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte regarded her with suspicion, despite her assurance that she did not blame neither him nor his son for taking the place of her son and grandson, and would be happy to receive them.
It has been said of her: She remained one of the most tragic and isolated people in the history of the Swedish court.
Sophia Magdalena in culture
The affair of the consummation of her marriage and the succession scandal was portrayed in SVTSveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
's period drama production of "Gustav III:s äktenskap" (The Marriage of Gustav III) in 2001, where Sophia Magdalena was portrayed by Danish actress Iben Hjejle
Iben Hjejle
Iben Hjejle is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the John Cusack film High Fidelity . In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom Langt fra Las Vegas and playing the girlfriend of Danish comedian Casper Christensen, her real life boyfriend...
.
It was also used to inspire the novel Drottningens juvelsmycke
Drottningens juvelsmycke
The Queen's Tiara is a classic Swedish novel by Carl Jonas Love Almquist.It is the fourth instalment in the series of novels known as Törnrosens bok and was published in 1834...
, famous in Sweden, where the character of Tintomara is portrayed as a half sibling of Gustav IV Adolf through Count Munck.