Sophie Hagman

Sophie (Anna Stina) Hagman (31 December 1758 in Eskilstuna, Södermanland, Sweden - 6 May 1826 in Stockholm, Sweden), was a Swedish ballet dancer and mistress to Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden.

Born in poverty in Eskilstuna as the daughter of a gamekeeper, Hagman became a dancer and actor at the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm at a very young age, perhaps already as a child; She had originally looked after the children for the dance- master Louis Gallodier and was officially hired in 1775. In 1776, she is mentioned as one of the shepherdesses in a ballet. She belonged to the first generation of Swedish dancers at the stage of the Opera, though she never became as noted as Charlotte Slottsberg, as she was much more noted for her appearance and personality then her talent, and made herself known for her beauty and charm. She became a mistress to Prince Frederick Adolf in about 1778 and had a daughter, Sophia Frederica, with him.

She was introduced at court in 1780, after her lover the duke got his brother the king's permission to introduce her to the little crown-prince. The Prince had before this prepared her by giving her education in a pension the learn the etiquette of the aristocracy, and given her the name Sophie instead of the common Anna Stina. He ordered count Leijonstedt to escort her to the chambers of the crown-prince, were the duke himself was in the company of several ladies of the court; to be presented for the female members of the court, was also a sign that she was an "official" member of the court, as it was socially acceptable to present a mistress for male friends, but not for female ones. The duke then met them, presented her for the crown prince, and let her converse with the ladies. This is described by the duke's sister-in-law, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp; "her conversation with the ladies was natural and pleasant; she displayed modesty and respect, but no shyness or submission"." The duke remained standing, to force the ladies to stand also; had he sat down, the noblewomen would have been able to sit, and Hagman, according to etiquette, had been the only one to stand, which would have displayed her social position. The countess von Rosen, who guessed this, asked the duke to sit down, but he refused. When the duke and Hagman left, the noblewomen, according to the Duchess, was somewhat shocked, but also charmed by Hagman, and talked of her with much admiration.

Hagman was generally described as a great beauty with a charming personality; she was likable and charming, and with her wit and vividness and a talent of making friends easily became a popular hostess at the private residence of the Prince, the Tullgarn Palace. The aristocracy later referred to this as "The Golden Age of Miss Sophie Hagman".

She appeared openly with the prince at court, which together with Hedvig Taube made her one of only two "official" mistresses of royalty in the history of Sweden. Apparently, she was easily accustomed to the environment of the court and had a personal character of harmony which gave her confidence and made people feel at ease in her presence. The Poet Bellman kalled her an image of beauty; "Her entire being was a fest to my eyes", and the king embraced her as a sister-in-law at Gripsholm. She was generally liked as a person, although the ladies of the court greatly disapproved of having to receive worse rooms because of her during the stays in different royal castles. The treatment from the females of the court was described as a source of humiliation for her; in a court were the sexual habbits were liberal, they were little moral indignation of her position, but the social snobiness of rank and noble descendence from the female nobles was intense.

Her relationship with the prince is described as a union of mutual love and happiness, and she never asked for any financial favours from him or from any other connections she made through him. Their relationship continued until about 1793 or 1795; in about this time, they both got involved in other relationships, Hagman with the actor Edvard du Puy, and the duke with the actor Euphrosyne Löf, sister of the prima donna Fredrique Löwen.

She seems to have been liked in the court and considered as part of the prince's family also after their relationship had ended, she lived in the villa of "Lilla Kina" on Drottningholm Palace. In 1796 and 1802, she was in Paris under the name "madame Hedengran" with Captain Erhenhoff, whom she is said to have plans to marry. After the death of the Prince in 1803, she received a pension both from the court and from the state without having asked about it. Towards the end of her life, she was a popular society hostess.

Image

* http://runeberg.org/ordochbild/1912/0077.html

References

* Herman Lindquist, Historien om Sverige, Gustavs dagar, ("The days of Gustav III"), sv icon.
* Carin Österberg "Svenska Kvinnor", (SWedish women), sv icon.
* Carl forsstrand, "Sophie Hagman och hennes samtida" "("Sophie Hagman and her contemporarys")", sv icon.
* Ingvar Andersson, Gustavianskt, sv icon.
* http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0194.html, sv icon.
* http://runeberg.org/ordochbild/1912/0077.html, sv icon.
* Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, sv icon.