Queen Ulrike Eleonora

Ulrike Eleonora, the youngest sister - and eventual successor - of King Carl XII of Sweden - was married at the comparatively late age (for the times) of 27, to the widowed Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. What was on her side a love match, was one of cold, calculating political strategy on his.

Either way, Ulrike fell pregnant nearly right off the bat, conceiving in 1715 and then again in 1718, and reportedly, she had not yet given up hope of a child before 1724.

Unfortunately, both pregnancies ended in miscarriages, but suppose that one or both had carried to term, what might the results for Sweden's future be? Obviously a personal-union with Hesse-Kassel would most likely be maintained a la Hannover or a la Saxony. But how might Sweden progress through the Age of Enlightenment - or the Age of Liberty (since Ulrike gave into many concessions from the Estates to secure her choice as her brother's heir). And would Ulrike still abdicate in favor of her husband? Or does she hang on until one of her children are old enough to assume power without a regency?

Thoughts and opinions?
 
Yeay! Someone else knows about the Age of Liberty and the political machinations of that era! :D

And would Ulrike still abdicate in favor of her husband? Or does she hang on until one of her children are old enough to assume power without a regency?

Oh, definitely. She originally wanted him as a co-monarch of course, after the model of William and Mary over in England. However, the Realm Council (Riksråd) was very uncomfortable about this, as they felt such an arrangement gave the monarchy too much room for maneuver (and they did not want to give them the opportunity to increase their might one bit!). Of course, Arvid Horn and the brothers Ribbing were constitutional geniuses who kept track of every last little detail in Swedish constitutional history (that's why they managed to cause a succession crisis in the first place, by using a single sentence in the Order of Succession of Norrköping of 1604!), and they quoted the second paragraph in the Konungabalk of King Magnus Eriksson's Law of the Land from the 14th century to indicate that Sweden could never have more than a single monarch (a law originally added to avoid confusion during times of civil war, but useful here as well).

So a co-monarchy is off the tables, and so she will gladly let her husband have the throne.

The interesting thing happens when she dies in the middle of the Hats' Russian War in the early 1740s (that is of course provided that Arvid Horn still falls from power in the late 1730s, and the Hats consequently take over the government from the Caps)...
 
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