Editing Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (section)

==Queen consort==
[[File:Frederick & Ulrica Eleanor coronation medal 1720.tif|thumb|left|Medal for the coronation of Frederick in 1720]]
[[File:Georg Engelhard Schröder - Ulrika Eleonora Queen of Sweden.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Georg Engelhard Schröder – Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden]]

The reign of her husband began the period traditionally known as the [[Sweden and the Great Northern War#The Age of Liberty|Age of Liberty]], when the monarchy lost most of its power to a parliamentary system. As queen consort, she withdrew to private life. Ulrika Eleonora had married for love and was known to be fiercely loyal to Frederick. Initially, the relationship between Ulrika Eleonora and Frederick was described as a happy one, and before Frederick became monarch, he restricted himself to the role of her consort. After two miscarriages in 1715 and 1718 and at least until 1724, the Queen expressed hope that she would give birth to an heir, but ultimately her marriage was childless.<ref name="Ulrika">Holst, Walfrid. ''Ulrika Eleonora d. y. Karl XII's syster'' Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1956</ref>
King Frederick suggested placing his brother and his line in the House of Hesse in the succession line, and though this attempt was unsuccessful, Ulrika Eleonora supported this choice rather than her nephew the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.<ref name="ReferenceA">Jacobson, Esther, ''Hedvig Taube: en bok om en svensk kunglig mätress'', Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1919</ref>

Queen Ulrika Eleonora enjoyed great popularity during the reign of her spouse, partly as the last member of the old royal house, and partly because of her personal piety.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> She was aware that this gave her power to influence policy, and when she let her opinion be known, it was often followed.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> This influence was recognized. During the Riksdag of 1738, for example, the queen expressed her displeasure when [[Carl Gustaf Tessin]] was due to be elected to a post, which resulted in public protests which did not quiet down until Tessin had been received at the Royal Palace and allowed to kiss the bare hand of the queen, who assured him that she had no intention of interfering.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The relationship between Ulrika Eleonora and Frederick changed after he became king, and it was said that when she gave him the crown, she gave him his freedom.<ref>Lyttkens, Alice (1973). ''Kvinnan börjar vakna: den svenska kvinnans historia från 1700 till 1840-talet.'' (The awakening of Woman: The history of the Swedish woman from 1700 until the 1840s). Stockholm: Bonnier. Libris 7144053. {{ISBN|91-0-038549-2}} (Swedish)</ref> King Frederick had [[Mistress (lover)|mistresses]], and his extramarital affairs increased after he lost much of his royal authority in 1723.

In 1734, Frederick became the first king in [[History of Sweden|Swedish history]] to have an [[Royal mistress|official mistress]], the noblewoman [[Hedvig Taube]], who was given the title Countess of Hessenstein. Ulrika Eleonora expressed her disapproval to her close confidant [[Emerentia von Düben]],<ref name="nad.riksarkivet.se"/> who convinced her never to display any public reaction to the affair, as it would be beneath the queen's dignity and her position was untouchable: "As the Moon travels along its course over the sky without bothering over the barks of dogs, so should Her Majesty despise the gossip, which has been unleashed by this much unfortunate and blinded commitment".<ref name="Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna 1976"/> By convincing Ulrika Eleonora not to publicly display her displeasure of his adultery, Emerentia von Düben also became favored by King Frederick.<ref name="nad.riksarkivet.se"/> 
Ulrika Eleonora sternly followed the policy of not displaying her feelings about the adultery for years. At the beginning of the affair, on one occasion she even walked publicly with Hedvig Taube in her effort to defend the reputation of her husband.<ref name="Ulrika"/>

During the Riksdag of 1738, the question of the king's adultery was raised by the clergy estate within the [[Riksdag of the Estates]], and a letter of protest was presented to the king on 3 April 1739.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The archbishop had already had a private conversation with the queen about the matter, during which the queen had lamented herself over the king's adultery and her disappointment of the Taube family.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The clergy estate pointed to the oath made by the king in 1720, when he succeeded the queen on the Swedish throne after she abdicated in his favor, in which he had made the promise to: "love, honor and respect my most worthy consort, the all powerful Princess Ulrica Eleonora [...] and declare the Estates to be free of their oath of allegiance, should I ever break this oath and insurance",<ref name="ReferenceA"/> in fact declaring the king deposed if he disrespected the queen. On 26 April, the king expressed a wish to leave for Hesse. He was rumored to plan to settle there permanently with Taube.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> A rumor circulated of a planned [[coup d'etat]] by the queen's followers. The plan was to have the king leave with Taube, leaving the queen as regent of Sweden in his absence.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> After his departure, the queen's followers would present her with proof that the king had secretly married Taube, expecting the queen to respond by considering her marriage dissolved and agree to be reinstated as monarch.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> This planned coup never took place; the king never presented a request to leave for Hesse.

During the Riksdag of 1740–41, the question was raised again. At this point, a change had occurred in the queen's attitude, signs of which were observed already during the Riksdag of 1738.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The policy of Ulrika Eleonora not to express her dislike of Frederick's adultery was weakened during her last years, possibly due to the unique position of Taube as the official mistress, because of the long-term nature of the affair and because they had children. Another reason for her change of conduct was reportedly that she, as an orthodox Lutheran, was concerned for the king's soul.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Despite demonstrating her compassion with the other Riksråd deposed during the Riksdag of 1738, she smiled when the misfortune of the father of Hedvig Taube was mentioned.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> When hosting the wedding of her maid of honour Sigrid Bonde at court, she neglected to invite the Taube, Gylleborg and Sparre families (the last two known supporters of Hedvig Taube), although court protocol would have expected them to be included, and when the new Riksråd Carl Sparre, a known supporter of Taube, was  presented to her during the audience for the new members of government, she demonstratively retired, preventing him from kissing her skirt in accordance with protocol.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The discontent of Queen Ulrika Eleonora was not a small matter for the Riksdag; not only because of the queen's popularity, but also because the queen had abdicated in favour of the king on the condition that she would succeed him if he should die before her, a condition which made the queen the heir to the throne.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

During the Riksdag of 1741, the matter of the king's adultery was, for the second time, raised in parliament by the clergy estate, this time by Bishop Erik Benzelius, who referred to the matter as that "which the Queen had made it known" that they should raise, in order to "set the mourning heart of the Queen to rest".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> An official statement of protest was made, stating a reminder of the king's oath always to treat the queen with respect when she abdicated in his favor, and that the whole kingdom was in mourning of the queen's sorrow, and concerned for the welfare of the king's soul. Two delegations from the clergy estate were appointed: one to the king, and one to Hedvig Taube.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In July 1741, the statement was read to the king in his audience chamber. The king reacted with rage, refused to accept the statement and stated that the Riksdag of the Estates had promised him not to interfere in his private life. He was, on their second attempt, forced to receive the statement. When told the result of that audience with the king, the queen, Ulrika Eleonora insisted that the planned embassy to Hedvig Taube was also to be executed according to plan, and replied to the hesitation of the bishop with the words: "When you priests follow your calling and your conscience, you do well to do so with no concern of other matters."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> On this occasion, Hedvig Taube defended her by saying that she had never been aware of any negative reaction whatsoever from the Queen.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

[[File:Ulrica Eleanor of Sweden (1688) grave 2007.jpg|thumb|Ulrica Eleanor's sarcophagus in [[Riddarholmskyrkan|Riddarholm Church]].]]

Ulrika Eleonora served as [[regent]] twice: The first time during Frederick's absence in 1731, and the second time during his illness in 1738–1739. She was declared regent in May 1731 when Frederick departed to visit Hesse, and ruled until his return in the autumn. In 1738, she was asked by the Estates to accept the regency at an occasion when Frederick was so ill that he was in danger of dying and was incapable of ruling. She duly accepted this task and handled the state affairs until after New Year's Eve 1738–39. During her second regency, she banned the newly founded Swedish theatre by refusing to extend their access to [[Bollhuset]];<ref name="Tryggve Byström 1981">Tryggve Byström (1981). Svenska komedien 1737–1754. (Swedish Comedy 1737–1754) Borås: Centraltryckeriet AB. {{ISBN|91-1-813241-3}} (Swedish)</ref> her reason for this was opposition toward the theatre among the clergy.<ref name="Tryggve Byström 1981"/> The theatre, however, was restored the following year.

Ulrika Eleonora was interested in jewelry and music. She enjoyed to participate in the dance at court balls, and though religious scruples made her conflicted in the issue, she also engaged German and French theatre companies to perform at Bollhuset. Intensely religious, she was capable of interrupting a parliamentary session to pray. Similarly, at court presentations, she could interrogate the female debutantes about the [[Bible]], rewarding them for correct answers. Sternly maintaining her royal pride, she was known to simulate illness and decline to leave her quarters when she felt insulted. Her dependency upon Emerentia von Düben has often been mentioned, but she had several additional friends, among them [[Hedvig Mörner]], as well as her childhood friend Anna Fleming, who was her lady-in-waiting for thirty years.<ref>Eva Österberg, red (1997). Jämmerdal & Fröjdesal. Kvinnor i stormaktstidens Sverige. Stockholm: Atlantis AB. {{ISBN|91-7486-355-X}} p. 318</ref>

Queen Ulrika Eleonora died of [[smallpox]] in 1741. There were rumours that she had been poisoned, but these rumours were silenced when the marks of her illness were visible during her public [[lit de parade]]. As she had been the heir to the throne, her death marked the beginning of a succession crisis.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>