[POTN] 3.6 - National Mourning for Henrietta

The days following Henrietta's funeral were difficult yet blurry for Gustav. He felt like merely going through the motions every single day, only finding a flicker of life left in himself when taking care of his children.

After all, he knew very well that Henrietta would want nothing more than their children growing up happily - and he was determined to make that the reality. He spent hours with the children every single day, far more than any royal fathers of the time, while practically avoiding state affairs entirely. He authorised Princess Kristina and Prince Karl to sign his name on bills passed by the Riksdag as long as both of them agree to. For months, he did not even ask about national affairs, only caring about planning the monuments to be build to honour Henrietta, and his children's lives.

In late November, 1663, Gustav officially moved to the Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, by Lake Mälaren, some distance away from Stockholm. Gustav refused the visit of state official and Riksdag members, with only family members, tutors of the royal children, and architects working on the monuments for the late Queen were allowed to see him. Gustav even refused to return to Stockholm for Christmas 1663. Instead, a little dinner was held on Christmas' Eve in Gripsholm Castle, with only a dozen of guests invited. Nonetheless, even the dinner was filled with a mournful, melancholic atmosphere, with Gustav wearing black and silent through the entire meal.

Princess Kristina tried to talk to him after the meal, but he just ignored her, marching off to his own bedchambers instead - indeed, that had been the case ever since Henrietta's death - Gustav would listen to nobody and nothing. In Stockholm, it was entirely a different scene. With the nation prospering, the city was lively again by Christmas. Yet, the late Queen's gentleness was well-known, and many dedicated different decorations to Henrietta in every corner of the city.

Many in the Riksdag who interacted with Henrietta knew that her passing would deal a great blow on the King, and in the first few sessions after her passing, all Riksdag members took a few minute to mourn the nation's loss. Yet, by the end of the year, many of them were caught up with pragmatism. Some began asking for the King to re-marry in order to ensure succession and also stability of the realm. Candidates among foreign princesses were hand-picked by several Riksdag veterans and submitted to Princess Kristina and Prince Karl.

Even Karl and Kristina, complete opposite of each other, were often in a great deal of conflict, which meant that the Swedish state was left rather paralysed, as few laws could obtain both their support. Gustav, even in his dysfunctional state, did order for every bill signed into law to have the signature of both Kristina and Karl - and that was an almost impossible requirement in many cases. Dozens of laws passed were vetoed by "the lack of royal assent" - which often translated to a lack of consensus between Kristina and Karl.

Karl wished to cancel the effect of Gustav's order to reduce 20% of military spending in 1662, and did manage to convince most of the Riksdag to support him. Yet, Kristina's opposition meant that the bill was never granted royal assent, and in practice, the Swedish military received even less funds than before. Meanwhile, Kristina tried to push the Riksdag to support her plan to allocate more funds for "cultural" purposes, inviting more intellectuals from different nations to Stockholm. Again, she did obtain majority support in the Riksdag, but Karl's veto after calling it "meaningless" meant that it also failed to go through.

The constant back-and-forth meant that the Riksdag failed to do anything in the last months of 1663, into the first half of 1664. Fortunately, the governmental structured was well-established under the late long-time Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, and was largely left intact by Gustav, leading to the Kingdom's administration still functioning even with Gustav's absence.

Into 1664, while Gustav was still rather gloomy, he had improved somewhat compared to the autumn of 1663, After a heartfelt talk with Rudolf, 9, and Charlotta, 6, Gustav realised that he could not be melancholic and withdrawn forever - because that was certainly not what Henrietta would have wanted.

The confirmation with the best architects in Sweden about the monuments paying tribute to Henrietta also brought Gustav some relief. A grand set of monuments were planned to be built across all Swedish realms, commemorating their late Queen.

Thirty-seven towers, each with a different design, would be built to signify Henrietta's thirty-seven years of life. The towers would span across the Swedish shores, overlooking Henrietta's favourite Baltic Sea, as if her elegant figure was still there watching the waves.

Each tower would be numbered in Roman numerals - signifying a year in her life. The first tower shall be built in Stockholm, and then the line of towers would go north into Norrland, and then Finland, Ingria, Estonia, Livonia, Riga, the first eighteen towers in that order. Then five towers shall be built on the Pomeranian coast, spanning from the east to the west. The last fourteen towers shall start again in annexed Scania, into Götaland, with the last tower, the thirty-seventh, again just outside Stockholm.

The last tower shall be built next to the fort outside Stockholm where Gustav and Henrietta once spent so many evenings watching the sunset together. Each tower, designed differently, were made to symbolise something important in Henrietta's life, with Gustav planning to put some of her possessions in each tower after they were built.

Gustav planned to travel with the children to each of the tower after they were all built, and to leave a note in every single one, for the future generations who visit the towers, telling them the brief yet beautiful story of Henrietta.

A few more monuments were also to be constructed on the islands of Åland, Gotland, Öland, Dago, Ösel, and Bornholm. Often, these monuments would consist of a little state-sponsored library run by local authorities, with a statue of the late Queen built besides it, guarding the people and their knowledge.

After deciding on the monuments, Gustav, now less gloomy that before, began to spend even more time with his children. Every day, he would personally teach them how to ride horses, while picnicking with them in the afternoon, almost like a gentry family. The children were enjoying this sudden change of life a lot, especially with how their father was spoiling them beyond measure. Gustav, in the meantime, was touched by his children's smiles, and his broken heart slowly began to heal.

Despite significantly more energetic in the second half of 1664, Gustav still largely stayed away from politics. He could finally laugh freely playing with the children. and would no longer weep like a broken man when reading Henrietta's letters. Yet, he still didn't feel ready, and refrained from visiting Stockholm through most of 1664. In the capital, the Riksdag became increasingly impatient. The constant tension between Prince Karl and Princess Kristina meant that the entire Swedish legislation became extremely inefficient, and the administration was only holding on as the old rules still worked.

Many nobles demanded the return of the King, which mostly went unanswered, as Gustav would not even see most of them. By this point, nonetheless, Gustav was no longer totally consumed by grief - but the sense of loss largely reduced his willingness to get back into state affairs. The children, of course, loved how their father was spending all the time with them. Yet, Rudolf, almost ten years old, could feel like something was off. The flow of worried visitors to Gripsholm seeking Gustav was neverending, countless eager to have Gustav back in Stockholm to end the feud between Kristina and Karl.

Gustav still never intended to leave Gripsholm, content to continue his life as a family for the time being. Yet, that belief changed, as Kristina sent him a letter in December 1664. The letter was written by Henrietta in early September, 1663 - perhaps when she could feel that her end was coming. A last letter she wrote in illness for Gustav, one that she wished he would discover while tidying her things. Yet, his escape to Gripsholm meant that he never touched her things in Tre Kronor, and Kristina, after unable to stop the urge to dig through Henrietta's things for a bit a year after her passing, found the letter.

In the letter, Henrietta wrote to Gustav in a way as if she already knew she would have to leave him soon. She promised Gustav that she would be blessing him, their children, and the entire Swedish realm from above, and asked him not to mourn her, as she believed she must be watching them in bliss from Heaven.

Yet, the line written in Henrietta's elegant, smooth handwriting that really changed Gustav's mind was this, when she wrote about their beloved children's lives:

"I am sure that our little ones would be filled with smiles every day they are with you. Yet, do not forget that they deserve new figures in their lives, just as much as you do. Do not let their lives become an endless requiem for their mother - let a worthy someone enter your lives, carrying my love, and show all of you, again, what unconditional love is."

Gustav, after reading the letter, locked himself in his bedchambers for a few hours, thinking about it over and over again. He thought, perhaps Henrietta had been watching him all this past year, rather exasperated by his stubborn, uncompromising tendencies. After much contemplation in the next few days, he finally made a decision. No, he hadn't moved on, and the sense of loss was still there, gnawing at him whenever he was alone and nobody was talking. Yet, he could feel Henrietta watching him, waiting patiently for him to take on the burden he so courageously carried before.

He gathered the children in a mid-December evening, with a genuine smile rarely seen on him this past year, except when he was playing with the royal kids. "We're dropping Stockholm a visit," he said, "perhaps we would spend Christmas with Aunt Kristina and Uncle Karl there."

The King's return to Stockholm was met by the enthusiasm of countless nobles. The past year and a half, the Swedish admistration, plagued by the endless disagreements between Kristina and Karl, never functioned properly, and they expected the King to fix the issue with him back in the capital. The people also gathered to see Gustav - their war hero, their national leader, who had been out of public sight since Henrietta's funeral. Gustav talked with some commoners, learning about the past year in the capital from the most average person, before returning the Tre Kronor Castle.

The Christmas feast, despite downsized, was held in an atmosphere of joy at the King's return. There was still a few minutes dedicated to the loss of Henrietta, but everyone talked about the joyful memories they had with Henrietta, instead of mourning with melancholy.

As the year 1665 came, Gustav became back in the nation's political scene. While he still spent many days in Gripsholm with his children every week, he no longer avoided political visits like before. Often, he would give directions from Gripsholm, while also signing certain bills that were withheld because of the feud between Kristina and Karl.

Every week, he made at least one visit to Stockholm, attending a Riksdag session and sort out previous political problems. The Riksdag, of course, spent much time trying to convince their King that a re-marriage would be a beneficial and much-needed decision, and Gustav was no longer as reactive to the idea as he was a year ago. After all, Gustav did begin to realise why a re-marriage would mean a lot to his family and also the Swedish state as a whole, After the loss of their mother, the children would move on much better if they had a new and worthy mother figure, not to replace Henrietta, but to carry her love for everyone to move forward. In addition to a new alliance, a re-marriage would also show Sweden's rivals that the King had return and was no longer vulnerable, halting their attempts for take advantage of Sweden after such a tragic loss.