The Lioness on the Swedish throne

When we think of Sweden, we usually picture Ikea, knäckebröd, Volvo, beautiful nature with moose and reindeer, the band ABBA, Nordic noir crime stories, or the tales of Astrid Lindgren. But it's also a country that has always been a kingdom, never experiencing a republic or totalitarianism, and has always been ruled by kings and queens. In this popular science book, we present portraits of Swedish queens—whether they were reigning monarchs or the wives of kings—because almost all of them played a much more active role in history than is traditionally attributed to them. The book focuses particularly on five queens who truly reigned as sovereigns or regents. While they would not have attracted the slightest attention in the era of mythical Valkyries and shieldmaidens, in the Christian era they were considered an unfortunate and temporary exception.

Some Swedish queens had ties to Czech history and dynasties. As early as the 10th century, the first queen, Sigrid, may have been the daughter of Doubravka of Bohemia. In the 12th century, Richeza of Poland was the granddaughter of our first king, Vratislaus II of Bohemia. In the 13th century, Sophia of Denmark and Eric IV were the grandparents of the Bohemian and Polish queen Elizabeth Richeza, the wife of Wenceslaus II and Rudolf I of Bohemia. The blood of Bohemian kings also flowed in the veins of Catherine Jagiellon, wife of John III of Sweden.