Sophia Magdalena of Denmark

The following year, Sophia Magdalena was crowned Queen.

Queen Sophia Magdalena was a serious and shy person and was never a member of the King's inner circle. She and Gustav had very different personalities which put even more distance between them. She did her ceremonial duties, but disliked the vivid lifestyle of the Court around her outgoing spouse. When she performed her duties as Queen, her sister-in-law, Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, described her as "Forced to meet people". She preferred to stay at her private residence, Ulriksdal Palace, whenever she could.

In the famous diary of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, she is described as beautiful, cold, silent and haughty, very polite and formal, reserved and unsociable. On formal occasions, she was at her best: she performed beautifully according to Court etiquette, and was seen as dignified and impressive. She had two very intimate friends, Maria Aurora Uggla Ehrengranat and Baroness Virginia Charlotta Duwall Manderström. She loved solitude, spending her days in her apartments and dining alone. She held a grand formal salon every two weeks and loved the theatre, which she often attended. During the King's Italian journey in 1783–84, she held a grand formal public dinner for the city every two weeks. Several of her ladies-in-waiting were well known Swedish women of the era; among them were The Three Graces, as Augusta von Fersen, Ulla von Höpken and Lovisa Meijerfelt were called, and the artists Marianne Ehrenström and Charlotta Cedercreutz. Read Less

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte regarded her with suspicion, despite her assurance that she did not blame neither him nor his son for taking the place of her son and grandson, and would be happy to receive them.

It has been said of her: She remained one of the most tragic and isolated people in the history of the Swedish court.

The affair of the consummation of her marriage and the succession scandal was portrayed in SVT's period drama production of "Gustav III:s äktenskap" (The Marriage of Gustav III) in 2001, where Sophia Magdalena was portrayed by Danish actress Iben Hjejle.

It was also used to inspire the novel Drottningens juvelsmycke, famous in Sweden, where the character of Tintomara is portrayed as a half sibling of Gustav IV Adolf through Count Munck. Read Less