Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was the queen consort of Charles XIII of Sweden and II of Norway. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is known as Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte, though her official name as queen was Charlotte (Charlotta).
She was born in Eutin the daughter of Duke Frederick August I of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel. She grew up in Eutin and married her cousin Charles, Duke of Södermanland, in Stockholm on 7 July 1774 when she was fifteen years old. The marriage was arranged by King Gustav III to provide the throne of Sweden with an heir. The King had not consummated his marriage and had decided to give the task of providing an heir to the throne to his brother.
Royal Duchess
Prince Charles saw her for the first time in Eutin in 1770 and remarked that she was pretty. The marriage was suggested in 1772, and the first ceremony took place in Wismar on 21 June 1774. She arrived in Sweden on 3 June and entered Stockholm by gondola on 7 June. The wedding ceremony took place the same night, followed by a masquerade ball in Kungsträdgården. She was noted for her beauty – her waist measured a mere 48 cm (19") and her shoe size 31 (girls' size 13) – and, as the marriage of the monarch had not been consummated after nine years, there were hopes that she would provide an heir for the throne.
In January 1775, there were signs that she was pregnant. It was hoped that the question of succession was solved, and prayers were held in the churches. However, the signs soon proved to be false. The news of the false pregnancy also made the king decide to consummate his marriage and provide an heir to the throne personally.
She made a personal success with her cheerful temperament and became a center of the royal court, where she was for some time informally called "Little Duchess" and was noticed for her beauty and vividness, wittiness and ease with words. With these qualities she fulfilled a contemporary ideal. In contrast to the shy Queen, Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, "Duchess Lotta" was lively, witty, and flirtatious, and was in many ways the female center of the court. It was said of her: "One can not imagine anything more lively and cheerful. She is joy itself. Her greatest pleasure is to make up jokes and foolishness. It would be a good thing, if she introduced that custom, as our by nature somewhat melancholic nation could need some cheering up"
She participated in the amateur theatre which were an important part at the royal court at the reign of Gustav III, both as an actress and as a dancer. Her dancing was seen as scandalous by some, as ballet dancers were during this age regarded as prostitutes. After being subjected to criticism that she and Princess Sophia Albertina distracted the King from the affairs of state by pursuit of pleasure, she retired from the stage in 1783.
Her marriage was distant and both she and her spouse had extramarital affairs. Charles paid more attention to his lovers than to her: at the time of their marriage, he was in the middle of his relationship with Augusta von Fersen. Her intimate friendship with Countess Sophie von Fersen inspired rumors of bisexuality which, true or not, were repeated throughout her time as royal Duchess, by both Francisco de Miranda in 1786 and later by Frederica of Baden. From 1783, she had a long term relationship with Count Carl Piper, whom she herself referred to as her lover in her secret correspondence to Sophie von Fersen.
Among her alleged lovers was Count Axel von Fersen, alleged lover of Marie Antoinette. It is not known when her affair with Axel von Fersen occurred; it is only known that she wished to resume it when Fersen returned to Sweden after the death of Marie Antoinette and that Fersen refused to do so. It has been suggested that this was merely a temporary affair which occurred during the stay of the royal court at Gripsholm Castle in the summer of 1784. She also had a relationship with Axel von Fersen's younger brother, Count Fabian von Fersen Her affair with Fabian von Fersen is assumed to have started in the late 1780s was discontinued with the marriage of von Fersen in 1797. It was rumored at the time that the pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage in 1792 (and which was referred by Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte as her first real pregnancy), was caused by Fabian von Fersen. The rumors of her extramarital affairs were given a lot of attention during her second pregnancy in 1797, which produced a stillborn daughter. The next year (1798) she gave birth a son who lived only six days. Ultimately, she was unable to have living children.