Frederica of Baden, Queen of Sweden

Princess Frederica was one of the many daughters of Karl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was born in Karlsruhe on March 12, 1781, the fourth daughter of the grand ducal couple.

Frederica grew up in an idyllic and happy family life. She and her sisters enjoyed a close and warm relationship with each other, and they were particularly close to their mother. Throughout their adult lives, their correspondence with their mother was incessant, and they always confide in her about their joy and unhappiness, and even the political situation in their respective countries. Amalie was a strong and formidable woman, and she was always sympathetic to her daughters' plight. She gave them valuable advice and kept reminding them that their duties to their respective countries and husbands must be foremost in their minds.

Portrait of Queen Frederica of Sweden
by Johan Erik Bolinder.

Frederica studied together with her sister Louise, who was only two years older than Frederica. They were taught about history, art, music, dancing, and etiquette. Their first language was German, but they also learned fluent French. When Louise and Frederica were 14 and 12 respectively, an unexpected proposal came from Russia. Empress Catherine II was looking for brides for her grandsons Alexander and Constantine, and after receiving favourable reports about the Princesses of Baden, she agreed to invite them to Russia. Louise and Frederica duly arrived in St. Petersburg in the autumn of 1792, and after meeting them, Catherine was impressed with their appearance and manners. She thought them well-educated and with high morals. The arrival of these two very young but pretty princesses caused so much celebration and sensation in the Russian court. Louise was a blond and shy beauty while Frederica was a brunette and more animated than her older sister. In the end, it was Louise who captured the heart of the heir to the Russian throne, Alexander, and she and Alexander were subsequently engaged and married. Louise became the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexeievna after her conversion to the Orthodox faith. Catherine was hoping that Constantine would like Frederica, but he did not want anything to do with her. She was sent back to Baden, loaded with expensive gifts and praises from Russia. But her touching farewell to her sister Louise was still etched in their memories even years after.

For the time being, Frederica contented herself with her life in Baden with her mother. But one day, news came to Baden from Sweden that would eventually turn Frederica's fate. She was selected by King Gustav IV Adolf to be his wife.

There was an interesting story about how King Gustav IV Adolf came to know about Frederica. The young king, who always wanted to have a beautiful wife, was first betrothed to Princess Louise-Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin when he was 16 years old. He haven't had met Louise-Charlotte, but he was initially positive about the engagement. However, when he started receiving reports that she was not beautiful, he broke off the engagement. Almost immediately, the King and the Swedish court looked for another candidate. This time the girl was from Russia. She was the Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna, the granddaughter of Empress Catherine. Catherine was very keen on marrying off her eldest granddaughter to the Swedish king. Gustav went to Russia to meet and 'inspect' the princess, but before meeting her in person, he saw a portrait of Alexandra in the studio of the painter Mme. Vigee Le Brun. He was so captivated by her beauty that he fixed his gaze at the portrait for such a long time that his hat, which he held with his hand, fell on the floor. After meeting and spending time with Alexandra, he asked for her hand, and announced that he was in love. Unfortunately, there was no wedding to be concluded. Gustav found out from the engagement contract that Alexandra would not change her religion even after she became Queen. Gustav was incensed and remained adamant that he would not give his people an Orthodox queen. He broke the engagement, and he refused to see Alexandra from then on. Later on, before Gustav left Russia, he had a conversation with Alexandra's sister-in-law, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the former Princess Louise of Baden and Frederica's sister. The king thought Elizabeth remarkably beautiful, and he felt 'a little in love' with her. But Elizabeth laughed off the king's little attention for her, and sympathetic as ever, tried to comfort him by showing him a portrait her sister Frederica. Upon seeing Frederica's beautiful face, Gustav's expression brighten and thenceforth became resolved in marrying her.

King Gustav IV Adolf 
and Queen Frederica.

Gustav's interest on Frederica was a surprise for Princess Amalie. She wrote to her daughter, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth, about the Swedish king's proposal to Frederica: "Judge of my surprise: M. de Taube, who is here, has just asked, on behalf of the King of Sweden, for the hand of one of your younger sisters in marriage. I am so astounded that I do not know what to reply."

Gustav came to Germany to personally see Frederica, and they met in Erhfurt. They were married in Stockholm on October 1797, and later settled in Haga Palace, which Frederica really liked. She was quite popular with the people, and she had no difficulty in getting along with her in-laws, especially her mother-in-law, who treated Frederica with great kindness. But she had a difficult time adjusting to the rigid etiquette of the Swedish court, and felt lonely and homesick in the first few years of her marriage. Gustav was very much in love with his wife, and he often exhaust her with his sexual needs. But his behaviour towards her was very formal, especially in the presence of other people.

Frederica gave birth to the couple's first child, Gustav, in 1799, and he was followed by 4 more children: Sophie, Carl Gustav, Amalia, and Cecilia. Like her sister, now the Empress Elizabeth, Frederica kept a detailed correspondence about her life in Sweden to her mother in Baden.

Gustav and Frederica's marriage started off quite well; Frederica genuinely loved her husband despite his difficult character, but differences in their lifestyle and point of view, and not to mention, the tense political situation in Sweden during those times, greatly strained the couple's marriage. Her letters to her sister Elizabeth paints a woman who had to undergo many difficulties in her life in Sweden. But Frederica possessed a very determined character which would be of great use to her in facing her misfortunes in life. Countess Golovina wrote about her: "She was full of wit and ingenuity... Alas! Her destiny, though brilliant, exposed her to great trials, and the crown placed on her head was woven with many thorns."

These words by Countess Golovina perfectly portrayed Frederica's fate as Queen of Sweden. She was a well-liked queen, but Gustav was an unpopular king, and his inept leadership and the failure of his policies caused him and Frederica the throne. In 1809, the King and Queen were deposed by a coup d'etat of army officers. Gustav was arrested and incarcerated in the Castle of Gripsholm, while Frederica and her children were allowed to remain in Haga Palace. In order to ensure his son's succession as the next king, Gustav abdicated, but the Swedish government announced that he and all his descendants were deprived of the right to succeed the Swedish throne. It was a devastating news for Gustav and Frederica. Gustav's uncle was proclaimed as the new king under the name of Charles XIII, thus giving way to another Swedish dynasty, the Bernadottes.

Queen Frederica in exile. Painted by
Karl Stieler in 1810.

During Frederica and her children's house arrest, her dignity and fortitude earned her the people's respect, sympathy and admiration. The new queen, Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte, treated her with kindness and respect, and sympathize with her. She wanted to help Frederica to preserve her son's right to be king, but Frederica refused. All she ever wanted, she said, was to keep her son and be reunited with her husband. She also firmly explained that "her duty as a wife and mother told her to share the exile with her husband and children". Upon Frederica's request, and with Hedvig's intervention, Gustav was reunited with his family.

Gustav, Frederica, and all their children were allowed to leave the country and lived in exile in Germany. They first settled in Baden with Frederica's mother, but Gustav, restless as ever, did not want to remain there. The couple's relationship greatly deteriorated after their exile, and they eventually divorced in 1812. Gustav settled in St. Gallen in Switzerland until his death in 1837, while Frederica and her children settled in Lausanne. Despite her frail health, she travelled extensively under the name Countess of Itterburg. She died in 1826 of heart failure, and was buried in Schloss und Stiftskirche in the small town of Pforzheim, Germany.

Carola of Vasa, Queen of Saxony

Carola of Vasa, Queen of Saxony

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Princess Carola of Vasa, last Queen of Saxony. She was born in Vienna in 1833, the only daughter of Gustav, Prince of Vasa and Princess Louise Amalie of Baden. Carola's father was Crown Prince of Sweden until 1809, when, following a military coup, the Swedish Parliament denied him the chance to become king. The prince and the royal family were forced into exile and settled in Austria. He also lost his title as Crown Prince of Sweden, but he was given the title Count of Itterburg and Prince of Vasa by the Emperor of Austria because of his military merit. As an exiled royal, Gustav settled in Vienna and served as an officer at the Austro-Hungarian Army.

While staying with his relatives in Karlsruhe, the Prince Gustav met his cousin Princess Louise Amalie of Baden, and they got married in 1828. The young couple were given apartments at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna and these became their home. Their first child, a son named Louis, was born a year after their marriage but he died soon after he was born. Their second child, Carola, was born and baptized in Schonbrunn Palace a year later.

The marriage of Carola's parents was not happy. When she was ten years old, her parents divorced. Her mother returned to Baden bringing little Carola with her. She spent her early childhood in the home of her grandparents in Karlsruhe, and her grandmother Stephanie de Beauharnais exerted great influence in the spiritual and character development of Carola.

Despite her parents' separation, Carola grew up to be a lively and amiable girl, with melancholic eyes. By the time she was an adolescence, she went to live once again in Austria with her father. Under the elegant and intellectual atmosphere of the Viennese court, she received an excellent education, and became fluent in French, German, English and Swedish. By the time she was 13 years old, Carola was a brunette beauty, with luminous large blue eyes, and an elegant, slender figure. She was regarded by many as one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, and suitors flocked in her home to obtain her hand. There were proposals to marry her to Emperor Napoleon III of the French, but her father was totally against the match because of the tense political situation in France during that time.

In 1852, Crown Prince Albert of Saxony visited Vienna. The Prince was a good-looking and clever young man, and he was able to meet and make Carola's acquaintance. The couple soon fell in love, and Prince Albert asked Carola's hand for marriage. However, her father was against the marriage because he did not want Carola, a Lutheran, to convert to Catholicism. Nevertheless, Carola went ahead and converted, and she and Prince Albert where married six months later in Dresden, the capital of Saxony.

Carola and Albert settled for a happy and peaceful married life in Dresden. Her affectionate and generous nature won her the affection and support of her husband, her parents-in-law and her future subjects. When she was homesick, her husband and her parents-in-law proved to be a great support for her. As Crown Princess of Saxony, she took a keen interest in her new homeland, and became involved in different charities. During the war of 1866, she visited the Saxon field hospitals in Vienna, where she became known as the Good Samaritan. In 1867 she founded the Albert Commission, which supplied medical equipment and services to the German army hospital during the war between 1870-1871. For her magnanimous work, Carola was awarded the Prussian Order of Louise and the Saxon Order of Sidonia. She accompanied Albert to Compiegne in 1871 at the victory over France, and was a well-liked hostess when she presided over the entertainment for the victorious armies.

When Prince Albert's father died in 1873, Albert and Carola became the King and Queen of Saxony, and they took up residence at the Dresden Castle. With her new position, she continued her charity and other social issues that she had started when she was still Crown Princess. She also made significant contributions for the improvement of health care in Saxony. She helped established a school for nurses in Leipzig, the Carol-Haus Hospital, a women employment agency, and women's school in Schwarzenberg, a home for the handicapped. She was a popular queen in Saxony.

In 1884, the new Bernadotte dynasty of Sweden and the Vasa dynasty made an official reconciliation. The remains of Carola's grandfather and father were transferred to Sweden and interred at the royal crypt. King Oscar II of Sweden came to visit Dresden, and became in good terms with Carola. King Albert died in 1902, and Carola five years later, in 1907. They were buried at Katholische Hofkirche. Carola's funeral is said to have been the finest and most elaborate that Dresden has ever seen.

King Albert and Queen Carola were childless, and after the King's death, he was succeeded by his brother George.