July
20
/ 2022
If you haven’t heard of the renegade 17th century Queen Christina of Sweden, you’re in for a treat. Remembered for breaking gender norms and abdicating the throne to avoid marriage, Queen Christina was a truly unconventional monarch, who has inspired books, plays, operas and even a 1933 Greta Garbo film. She was however scared of one thing. Fleas! The daughter and sole heir of the Protestant King Gustav II Adolf, the so-called Lion of the North who died fighting Catholic forces at the Battle of Lützen, Christina became queen at just six years of age, although she didn’t actually exert power until she turned 18. Legend has it that when she was born, the midwives announced the birth of a
