Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe née Koskull (22 November 1778 – 19 February 1852) was a Swedish lady-in-waiting and politically active salonist.
Life
Aurora Wilhelmina Koskull was the daughter of the courtier Baron Otto Anders Koskull and Amalia Beata Silfversparre.
Court service
In 1797, Koskull became one of the first hovfröken (maid-of-honor) appointed to the new queen, Frederica of Baden. In 1800, the queen's maids-of-honor were dismissed by the king because of many scandals involving their love affairs, and replaced with statsfru (married ladies-in-waiting). Impoverished, Koskull moved in with her aunt, Ulrika Katarina Koskull, and her aunt's wealthy husband, Count Magnus Fredrik Brahe (1756-1826).
The queen's former maids-of-honor were all compensated with the formal position as maids-of-honor to the household of the infant crown prince, while he was still small enough to have female courtiers, and as such she still had the right to attend court, and often participated in high society life. In 1802, Koskull is noted as an accomplished singer in the performances staged by the amateur theatre society of Princess Charlotte at Rosersberg Palace.
During the visit of Prince William Frederick in Stockholm during the winter of 1802–03, there were rumours of an affair between them, which was mentioned in the diary of Princess Charlotte: "Aurora Koskull, maid-of-honor to the queen and in service to the royal children, had made a great impression upon the prince and made him lose his head entirely. She is truly very beautiful, and while not particularly intelligent she has accomplishments which could well replace wit and a good head. He confided this tender affection to me. He has a heart of gold and a mild temperament, which is why it would never occur to him to spoil the reputation of a young girl or harm her future prospects. I talked some sense to him, made him the most earnest objections, but to no avail, his love was too great, he only replied 'Oh, if she was your daughter! I would ask for nothing better than to ask you for her hand. You are of course perfectly correct in everything you say, but what am I to do? I love her to distraction!' Personally I am convinced that the young couple acted correctly, but all of Stockholm gossipped that the prince did not sigh in vain." Being without a dowry, it was difficult for Koskull to marry. In 1806, half a year after the death of her aunt, she married her aunt's rich widower, Count Brahe. She had two children, Ulrika Vilhelmina Brahe (1808–1836) and Magnus Brahe (1810–).
Reign of Charles XIII
In 1811, her spouse was appointed Swedish minister to France, and she accompanied him to Paris. In France, she attracted the attention of Napoleon, who called her la belle suédoise ("the beautiful Swede").
During the reign of Charles XIII and Charles XIV John she had a powerful position, being related to the influential royal mistress Mariana Koskull as well as being the stepmother of the royal favorite and politician Magnus Brahe, who felt great affection for her, and reportedly asked her for advice in matters of state.