Oil painting

Unknown

Kristina, later Kristina Alexandra, born in 1626 at the castle Tre Kronor, daughter of Gustav II Adolf and Queen Maria Eleonora. died 1689 in Rome. She was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 to 1654, reigning from 1644. During her reign, many parts of the Thirty Years War and Torstensson’s War were fought, leading to great Swedish land gains and increased prestige. Kristina was interested in culture, attracting René Descartes and Claudius Salmasius to the Swedish court. She abdicated in 1654 and converted to Catholicism, a major scandal in the contemporary era, after which she settled in Rome, where for decades she came to play a prominent role in the city’s cultural life.