Born December 8, 1626 in Stockholm, Sweden, Queen Kristina inherited the throne at the age of six when her father died in battle. Being the only heir, her father instructed that she be educated as a prince. One of the first things she achieved during her reign, was putting an end to the Thirty Years’ War. Nicknamed Minerva of the North, after the Roman equivalent of the Greek god of wisdom, Kristina valued education and philosophy. She showed these values in her determination to improve the education of peasants. Thanks to her rule, Sweden first began to publish newspapers and the first school system was started. Advancements in science and the enjoyment of literature and the arts were fully supported by Queen Kristina. She carried one of the greatest collections of books, paintings, and sculptures. While Queen of Sweden, Kristina chose her own ladies-in-waiting and it is believed she had an affair with one of them, Countess Ebba Sparre, whom she nicknamed “Belle” (pictured bottom left). Their intimacy is proved through the many letters passed between them. Ebba Sparre was reportedly given the title of the queen’s “Bed Fellow.” Their relationship ended soon after Countess Sparre was married and left Kristina’s court, but their letters continued. Kristina also was believed to have had affairs with women by the names of Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Rachel Teixeira, and Angelina Giorgino, but she later reflected in her memoirs that Ebba was the only real love of her life. Despite the urging of her court for her to produce an heir to the throne, Queen Kristina refused to marry throughout her 10 year reign of Sweden. Instead she appointed her cousin Charles X Gustav to be her heir. She immediately abdicated the throne and moved to Rome, Italy following her baptism into Catholicism. In Rome, she founded the Arcadia Academy (Accademia dell’Arcadia) and urged that the first public house of opera, Tordinona, be opened.
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