The Girl King -- Chronology & Events
Family Life and Childhood
The film The Girl King begins with the history of the Thirty Years’ War and the death of King Gustav II Adolf in 1632. The film then introduces the young Kristina, at a time when she is in the possession of her mother, Maria Eleonora. The film conveys that Maria Eleonora is mentally unstable and unfit to raise the heir after the death of her husband. Even before Kristina’s birth, Maria Eleonora was considered eccentric, depressed, and hysterical.(1) Partially due to Maria Eleonora’s obsession with her husband, the King’s body was not buried until nineteen months after his death.(2) The only rightful heir at the time of the King’s death was his six-year-old daughter, Kristina. After being with her mother until the age of eight, Kristina was taken away by the "five great old men," Sweden's new regents.(3)
Education and Formation of Ideas
Since she didn’t live with her mother, her aunt, Princess Katherine, was the one woman who was influential in Kristina’s life.(4) During her childhood Kristina was educated in the way a prince would have been at the time.(5) She was taught Latin, Italian, Swedish and French from her teachers. She also knew German from a young age because her mother had spoken German.(6) The film depicts Kristina’s education as the motivation behind her intellectual ideas and unique way of ruling. According to the film, Kristina favored the writings of René Descartes, even in her childhood. In Kristina's own writings, she concluded that her later correspondence with Descartes gave way to her rejection of the Lutheran ideals.(7)
Countess Sparre
Throughout the film a prominent theme was the questioning of Queen Kristina’s sexual orientation. One of the main characters was Ebba Sparre, or Belle, one of the Queen’s ladies-in waiting. Countess Sparre was fairly accurately portrayed in the film, with the exception of her first engagement to Jakob Casimir De la Gardie. Countess Sparre’s first engagement was to Chancellor Oxenstierna’s son, Bengt, whereas the film depicts Sparre with De la Gardie. The Queen later convinced Belle to instead marry Jakob Casimir De la Gardie. The film also shows Sparre and her husband with a child in their bed; however, Sparre’s three babies all died in infancy.(8)Karl Gustav
The film depicts Karl Gustav, along with other men, often in pursuit of the eccentric Queen Kristina. At one point in her life, Kristina did intend to marry her cousin Karl Gustav, but she felt that it was unfair to him because she only loved him as a friend. He pursued her for many years, but she was unable to return the love. Eventually, Kristina named him as her heir.(9) The film portrays this event in the way that Kristina named him as her son and adopted him. However, we do not have proof that this event happened, she most likely named him solely as the heir to the throne.(10) She abdicated the throne after ten years as Queen, and left for Rome to pursue the Catholic faith. Karl Gustav was crowned in 1654, but he was left with a nation in financial distress after the reign of Kristina.(11)Though her childhood is only referenced for a small portion of the film, it accurately conveys that her mother, Maria Eleonora, was mentally unstable. Much of the film focuses on Kristina's love life and her questionable sexual orientation. Though this is an important part of her life, it is over exaggerated throughout the film. The Girl King contributes to the audience's understanding of the experiences of the upper class during this time period in the history of Norden. The noble classes are portrayed as having lavish lives through their extravagant parties. However, the lower classes are depicted as poverty stricken, and their only want is "free beer." The Girl King provides a fairly accurate portrayal of the life of Queen Kristina.
(1)Veronica Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (New York: Fourth Estate), 20-21.
(2)Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden, 42.
(3)Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden, 43.
(4)Paul Lewis, Queen of Caprice: A Biography of Kristina of Sweden (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston), 33.
(5)Lewis, Queen of Caprice, 34.
(6)Sven Stolpe, Christina of Sweden (New York: Macmillan), 56-57.
(7)Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden, 148.
(8)Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden, 98.
(9)Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden, 99.
(10)Buckley, Christina, Queen of Sweden, 99.
(11)Encyclopædia Britannica (2017), s.v “Charles X Gustav” accessed January 28, 2017, http://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/22579#.
Written and edited by Grete Hamnes and Rachel Olson.
