Maria Aurora Uggla

Maria Aurora Uggla, as married Ehrengranat (1747–1826), was a Swedish lady in waiting and noble. She was the lady in waiting and confidant of the Swedish Queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, and later the head of the court of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf.

Maria Aurora Uggla is described as the trusted favourite and close confidant of Sophia Magdalena: otherwise very reserved and with few friends, the queen is reported to have given Uggla her trust and followed her advice.^[1] The only other lady in waiting the queen is said to have been close to, was Virgina Charlotta Duwall (1748–1816), later married to Baron Kristoffer Manderström, but reportedly, Duwall mainly informed the queen about resent events in society and was not as close friend as Uggla^[2]

As a person, Uggla is described as gifted and cultivated, although sometimes sharp^[3]

Maria Aurora Uggla was the star of the amateur theatre of the royal court and recognized and regarded for her dramaticall talent; in 1774, she was ordered by the king to instruct Charlotte Eckerman in the part of Mechtild in the opera Birger jarl by Gyllenborg and Adlerbeth, after the part had been refused by Elisabeth Olin^[4] . Charlotte Eckerman made a great success in the part at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and was called in by the audience; prince Charles started to shout: "Miss Uggla! Miss Uggla!", after which the audience applauded also Maria Aurora Uggla in her box as well as the author Gyllenborg for having instructed Eckerman in the part^[5]

Uggla was first considered as a messenger when the King decided to reconcile with the Queen in 1775 in order to consummate the marriage, but instead, Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila was decided, having then a relationship with the Queens chamber maid Anna Sofia Ramström^[6] After the Queen gave birth to the Crown Prince in 1778, however, there were rumours that the father of the child was Munck. In a conversation with Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp i June 1778, Uggla was quoted saying:

"In any case, even if we for just a moment were to assume, that the child was truly illegitimate, then what difference would it make to the King? He will still always regard it as his own. And the matter may also very well be meaningless, as long as Sweden is provided with an heir." ^[7]

Maria Aurora Uggla married Colonel Karl Adam Ehrengranath in 1778, and was appointed head of the court of the Crown Prince.

References

1. ^ Carl Carlson Bonde (1908) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok I 1775-1782 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte I). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. p. 164. ISBN 412070. 
2. ^ Carl Carlson Bonde (1908) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok I 1775-1782 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte II). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. pp. 164–165. ISBN 412070. 
3. ^ Carl Carlson Bonde (1908) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok I 1775-1782 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte II). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. p. 180. ISBN 412070. 
4. ^ Carl Forsstrand (Swedish): Sophie Hagman och hennes samtida. Några anteckningar från det gustavianska Stockholm. (English: Sophie Hagman and her contemporaries. Notes from Stockholm during the Gustavian age") Second edition. Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm (1911)
5. ^ Carl Forsstrand (Swedish): Sophie Hagman och hennes samtida. Några anteckningar från det gustavianska Stockholm. (English: Sophie Hagman and her contemporaries. Notes from Stockholm during the Gustavian age") Second edition. Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm (1911)
6. ^ Carl Carlson Bonde (1908) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok I 1775-1782 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte I). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. p. 14. ISBN 412070. 
7. ^ Carl Carlson Bonde (1908) (in Swedish). Hedvig Elisabeth Charlottas dagbok I 1775-1782 (The diaries of Hedvig Elizabeth Charlotte II). P.A. Norstedt & Söners förlag. pp. 126–127. ISBN 412070.