[POTN] Prelude - Sweden

"Krissie! Krissie!" the boy shouted for his elder sister, always energetic and loud at just four years old.

Stockholm Palace has often been cold and empty seen the departure of the King and his army in 1630, leaving only the two royal children and their servants, with their mother visiting every few months.

On this November day, however, the Palace, for some reason, felt eerily cold, perhaps due to the dropping temperature outside. Kristina, at five, was the King's golden girl - but the King had been absent since Sweden joined the war in the Empire.

As Kristina trotted out of her chambers towards Gustav's enthusiastic voice, the Palace's doors were suddenly opened. A squad of officers, bearing the Swedish colours, burst in, apparently in haste. Kristina instinctively pulled her little brother closer, trying to shield him from any danger. Then the officers kneeled, one by one, before them, in utter silence...

"The King is dead, Long live the King!"

Gustav had no idea what was going on - his lips parted in shock and confusion but Kristina, even at five, had a slight idea of what happened - and quickly retreated with Gustav, leaving the butlers to deal with the situation.

Days soon turned into weeks, and the royal children were dragged to countless ceremonies across the realm - they couldn't understand the true meaning of death - but even they could understand the seriousness of it all.

Gustav was proclaimed King Gustav III Karl on Christmas Day, 1632, with a Regency Council immediately put in place. Sweden remained in a period of uncertainty, but the government led by Axel Oxenstierna in Mainz made sure the Swedish war efforts went on unaffected.

The late King was finally duly buried in Sweden in 1634 after some delay, with the Dowager Queen insisting for the children to attend the entire funeral service. By 1636, Oxenstierna returned to Sweden, and took on the job of the royal children's mentor despite the busy state affairs.

Both children grew up highly curious and knowledgeable - but as Kristina took on a more pacifist way of thinking, Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson became the mentor of the young King, educating him in the art of warfare and command...