Mariana Koskull

Henrietta Mariana "Marianne" Charlotta Koskull (19 February 1785, in Växjö – 30 March 1841, in Stockholm) was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting, known as the royal mistress of King Charles XIII of Sweden and King Charles XIV John of Sweden.

Life

Mariana, or Marianne as she was often called at the French-influenced court, was born to Baron Gustaf Fredrik Koskull (a member of the aristocratic Koskull family) and Anna Charlotta Gjelstrup. Although the family belonged to the nobility, they were poor, which was illustrated by the fact that her sister Constance Koskull (nicknamed 'Stansa') was forced to break her engagement to marry Christian Fredrik Damm, with whom she was in love, and marry the rich merchant John Hall the Younger for money instead. Reportedly, her father said to her: "Are you so stupid my Stansa!? Keep loving your Fredrik, but marry Hall – one does not prevent the other! We shall soon be reduced to beggary if you refuse Hall."

Koskull was given a good education and, thanks to her rank, was appointed hovfröken (maid of honour) to Queen Charlotte, thus acquiring one of few professions socially acceptable for a noblewoman. She became a social success at court, where she was admired for her musicality and her talent as an actress. She was a good harp player, and often played the main part in the amateur theatre at court at special occasions and festivities, during which she was described as having as much talent as a professional actress.

On 28 January 1811, Koskull participated to great acclaim in an amateur performance of The Barber of Seville, which was given by members of the nobility at the Royal Palace in honor of the king's name day and the arrival of the crown princess. Koskull played the role of Rosina opposite Baron Gustaf Löwenhielm as Bartholo, Count Axel Mörner as Bazile, Count Carl Löwenhielm as Figaro and Count Gustaf Adolf Sparre as Alzade, followed by a ballet also performed by members of the court nobility.

Royal mistress

Koskull was known as the mistress of King Charles XIII as well as the mistress to his adopted successor, King Charles XIV John (crowned 1818). Koskull and Charles John were said to have had a secret child together, but this is unconfirmed.

After the succession of Charles XIII in 1809, Koskull was talked about as the mistress of the king. Queen Charlotte, however, brushed this aside with the comment that the king may have been infatuated with Koskull but was too decrepit to do anything about it. In parallel to being talked about as the lover of Charles XIII, Koskull was also identified as the lover of the king's adopted son and heir, Crown Prince Charles John, who arrived in Sweden in 1810. The affair reportedly started after Charles John's wife Désirée Clary left Sweden for France in 1811, and after the crown prince had first unsuccessfully courted Koskull's cousin Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe. The affair was evidently hidden for four years before being exposed, as Queen Charlotte commented in her famous journal that Koskull and Charles John had begun the affair the year of the departure of the crown princess to Paris in 1811, but that it was not exposed until the spring of 1815, when she the queen herself became certain of it.

In June 1815, Queen Charlotte summarized the relationship between Koskull, Charles XIII, Crown Prince and Prince Oscar in her journal:

Her position made her courted by supplicants but also other influential people: statesman count Johan Christopher Toll courted her influence, not only because she was a royal mistress, but also because she was related to countess Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe, who was the well-liked stepmother of the royal favorite Magnus Brahe (1790–1844).

In 1818, Charles XIII died and Charles John became King Charles XIV John. During the years between the death of Queen Charlotte in 1818 and the arrival of Queen Désirée and Crown Princess Josephine in 1823 (and with Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden preferring to live in retirement due to her age) there was no female royalty at court. Koskull was in effect the leading lady of the court as the official mistress of the king, who reportedly preferred to live "the life of a rich private citizen" in her company and did not uphold much of a court life. Koskull had her sister Constance Koskull, who had been ostracized from the aristocracy because she had abandoned her husband and lived openly with a lover, formally presented at court. All the noblewomen who were asked to present her simulated illness until the last one, the lady-in-waiting countess Ruth, finally agreed to perform the presentation, and "fainted immediately afterwards." Koskull was appointed to the position of kammarfröken (senior maid of honour), the highest post possible for an unmarried noblewoman of the royal household, which she kept until her death. Whether the relationship between Koskull and Charles XIV John actually discontinued, or if it was simply conducted discreetly after this, is not known, but she is no longer mentioned in the position as his mistress after 1823.

Koskull died unmarried and childless.