Queen Christina of Sweden essays

Queen Christina of Sweden essays Queen Christina was a complex personality (Stolpe 150). She lived a very interesting life with many problems along the way. Although Christina would provide major contributions to Sweden as a ruler, advocate of religious freedom, and as a patroness of the arts and sciences, she would also have many problems concerning those aspects as well as marriage and her sexuality (Philemon). Christinas courage, her belief in rights and liberties, rare in her day, her recognition of religious and spiritual values, and her generosity went far to mitigate her glaring faults, which she paid for with a life of great unhappiness (Masson 375). Christina Wasa was born in Sweden on December 8, 1926 to King Gustav II Adolf and Maria Eleonora. She was predicted to be a boy, and even once she was born, was thought to be a boy. As her fathers only child, she was declared to be his successor. While her father, King Gustav, was off fighting for Sweden in the Thirty Years War, Christina was tutored and Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna ruled Sweden until she would be able to take the throne (Philemon). While Christina enjoyed her studying, she also loved the more masculine activities of hunting and sport just as well. Throughout her life, she would present herself towards the male side as much as she could. Christina said of herself to be an ineradicable prejudice against everything that women like to talk about or do. In womens words and occupations, I showed myself to be quite incapable, and I saw no possibility of improvement in this respect (Stolpe 40). Christinas father died at war in 1632, and at age 5, she was crowned qu een, but still needed lots of help from her regency. At age 13, she began to really govern Sweden and was admitted to council meetings, and at age 18, she is officially coronated Queen of Sweden (Phile ...