[POTN] 3.9 - Sweden: Remarriage & Recovery

By 1666, the reparations by Copenhagen in the late 1650s were practically all spent by Stockholm. Much of it was used in daily government functioning, promoting education, and maintaining the military. The fact that the Stockholm Banco was failing meant the Swedish treasury was not exactly healthy either. The Banco was already unable to pay the holders of their banknotes in gold in 1664.

That was solved when Gustav signed a decree in January 1665 to take over entirely and pay the holders of the banknotes with gold or silver with the national treasury. Nonetheless, it put a far greater strain on the national treasury than expected.

It was also the key reason why Gustav had to rush the bills for reduction in 1665 - in order to replenish the treasury and ensure Sweden would always be ready for a sudden conflict. Yet, the Church Law in 1666 meant that Stockholm, again, had to put more resources for the state Church and also the schools, in their attempt to boost literacy in the rural areas. Coupled with the high military spending, the Swedish treasury recorded a clear deficit by April 1666.

Gustav, like always, was extremely opposed to the state enduring a consistent deficit. For him, a lack of economic sustainability would mean that Sweden would have no choice but to bow to greater powers for economic subsidies. Having no real choice, in early May 1666, Gustav signed a decree to downsize the military 20% further, in order to keep the treasury away from severe deficits. By that point, Gustav had already downsized the Swedish military by almost 40% since 1660, allowing many Swedish soldiers to go home and produce economically.

Tariffs were also slightly adjusted, in a way that was intentionally designed not to hurt friendly European powers and possible allies. After all, as long as the Dutch Republic was not provoked, Gustav saw no possibility of a joint offensive by powers hostile to Sweden, and thus he did not feel like it would be problem downsizing the military.

For him, the Poles were still in a mess, impossible to organise an attack. Danes and Norwegians were still crippled, and Gustav did not believe they would launch an attack ever again. Gustav did not even consider the Russians a threat, with their rather poor geography. The only nation Gustav believed could wage an offensive against Sweden was Brandenburg-Prussia, especially with them apparently showing strong ties to the French.

Thus, Gustav decided to secretly position the Swedish elite units in Pomerania, ready to strike if Berlin launched an attack on Swedish territories. The Swedish Navy, besides guarding the Öresund, was also deployed to monitor Prussian movements in the Baltic. The Curonian Navy was also put under Swedish command to prevent against any Prussian landing onto the Swedish vassal of Courland.

In Copenhagen, King Frederik was overjoyed by the news of Stockholm downsizing their military. It was his dreamt moment - the Swedes vulnerable and weak on the Scanian front, allowing a possible offensive if Sweden was to go to war with Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederik thus ordered for a partial mobilisation in June 1666, while strengthening coordination with Berlin, making sure a joint offensive would be quick enough to paralyse the Swedes. Frederik also sent an order to Bergen to order partial mobilisation through Norway.

Prince Christian in Norway was reluctant to follow the order, but still ordered a "limited" mobilisation to assure Copenhagen. Trading with Sweden was also reduced with tension slowly but gradually growing on the borders.

Nevertheless, Gustav, along with Prince Karl in Stockholm, both still held onto the firm belief that Denmark and Norway were absolutely crippled by the reparations in 1658, and they were in no position to wage a war against Sweden at all.

From 1665, King Gustav began meeting different candidates to become his new Queen. While many candidates were suggested by the Riksdag and beyond, Gustav admittedly had rather strict standards, with many candidates already rejected after a letter or a simple talk. Not only did Gustav require his future bride to have a deep connection with him, but he also wanted the bride to resemble his late Henrietta's personality somehow.

The bride would also be expected to adore the royal children. And above all, any potential brides must meet the three royal children before engagement, and Gustav outright ended any talks with young women who weren't liked by his children.

Initially, the Riksdag sought to arrange a marriage between the King and a princess from the royalty of a major power, in order to form a new alliance or reinforce old ones. Gustav's high standards, nonetheless, made this largely impossible.

The Riksdag also flirted with the idea of a Roman Catholic princess who would convert to Lutheranism after becoming Queen of Sweden. That idea was firmly rejected by Gustav, who was worried that a Catholic-leaning Queen would form a "Catholic Alliance" with the secretly Catholic Princess Kristina, attempting to reintroduce Catholicism into Sweden. As a devout Lutheran, Gustav was firmly against any attempts to reintroduce Catholicism into his realms. While he tolerated Kristina's secret conversion due to personal sibling affections, he would never willingly marry a Catholic woman who could become yet another Sigismund for the Swedes.

After much negotiations and countless rejections from Gustav's side, a suitable match was finally arranged by August 1666, with approval from Gustav, and most importantly, the three royal children. Maria of Orange-Nassau, born 1642, the little sister of the late Willem II, Prince of Orange, first met Gustav and his children in Gripsholm, in July 1666, in a rather warm and harmonious meeting.

Gustav appreciated this young woman, who he believed to be alike Henrietta in her love for family and the arts. The royal children also appreciated this artistic, elegant lady, as she demonstrated herself to be rather caring towards children like them. By August, it became apparent to many that Maria would likely be the new Queen Consort of Sweden. Nonetheless, Gustav still had reservations, and he spent several nights talking to Maria about it.

While he had resumed taking on full royal duties, he admitted that he would still be think a lot about Henrietta whenever he saw things reminding him of her, especially when Queenship was involved. The title "Queen of Swedes, Goths, and Wends" still reminded Gustav, and in fact, many Swedes, of Henrietta and her tragic passing. Coupled with the fact that the Swedish treasury was struggling slightly then, Gustav proposed to postpone the coronation of Maria as Queen for some time.

Before the coronation and after the wedding, Maria would be known as "Her Royal Highness, the Princess Consort of Sweden". Gustav also asked Maria to join him on the trips to the towers commemorating Henrietta, in order to truly allow her to become part of the family.

Maria agreed to both conditions, knowing that Henrietta's passing would always be a tragic loss for the Swedish royals and nobles, She entered Stockholm on 5th September, her 24th birthday, and was received by the royals and also many enthusiastic Swedes. The modest and intimate wedding was held on 23th September, 1666, in the Storkyrkan in Stockholm. While the wedding was without the luxurious and lavish spending like those in France, it was still attended by many, Maria becoming loved by many Swedes with her soft and friendly demeanor.

A few days before that, Gustav already took Maria along with his children to witness the opening of the first memorial tower for Henrietta, just outside Stockholm, right on the third anniversary of her passing.

Maria and Gustav together prayed to Henrietta's spirit, calling for her to bless their union, while also hoping for her to be eternally happy in Heaven, surrounded by her loved ones. In the following month, Maria would spend much time learning Swedish, while also connecting with the Swedish public, earning the love of many in Stockholm. The nobles also appreciated her, with her gentleness and refinement, believing that she would make a well respected and loved Queen for the state.

Maria became close to Princess Kristina soon enough. The two shared a love for fashion styles deemed unconventional for the era, and Maria was also a very curious student of hers, as Kristina would often be telling her stories from different universities and nations. As the reduction was under way, the Swedish finances improved gradually, but still slowly. In November 1666, Gustav eventually decreed the official liquidation of the Stockholms Banco, after two years of dysfunction. The state took responsibility for all the banknotes issued, promising to pay the holders in silver.

Johan Palmstruch, the founder of the Banco, was arrested on Gustav's order, suspected of fraud, mismanagement, and lying to authorities, among other charges. Gustav and Princess Kristina immediately began planning to establish an official national bank, taking charge of monetary affairs to prevent future over-printing of banknotes like Palmstruch did.

December 1666 was marked by the celebration of Princess Kristina's 40th birthday. With the struggling treasury, Kristina threw a large feast in the Tre Kronor with her own allowances, inviting intellectuals from all over Europe to join the party.

Prince Karl, nonetheless, was still unhappy with Kristina's policies like always, especially seeing Gustav drifting towards Kristina's policies these past two years. He only spent a few minutes on the feast before heading back to his meetings with the generals. Charlotta, the Princess Royal, sat next to her favourite aunt through the whole evening - the girl had always admired Kristina and treated every word Kristina said as absolute truth, sometimes even overriding the words of her own beloved father.