Christina Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric

Front Cover
HarperCollins UK, Jun 9, 2011 - Biography & Autobiography - 528 pages

The groundbreaking biography of one of the most progressive, influential and entertaining women of the seventeenth century, Christina Alexandra, Queen of Sweden.

In 1654, to the astonishment and dismay of her court, Christina Alexandra announced her abdication in favour of her cousin, Charles. Instrumental in bringing the Thirty Years War to a close at the age of 22, Christina had become one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe. She had also become notorious for her extravagant lifestyle.

Leaving the narrow confines of her homeland behind her, Christina cut a remarkable path across Europe. She acted as mediator in the Franco-Spanish War and, in return for financial support, was received into the Roman Catholic Church despite the fierce condemnation of her protestant countrymen. Christina settled in Rome at the luxurious Palazzo Farnese where she established a lavish salon for Rome's artists and intellectuals. More than once she was forced to leave Rome while one scandal or another died down; she was painted a lesbian, a prostitute and even a hermaphrodite. Her most impassioned affair was with a well-connected Cardinal. Later, when financial support from the Pope and the Spanish crown dried up, Christina began to court French favour, eventually even plotting with them to overthrow the Spanish at Naples, where she hoped to be installed as queen.

Despite her political vacillations and a lifelong refusal to restrain her appetites, Christina ended her days in Rome relatively free from disfavour and financial strife. At the express order of the Pope, she was buried, with full ceremony, in the walls of St Peter's Basilica, one of only two women to be so honoured.

Reminiscent of Amanda Foreman's Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and Claire Tomalin's Jane Austen: A Life, Buckley combines a personal approach with a lively interest in the social and historical world of seventeenth-century Europe to bring this remarkable personality to life.

Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.

 

Contents

Prologue
5
Birth of a Prince II
11
Death of a King
29
The Little Queen
44
Love and Learning
65
Acorn Beneath an Oak
87
Warring and Peace
104
Pallas of the North
125
Love Again 26 3
263
Fair Wind for France 177
277
The Rising Sun 194
294
Aftermath
326
Old Haunts New Haunts
342
Débicle
361
Mirages
383
Glory Days 45
405

Tragedy and Comedy
145
Hollow Crown
162
The Road to Rome
185
Crossing the Rubicon
225
Rome at Last 147
247
ourneys End
427
Epilogue
443
Bibliography
469
Index
477
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2011)

Veronica Buckley was born in New Zealand. She has worked in diverse fields from music to the oil industry, and now lives in Paris with her husband,
writer Philipp Blom. This is her first book.

Bibliographic information