Following King Charles's execution in Whitehall in 1649, the royalist cause suffered a heavy blow, and the Parliamentarians consolidated their grip on power in England. Cromwell's conquest of Ireland that same year meant that the royalist had one last stronghold left - Scotland. The Prince of Wales, calling himself King Charles II following his father's decapitation, was proclaimed titular King of Scotland by the Scottish Covenanters in 1649. After signing an accord that prom

Prince Valdemar, after moving to Sweden in early 1649, had stayed there ever since. Having befriended the King, the Queen, and the Princess Kristina, Valdemar was a frequent guest of the Vasa royal family, occupying a chamber in the Tre Kronor Castle that had become known as the "Danish Quarters" among the castle servants. King Frederik, of course, was very alarmed by the news. After all, should there be another Dano-Swedish war, the Swedes could very well ally with the overw

Chapter 2 - The Lone Wolf in the Snow 2.1 Gloria Christi Regno Septentrionli Following the Peace of Westphalia, the Swedish Chancellor, now 66, began to allow Gustav to take increasing control of actual governance of the Kingdom. During various Privy Council meetings, he indicated his intent to retire in the foreseeable future, ready to transfer leadership to the new generation of Swedish leaders. Gustav, meanwhile, dedicated some of his time and the state budget to rebuild t

In his exile, the Prince Valdemar drifted closer to the Swedes, even attending King Gustav's wedding in 1649. This greatly worried King Frederik, who was concerned about the possibility of Valdemar revolting with Swedish support should there be a war between Denmark and Sweden again. Frederik sent Valdemar numerous letters in early 1649, urging the latter to return to Copenhagen and pledge his loyalty to his brother and King. Valdemar, however, believed that it was a delibera

Upon returning to the Hague by late November, Gustav stayed in the Dutch Republic for some time. A preliminary alliance pact was signed by Gustav and Prince Willem II on 2nd December, 1648. Seen as a way for the Prince to secure an ally to support the Orangist cause and transform the Republic into a monarchy, the alliance was not well-liked by the Dutch States Party, and many doubted whether Sweden could be trusted as a reliable ally of the Dutch. Privately, however, Gustav's