# Ebba Sparre

Ebba Larsdotter Sparre (1626 – 19 March 1662) was a Swedish lady-in-waiting, noblewoman and favourite of Queen Christina of Sweden. The intimate nature of her relationship with the queen has led to historical interpretations that the two women were lovers.

## Early life

Ebba Larsdotter Sparre was born in 1626, the daughter of statesman and marshal Lars Eriksson Sparre [sv] and Märta Banér. Her paternal grandfather was chancellor Erik Larsson Sparre. She arrived at court in 1644, and was appointed hovfröken (maid of honour) to the queen.
Ebba was a celebrated beauty at the royal court and nicknamed La belle comtesse (French: The beautiful countess). Ebba frequently played the part of Venus in the amateur ballets performed by the nobility at court, and she soon acquired several suitors.

## Relationship with Queen Christina

Ebba's intimate relationship with Queen Christina gave rise to the speculation that they were lovers. This has been widely accepted by historians, who look to Christina's attitude and interactions with Ebba as proof of her sexuality. Christina's sexuality has been interpreted in various ways. Most of Christina's spare time was spent with "la belle comtesse", and she often called attention to her beauty. She introduced her to the English ambassador Bulstrode Whitelocke as her 'bed-fellow', assuring him that Ebba's intellect was as striking as her body. When Raimondo Montecuccoli visited Sweden, Christina invited him to exclusive dances and paired him with Ebba. Christina admitted to being in love with Ebba.
However, besides Ebba and a few other ladies of the court, notably Lady Jane Ruthven and Louise van der Nooth, Queen Christina did not show any interest in her female courtiers, and generally mentions them only to express contempt over their femininity and portray herself as more masculine than them. In 1639 she mentions her attitude toward her ladies in waiting in regard to Beata Oxenstierna and her daughter, maid of honor Märta Ulfsparre: "The Mistress of the Robes Lady Beata Oxenstierna and her daughter arrived just now. The more of them that comes here the worse it is".
Gossip about Christina's female relationships existed during her liftetime, though it mainly came from her French enemies, who used accusations of lesbianism and general sexual profligacy to undermine her reputation. A forged volume entitled Lettres Secretes de Christine, Reine de Suede, was published in 1761, containing suggestive letters to Ebba.
Bain calls Ebba "[Christina's] only female friend", and states that Ebba was Christina's "exception to her general contempt of women". According to Nordisk familjebok, Ebba was Christina's only female favourite. Christina typically preferred the company of men, "not because they are men, but because they are not women." Ebba was an exception to this, during the later years of Christina's reign. Conversely, Tiernan claims that Ebba was one of many women Christina courted. Nevertheless, Christina was heavily involved with her, and her affection for Ebba was a constant in her turbulent career. Christina was outspoken on her negative views of marriage. Ebba far from agreed with the queen's views, and suffered much from the pretense she had to observe. She did not enjoy her friendship with the queen. Ultimately Christina's sexuality, and her exact relationship with Ebba, is unknown.

## Marriage

Circa 1650, Ebba was engaged to Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna. During his time outside of Sweden she broke the engagement to marry Count Jakob Kasimir de la Gardie (1629–1658), younger brother of the queen's favourite Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie, on Christina's initiative. Christina wanted to benefit the De la Gardie family, preferably when at the same time she could anger the Oxenstierna family. Stolpe states that this claim that the engagement was broken on Christina's initiative has no basis.
According to Nordisk familjebok, Ebba was unwilling to marry Jakob but reluctantly agreed to it. Berg and Stålberg state that Ebba and Jakob sought to marry, and possessed the mutual consent of their parents, but were not able to due to Christina's disapproval. Ebba and Jakob were engaged on 29 December 1651 at Stockholm Castle. The engagement was not to the queen's liking. She approved the marriage with reluctance. By this point Christina was planning her abdication, and possibly sought to bring Ebba with her overseas.
Ebba and Jakob married in Stockholm on 11 January 1653. The wedding had a splendid "Feast of the Gods" banquet, which later gave rise to the establishment of the Amaranterorden. At Ebba's wedding there were games at the castle, where all the gods and goddesses were guests of shepherds and shepherdesses. Ulfeld was Jupiter, Piementelli was Mars, and the Polish chancellor was Bacchus; the queen and courtiers appeared in shepherd's garb. A month later, Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie gave a torchlight ring in honor of the newly married couple, when the brother, Count Jakob, won a prize.
The marriage was unhappy. Jakob was shot and killed during the siege of Copenhagen on 7 October 1658. He was buried on 24 July 1658 at Riddarholmen Church. They had three children, who all died at an early age:
* Jacob (1653–1655)
* Cristina (1655–1658)
* Ebba (1657–1657)

## Later life

Christina abdicated her throne on 6 June 1654, and left Sweden immediately after. Ebba was upset on Christina's leaving, and subsequently kept in touch with the queen via many letters. Such emotional letters were relatively common at that time, and Christina would also use the same style when writing to women she had never met, but whose writings she admired. From Rome on 6 January 1565, Christina wrote:
   How happy I should be if only I could see you, Beautiful One. But I am condemned by Destiny to love and cherish you always without seeing you; and [...] I cannot be completely happy when I am separated from you. Never doubt this fact, and believe that, wherever I may be, I shall always be entirely devoted to you, as I always have been. [...] Good-bye, Beautiful One, good-bye. I embrace you a million times.
Christina wrote to Ebba again on 27 March 1657, after her return from France, pressing her to come and stay with her in Italy.
   But whether I am sure if I will never see you, I am sure that I will always love You, and You would be cruel if You doubted this. A friendship that has been tried under three years of absence must not be suspect to you, and if You have not forgotten the favour You have over me, shall You also be reminded that it is already twelve years since I came into possession of the presence of your love. I belong to you in a way that makes it impossible for You to leave me, and it will never happen before the end of life, that I will stop loving You.
In 1661, Christina invited Ebba to visit her in Hamburg. She also wished to see Ebba during her visit to Sweden in 1660, but this was prevented by Ebba's family. It was probably prevented by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie himself. Another explanation for the missed trip was Ebba's state of health. Ebba became ill for a long time, and she died from fever on 19 March 1662. She was buried in Stockholm on 19 October.

## Legacy

French artist Sébastien Bourdon, who was appointed First Painter by Christina, painted a portrait of Ebba in 1652 or 1653. The portrait was probably commissioned by Christina, and was among Christina's goods sent to Rome.
It has been suggested that Ebba Sparre was the subject of Skogekär Bergbo's Venerid, a collection of 101 sonnets.
Historians have varying interpretations of Christina's sexuality, which has led to different perspectives on Ebba's relationship with her queen. In Christina of Sweden (1930), in which Margaret L. Goldsmith asserts that Christina was a lesbian, Ebba is depicted as a faithless, passive noblewoman with no initiative who opts for a conventional heterosexual marriage. Sarah Waters criticised Goldsmith's biography for cherry picking evidence to suggest a sexual dimension to Christina and Ebba's relationship.

### In film

Filmmakers have offered distinct interpretations of Ebba and Christina's relationship. American actress Elizabeth Young portrayed Ebba Sparre in Rouben Mamoulian's 1933 biographical film Queen Christina. The Pre-Code film implies a relationship between Ebba and Christina by showing a chaste kiss between the two women. Bisexual Swedish actress Greta Garbo, who played Christina, had an influential role in shaping Christina and Ebba's relationship in the film and insisted on the scene. In dialogue, Ebba complains that Christina is "surrounded by musty old papers and musty old men," so the queen promises to spend time with her in the country. Betsy Erkkila notes that the scene is subtle enough to be missed by the censors, but "nevertheless succeeds in inscribing not only the queen's but Garbo's own bisexual nature". The scene created controversy upon its release.
Later in the film, when Ebba's fiance entreats her to ask for the queen's approval to marry, Ebba is shown troubled and fearful of Christina's displeasure. She complains about the queen's "dominating" attitude. Following a scene where Christina falls in love with Spanish ambassador Antonio Pimentel de Prado (John Gilbert), Christina adopts more feminine attire and cheerfully gives Ebba's marriage her blessing.
Ebba Sparre was portrayed by Anglo-Polish actress Ania Marson in the 1974 historical drama film The Abdication. The Abdication does touch on the concept of a relationship between Christina and Ebba, but not to the extent of Queen Christina.
Canadian actress Sarah Gadon portrayed Ebba in the 2015 biographical film The Girl King, which focuses on Christina's relationship with Ebba. In comparison to Queen Christina, The Girl King decisively portrays Christina as a lesbian, and depicts Ebba and Christina's relationship as unmistakably sexual in nature. Although Gadon's performance was praised, Ebba's characterisation was criticised for being overly demure. The film portrays Christina as a hedonistic monarch who takes advantage of Ebba, as evident by a scene where she passionately seduces Ebba on top of the Codex Gigas. In the film, Christina's affection for Ebba is manipulated by Swedish courtiers in a ploy to control the queen. Ebba's marriage to Jakob is arranged against her will, and the couple's separation hastens Christina's abdication.