Extra: The Incredible Life of Christina, Queen of Sweden
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This program is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It contains mature adult themes. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to Forbidden Fruit, the Forbidden History Podcast Extra. In our last episode, we heard the fascinating story of The Devil's Bible, a mighty medieval manuscript that survived eight centuries of turmoil.

In this episode, we're going to find out more about Christina, Queen of Sweden, a rebellious monarch who succeeded her father at just six years old, ruled to the beat of her own drum, and just so happened to once own the Devil's Bible. This is The Incredible Life of Christina, Queen of Sweden.

Christina is born in December 1626 at Trae Kornor Castle, Stockholm. Her parents, Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus and his German wife, Maria Eleonora, are excited to welcome a baby after the unfortunate events of two stillbirths and an infant death. Delight fills the room at Christina's birth as she is first thought to be a boy, a perfect heir to the throne.

The baby is covered in hair and screams with a strong, hoarse voice. Deep embarrassment fills the room when they discover their mistake. The baby is, in fact, a girl. Her father, however, shows no embarrassment and is surprisingly pleased. "She'll be clever, for she has made fools of us all," he exclaims. Christina's mother shows little affection for her.

She is disappointed to have had a girl. Christina's father, however, is closely attached to his daughter. He is determined to raise her as if she were a prince. Christina is to receive an education that would usually only be given to boys at the time.

From her birth, King Gustavus recognizes her eligibility as a female heir, and although later called queen, the official title she holds as of her coronation is actually king.

Unfortunately, despite his affection for Christina during her childhood, Gustavus is often away fighting in the Thirty Years' War, a religious conflict between the Protestants and Catholics of Europe that would soon spiral into a battle for political power throughout the continent.

King Gustavus' absences sent his wife Maria into a deep mental decline. And as a baby, Christina is subject to several suspicious incidents, some of which people believe to have caused Christina some abnormalities, including a bent back, a deformed chest, and one shoulder humped higher than the other.

Before going to war, Gustavus secures his daughter's right to inherit the throne, in case he does not return. And surely enough, on the 6th of November, 1632, King Gustavus Adolphus is killed during battle in Lützen. Christina is just six years old.

Cristina's mother, Maria Eleonora, is inconsolable, weeping, tearing up her clothes, and shrieking in despair. She declares that her husband is not to be buried within her lifetime and demands for his coffin to be kept open. In a bizarre display of grief, Maria visits King Gustavus' body often, taking no notice of him decomposing before her.

She keeps his heart in a gold container, hung above her bed. But after a long 19 months, Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, who is currently ruling Sweden as regent until Kristina is of age, interferes, finally having King Gustavus' body buried, much to his widow's dismay.

With King Gustavus at last laid to rest, Maria finally shows Christina some attention. She becomes obsessive and insists she has a say in her upbringing and future marriage.

The council and Maria are in relentless conflict throughout the years, which eventually comes to a halt in 1636, when Maria has the audacity to offer Christina as a bride to Christian IV of Denmark, Sweden's archenemy at the time.

The council removes Kristina from her mother's custody and puts her in the safe arms of her aunt and two cousins, Karl Gustav and Katarina.

With her mother out of sight, Christina focuses on her education. She becomes fluent in Italian, French, German, Danish, Dutch, Arabic, and Hebrew, bringing her total number of languages spoken to eight, including her native tongue of Swedish.

She is given lessons in religion, philosophy, Greek, and Latin. Her tutor, theologian Johannes Matthieu Gauthus, proudly states that Christina has a bright intelligence. She spends upwards of 10 hours a day feeding her intellectual appetite.

When Kristina is 16, her cousin, Carl Gustav, falls in love with her, and she agrees to a secret engagement. But it is short-lived, as Sweden's regent, Lord Chancellor Oxenstierna, swiftly acts by sending Carl on various military missions. By design, they soon lose interest in one another. For Kristina, this is actually somewhat of a relief.

She has always displayed a distaste for marriage and been impressed particularly by the Catholic teachings of celibacy, even though she has been raised strictly in the Lutheran Church of Sweden. In another twist, Ebba Spare, one of Kristina's ladies-in-waiting, catches her eye. Kristina admires her intelligence and charm, and over the coming years, they share passionate letters professing their love for one another.

With Kristina playing matchmaker, Ebba goes on to marry one of Sweden's richest men, whom she shares 14 children with. With her love interests both diminished, Kristina fills the void in her life with her new and old passions: religion and books. In 1644, at the age of 18, Kristina officially begins her reign as queen.

Her first few years as sovereign deal with various war and peace treaties. Kristina soon discovers, though, that Uxenskirna, Sweden's Lord Chancellor, having just served as regent, has political views very different from her own. In 1645, he sends his son to the Peace Congress to argue against peace with the Holy Roman Empire.

Christina sends her own delegate, arguing peace and reconciliation with the Catholics at any cost. In the end, Christina wins out, and the Peace of Westphalia is signed in 1648, effectively ending the Thirty Years' War. Eventually, despite his faithful service, Christina would send Uxenshirna away, determined to rule on her own.

The Thirty Years' War, a conflict of generations, and the war that took the life of her father, is now over. In the very last battle, the center of the Holy Roman Empire, Prague, falls, and the Swedish army loot the city. Among the objects sacked is none other than the Devil's Bible.

It's no surprise that Kristina wants to get her hands on the mighty manuscript. Her love for the arts and thirst for knowledge being ever present throughout her life. In 1649, the Swedish army transport the massive haul of paintings, statues, coins, crystals, scientific instruments, manuscripts and books, including the Devil's Bible, back to Stockholm.

Christina adds these items, stolen from the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, to her private collection. By now, Queen Christina is 23, well into marriageable age, if not slightly too old. Pressure comes from all sides. She must marry, she must produce children, and she must serve her country. But she refuses.

In 1649, Christina announces, officially, that she will not marry. Instead, she decides her cousin, Carl Gustav, the relative she was once secretly engaged to, will be heir to the throne. While some of the public object, many do accept it.

Over the next few years, Christina's health takes a hit, physically and mentally. She suffers a nervous breakdown, and many even think she's dead for an hour. Her doctors order her to take things slowly, for she is still up to her old habits of studying upwards of 10 hours a day. Christina also begins to lose popularity with her public due to her wasteful and unpredictable ways.

Within 10 years, she has created 17 counts, 46 barons, and 428 lesser nobles, all with such haste that they are often not registered properly. On some occasions, the same piece of land is given away twice. Christina is known for issuing copper lumps to serve as currency, which sometimes weighed up to 15 kilograms.

Her extravagant spending brings the country to the verge of bankruptcy, and the public is outraged. The final blow to her reputation comes with the beheading of Arnold Johann Misenius and his 17-year-old son after they accuse her of serious misbehavior, stating that Christina is bringing everything to ruin.

On June 6th, 1654, less than ten years after her coronation, Christina abdicates her throne. Her reasons why are still not fully known to this day. She thanks everyone in her farewell speech, and Carl Gustav is crowned later that day. Christina leaves the country within a few days, traveling disguised in men's clothing through Denmark.

She visits friends throughout Europe before settling in Antwerp for four months. Whilst there, she goes horse riding and hosts extravagant parties in the evenings. She soon runs out of money, selling her tapestries and jewelry. Later that year, Christina converts to Catholicism.

She initially keeps her conversion a secret, worried the Swedish council might refuse to pay her alimony, for she's just given up the religion that her father fought to the death for. Soon after, though, on November 3rd, Christina publicly announces her conversion and is invited to live at the Vatican by the Pope.

She sets off with an entourage of 255 people and 247 horses, her journey planned in detail by the Church. She arrives in Rome, welcomed in a brilliant triumph by Pope Alexander VII, who gives her her own wing inside the Vatican. Christina's years in Rome, however, are in no way void of drama and controversy.

She begins by opening a free-thinking academy in Palazzo Farnizze, where participants enjoy music, theater, and literature. She even allows women to perform under her roof, something unheard of for the time. The Vatican grow increasingly disillusioned with her. She also attempts to once again find footing on the political stage.

She enters into negotiations with Cardinal Mazarin, the de facto ruler of France, to help seize Naples from the Spanish and be put on the throne as its queen, before handing back power when France's true ruler, Louis XIV, comes of age. And in 1657, she visits the Cardinal in Paris and is assigned to apartments at the Palace of Fontainebleau.

But it is here where she ends up committing a horrible act that stains her legacy forever. Queen Christina runs her own royal court in Paris, keeping around men she finds particularly charming. Gian Ronaldo Monadeschi becomes her beloved master of horse. However, after a few months, she begins to suspect that he's disloyal, in what ways are still unclear to this day.

He may have been forging letters from his court rival, Francesco Centinelli, to Cristina in order to destroy his reputation. Or he may have been spying on Cristina, intercepting and copying her letters to send them on to the Pope. In either case, Cristina confronts Monodeschi and is shocked when he admits to his disloyalty. She announces to her court that his betrayal warrants execution.

She instructs his very rival, Santinelli, to carry out the sentence on the spot. Him and other courtiers thrust daggers into Monadeschi's body and eventually slit his throat. Cristina's brutal killing of Monadeschi sends rumors flying, with many believing the betrayal to be one of a personal nature. Did Cristina order her own lover's death?

From this, both the Parisians and the Vatican wash their hands of her, and she is largely shunned from society. Cristina moves to the Palazzo Riario in Rome, which becomes her home for the rest of her life. As time passes on from her misdeeds, she manages to befriend popes and aristocrats, and becomes a key patron of the arts in Italy.

She remains Catholic until her passing, at the age of 62. She had requested a simple burial, but Pope Innocent XI had other plans, burying her within the Grotte Vatican, one of only three women to be given this honor. Christina was a daring woman of her time, with many witnesses shocked by her masculine appearance and careless freedom of conversation.

Her sexuality was always questioned, and all her life she promoted tolerance amongst differing beliefs and a love of literature and the arts. Well-educated, outspoken, yet impulsive and unapologetic, Queen Christina of Sweden is an intriguing historical figure with a perplexing legacy and a turbulent life to match.

This is an audio production by Like A Shot Entertainment. Presented by Bridget Lappin. Executive Producers Danny O'Brien and Henry Scott. Story Producer Maddie Bowers. Assistant Producer Alice Tudor. Thank you for listening.

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