History is full of men. Especially kings and warriors. In history books we can read about wars and battles, the forging and disintegration of empires. Women occasionally glimpse past in these great stories, in the form of mothers, daughters and wives.
But what about their story? They were much more than mere bystanders and pawns in a political game. There are so many stories of powerful women, but they can be hard to find.
Of course we have exceptions – Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Jeanne D’arc, Wu Zetian and more. Even in the Nordic countries, we have women who stand out: Queen Margrete I, King Kristina and Saint Birgitta, for example. They are all well known, so this story won’t be about them.
In this theme, I want to share the stories of royal women who played very important roles in their lifetime, but have been almost forgotten in history. Their names are sometimes mentioned in passing, but they almost never get to be the main character in their own story. They will be now.
The women I have chosen to write about is princess Ingegerd of Sweden, who became an Orthodox saint, princess Ingeborg of Norway, who was regent of two countries, queen Philippa of England, who ruled Sweden far more effectively than her husband, queen Christine of Saxony, who led the defense of Stockholm for seven months, and Cecilia Vasa, the Swedish scandal princess who engaged in piracy.
Join me on this journey, as I bring these Forgotten Royal Women’s stories to life!