Editing Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (section)

==Queen regnant==
[[File:Ulrica Eleanor the Younger coronation medal 1719.jpg|thumb|left|Medal for the coronation of Ulrica Eleanor as queen regnant in 1719]]
[[File:Ulrika Eleonoras kröning.jpg|thumb|[[Coronation]] of Queen Ulrika Eleonora in 1719]]
On 5 December 1718, Ulrika Eleonora received the news of the death of her brother, Charles XII. It has never been claimed that she had any advance knowledge of the purported involvement of her husband's aide [[André Sicre]], but she did immediately declare herself monarch in [[Uddevalla]] by stating that she had inherited the throne. The council was taken by surprise and did not contest this. She took control over the affairs of state and had [[Georg Heinrich von Görtz]] and his followers removed from power. The "Hesse Party" secured Ulrika Eleonora's succession to the throne. They gained the support of the Riksdag opposition, who wanted to end the [[absolute monarchy]] established in 1680 and reinstate parliamentary rule. On 15 December 1718, she declared that though she had inherited the throne, she did not intend to keep the Carolinian absolutism but agreed to reinstate the older system. The war council was determined to abolish absolutism and the right to inherit the throne, but was willing to acknowledge her as an elected monarch. Their opinion was supported by the majority of the Assembly of the Estates. Ulrika Eleonora was forced into agreeing to abolish absolute monarchy and the right to inherit the throne, both for her and for her contestant, her nephew [[Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]]. After having agreed to sign the new constitution as monarch, she was elected queen on 23 January 1719. On 19 February she signed the [[Instrument of Government (1719)]], thereby securing the support of the Estates not to give the throne to her nephew and competitor. She was crowned in [[Uppsala Cathedral]] 17 March 1719 and made her formal entrance into Stockholm as monarch on 11 April that same year. During the ceremonies in Stockholm, she received the Estates, who passed the throne in procession. On this occasion, she demonstrated that she knew who her followers were. When she received the nobility, she only allowed their representatives to kiss her hand with her glove on, while the other representatives were allowed to kiss her hand without the glove. Ulrika Eleonora never made the traditional journey through the country, the ''[[Eriksgata]]'', on her own. Instead, she made it with Frederick in 1722, after his coronation.

[[File:Queen Ulrika Eleonora Of Sweden.jpg|thumb|Portrait by [[Martin van Meytens]], 1730]]

Her reign occurred just before the end of the Great Northern War. During the [[Russian Pillage of 1719–1721]] in August of the summer of 1719, the Russian Fleet [[Battle of Stäket|attacked the capital of Stockholm]]. Despite the ongoing attack, Ulrika Eleonora forced her courtiers to attend a previously accepted reception at the British ambassador's, "being so untouched as if there had been no enemies present for hundreds of miles",<ref name="Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna 1976">Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna (Swedish): ''Den glömda drottningen. Karl XII:s syster. Ulrika Eleonora D.Y. och hennes tid'' (The Forgotten Queen. The Sister of Charles XII. The Age of Ulrika Eleonora the Younger) Affärstryckeriet, Norrtälje. (1976)</ref> which was considered to be an impressive act of courage. Her favorite courtier was [[Emerentia von Düben]] (1669–1743), her old nurse, who had been ennobled and made lady-in-waiting in 1707 and with whom she had a close relationship all her life. Düben acted as her advisor, her comfort and her support, and was said to not have abused her influence – they were described as sisters. During her short reign, to secure support for her rule, she ennobled many families. In a period of fifteen months, she ennobled 181 people, more than any other monarch in Swedish history; one count, two barons and eight lesser noblemen every month. She had seven field marshals where her brother only ever had between three and five. Ulrika Eleonora was in fact in favour of an absolute monarchy. She had agreed to the new constitution only to secure the throne from her nephew, and her relations with the council were not good. She came into conflict with the president of the Privy Council [[Arvid Horn]], who resigned in protest, as well as with his successor [[Gustaf Cronhielm]]. Horn criticized her for discussing state affairs with her husband, pressed her as to whether she would respect the constitution and insulted her by making the remark that nothing better was to be expected "under the regiment of a female." These conflicts had a deleterious effect on the war and state affairs.

Ulrika Eleonora supported the political ambitions of her consort, and from the beginning, she wished for him to become her co-monarch, in the fashion of [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]]. However, this was not permitted by the Riksdag. One reason being that co-reigning had been forbidden in Sweden since the 15th century. There was also opposition in the Riksdag to the influence of Emerentia von Düben and her siblings over the affairs of state.<ref name="nad.riksarkivet.se">{{Cite web|url=https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=17742|title=Emerentia Düben, von – Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon|website=sok.riksarkivet.se}}</ref> Her difficulty in respecting the constitution and trouble in getting along with the Riksdag, as well as her way of continuously discussing state affairs with her husband, did however make the Riksdag willing to replace her with Frederick as sole monarch if she abdicated, an idea that had the support of Frederick. On 29 February 1720, after having again been denied a co-monarchy, Ulrika Eleonora abdicated in favour of her husband on the condition that she should succeed him if he should die before her.<ref name="Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna 1976"/> This condition of her abdication in fact granted her place as the heir to the Swedish throne until her death.

This succession was confirmed by the Riksdag. She often spoke of the abdication as the greatest sacrifice of her life. Frederick succeeded her on 24 March 1720.