Reading this piece felt like sipping history through a chalice of fire and honey. Each word carried weight, each sentence rang like a bell in the vaulted chamber of the past, calling forth not only the facts of Queen Kristina’s life but the untamed spirit that lit them. As a poet, I thrilled at the cadence of your prose, bold and unafraid. As a philosopher, I marveled at the underlying truth you captured, that the sovereign soul is one that refuses to be caged. As a scholar, I found myself in awe of the careful interweaving of politics, passion, and power. You do not simply recount her story, you resurrect it, radiant and unruly, like Kristina herself stepping once more into the court of our collective conscience.
Of course, minor clarifications remain, Kristina’s title of “King” was symbolic more than personal declaration, the plow quote more paraphrase than citation, and Bernini’s final gift hovers somewhere between fact and lore. Yet none of these soften the brilliance of your telling. In both spirit and substance, this is a beautifully wrought work, fiercely alive and deserving of a wide and thoughtful readership.
Thank you for this moving reflection and response. I appreciate the feedback. I struggled with this piece specifically in the research. While we do have many of her papers and words, they are also curated and kept by the Vatican in the Vatican libraries, which means that everything we do have is selected, curated for us to see.
While symbolic, as a woman to be named sovereign not as a queen but as a King was a big deal, especially for the time. To us this is a minor distinction but at a time when clothing and title defined gender in so many ways, it is not a hollow symbol, but a powerful one—adding to the conflict that was Kristina.
Your admission of the Vatican’s gatekeeping over Kristina’s record is not just honest, it’s essential. The past is always filtered, often by institutions with a vested interest in preserving power through selective memory. That you’ve chosen to confront this editorial control, rather than quietly accept it, already places your piece in the tradition of critical history rather than compliant narrative.
As for Kristina’s choice of title, yes, it matters. It is not semantics, it is sovereignty. To claim King as a woman in the 17th century was a bold reorientation of power, not a decorative flourish. It was a refusal to be confined by the expectations that came with femininity in royal governance. That friction, between identity and title, autonomy and institution, is precisely what makes her legacy so resonant today. The fact that it still unsettles us is proof of its force.
Your work wrestles with the complexities, and that is exactly what good scholarship, and good storytelling, must do. Keep going.
This is a fascinating story, and your engaging and powerful narrative style brings it to life! I am both touched and inspired by Kristina's life. I've lived in Sweden for several years, and learned about the lives of several prominent kings, but was never aware of Kristina. Maybe I've heard her name uttered here and there but it never really registered. Even the Swedish Royal Palace's website presents her in a wishy washy way, devoid of the kind of details that you have so meticulously gathered here. Kudos! I'm now inspired to "Dress how you wish, speak what you believe, love who you love."
Thank you for reading and for this brilliant reflection. I will say this one was difficult to write because there has been a lot of various history and erroneous information out there. I did look at the website for the polish palace and decided I was going to need several more sources. Something I am not unfamiliar with in this line of historical tributing but it always hits the hardest when its a figure of LGBTQ+ origin. I know its a targeted attempt to silence that which they fear. If they give us too many heroes, too many icons, we might realize we deserved better all along, which is something they can't live with. Also special shout out to you Lily for being named as a recommended read! We appreciate your perspective, voice and support so much. Thank you!
I had a hunch that researching this article has not been an easy task. I wanted to use the word "painstaking" to describe the process--would you say that's correct? It's a great insight that making queer heroes would threaten the establishment--and what's a bigger threat to patriarchy than women who would not enter the institution of traditional marriage and become birthing machines? King Kristina apparently saw through this. Now, I don't know how much of an influence she had over the future of the Swedish government, but she might have planted a seed. Feminism is a very strong force in the Swedish society, and many important positions in government are taken by women.
I so appreciate your recommendation of my newsletter! Thank you for your support and most important of all, for your welcoming space and powerful voice of truth.
Reading this piece felt like sipping history through a chalice of fire and honey. Each word carried weight, each sentence rang like a bell in the vaulted chamber of the past, calling forth not only the facts of Queen Kristina’s life but the untamed spirit that lit them. As a poet, I thrilled at the cadence of your prose, bold and unafraid. As a philosopher, I marveled at the underlying truth you captured, that the sovereign soul is one that refuses to be caged. As a scholar, I found myself in awe of the careful interweaving of politics, passion, and power. You do not simply recount her story, you resurrect it, radiant and unruly, like Kristina herself stepping once more into the court of our collective conscience.
Of course, minor clarifications remain, Kristina’s title of “King” was symbolic more than personal declaration, the plow quote more paraphrase than citation, and Bernini’s final gift hovers somewhere between fact and lore. Yet none of these soften the brilliance of your telling. In both spirit and substance, this is a beautifully wrought work, fiercely alive and deserving of a wide and thoughtful readership.
Thank you for this moving reflection and response. I appreciate the feedback. I struggled with this piece specifically in the research. While we do have many of her papers and words, they are also curated and kept by the Vatican in the Vatican libraries, which means that everything we do have is selected, curated for us to see.
While symbolic, as a woman to be named sovereign not as a queen but as a King was a big deal, especially for the time. To us this is a minor distinction but at a time when clothing and title defined gender in so many ways, it is not a hollow symbol, but a powerful one—adding to the conflict that was Kristina.
Lady Libertea,
Your admission of the Vatican’s gatekeeping over Kristina’s record is not just honest, it’s essential. The past is always filtered, often by institutions with a vested interest in preserving power through selective memory. That you’ve chosen to confront this editorial control, rather than quietly accept it, already places your piece in the tradition of critical history rather than compliant narrative.
As for Kristina’s choice of title, yes, it matters. It is not semantics, it is sovereignty. To claim King as a woman in the 17th century was a bold reorientation of power, not a decorative flourish. It was a refusal to be confined by the expectations that came with femininity in royal governance. That friction, between identity and title, autonomy and institution, is precisely what makes her legacy so resonant today. The fact that it still unsettles us is proof of its force.
Your work wrestles with the complexities, and that is exactly what good scholarship, and good storytelling, must do. Keep going.
This is a fascinating story, and your engaging and powerful narrative style brings it to life! I am both touched and inspired by Kristina's life. I've lived in Sweden for several years, and learned about the lives of several prominent kings, but was never aware of Kristina. Maybe I've heard her name uttered here and there but it never really registered. Even the Swedish Royal Palace's website presents her in a wishy washy way, devoid of the kind of details that you have so meticulously gathered here. Kudos! I'm now inspired to "Dress how you wish, speak what you believe, love who you love."
Thank you for reading and for this brilliant reflection. I will say this one was difficult to write because there has been a lot of various history and erroneous information out there. I did look at the website for the polish palace and decided I was going to need several more sources. Something I am not unfamiliar with in this line of historical tributing but it always hits the hardest when its a figure of LGBTQ+ origin. I know its a targeted attempt to silence that which they fear. If they give us too many heroes, too many icons, we might realize we deserved better all along, which is something they can't live with. Also special shout out to you Lily for being named as a recommended read! We appreciate your perspective, voice and support so much. Thank you!
I had a hunch that researching this article has not been an easy task. I wanted to use the word "painstaking" to describe the process--would you say that's correct? It's a great insight that making queer heroes would threaten the establishment--and what's a bigger threat to patriarchy than women who would not enter the institution of traditional marriage and become birthing machines? King Kristina apparently saw through this. Now, I don't know how much of an influence she had over the future of the Swedish government, but she might have planted a seed. Feminism is a very strong force in the Swedish society, and many important positions in government are taken by women.
I so appreciate your recommendation of my newsletter! Thank you for your support and most important of all, for your welcoming space and powerful voice of truth.
Thank you so much for this! What an amazing story! I feel so inspired. ❤️