Wedding dress of Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp. She married her cousin Charles, Duke of Södermanland, in Stockholm on 7 July 1774 at age 15. The marriage was arranged by King Gustav III to provide the throne of Sweden with an heir. Royal Armory of Sweden [950×756]
by Remote_Finish_9429
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The dress, made of cloth of silver and silver lace, is famous for its diminutive waist, a characteristic of the era’s fashion. It was part of the elaborate court dress of the Swedish royal family, which aimed to rival the French court’s grandeur. The dress is comprised of a bodice, skirt, and train. Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte’s waist measured 48cm (19”) at age 15, 1774. [Source](https://samlingar.shm.se/object/33A5EFEC-ABFC-4731-900D-03E5532836B1)
Imagine all that work going into such a beautifully strange dress…only to have to marry your cousin in it
Is that a flatscreen under your dress or are you just happy to see me?
“We need a little more pazazz around the baby maker without making it too obvious…”, probably Gustav III to the tailor.
Unfortunately, their only children was a stillborn daughter and a son who only lived for a week.
Gustav III had a son, however, who became king at age thirteen after his father’s assassination. But he had the bad luck of being king during the Napoleonic Wars. After losing the eastern half of his kingdom (Finland) to Russia, he was deposed and replaced by a constitutional monarch, none other than his senile and childless uncle Charles.
So the issue of finding an heir was now more urgent than ever. Charles and Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte eventually adopted one of Napoleon’s marshals as their heir, and that’s how Sweden got its current royal dynasty.
did she steal the sofa?