Louisa Ulrika of Prussia

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (Swedish: Lovisa Ulrika; German: Luise Ulrike) (24 July 1720 – 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771 as the consort of King Adolf Frederick. She was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III.

Louise Ulrika of Prussia was born on 24 July 1720 to King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. She was the fifth of the six daughters of the Prussian monarch. The perky princess displayed a keen interest in military affairs, unlike the king's other soldier children, and thus earned her father's affection.

On 29 August 1744, 24-year-old Louise Ulrika married her brother Frederick II of Prussia, Swedish Crown Prince Adolf Fredrik of Holstein-Gottorp, who was later elected King of Sweden in 1751. The court at Drottningholm under the clever and educated queen became famous for its splendour and French refinement by example. Nevertheless, Louise Ulrika, sometimes overbearing, had difficulty adapting to her new surroundings. In 1747, Frederick II entered into an alliance with Sweden, whereby Prussia agreed to assist Sweden in the event of a Russian threat. The lively correspondence between brother and sister, in which the King of Prussia shared his military experience, bears witness to their close relationship.

In 1751, Louisa Ulrika's husband ascended the Swedish throne and the royal couple formed a court party, which initially consisted of their close friends from the upper aristocracy as well as representatives of literature and the arts, who were attracted by the queen's passion for art. Later, the Court Party was joined by officers and officials who had left the old parties in the hope of personal privilege. The Court Party was different from the Hat and Cap Parties: it was not affiliated to any of the estates and did not put forward any political or economic program. Its idea was to fundamentally oppose the parliamentary constitution and strengthen royal power.

At the Riksdag of 1751-1752, the Court Party achieved certain privileges for the monarch, without making any drastic changes to the power system. The conflict between the court party and the hat party that dominated parliament continued to escalate. The climax came in 1756, when a coup d'état organised by close friends of Queen Louise Ulrika was averted. The conspirators were exposed in time and several members of the court party were sentenced to death or forced into exile. Parliament issued a stern warning to the queen.

At the insistence of her brother Frederick II, Louisa Ulrika returned to her homeland of Prussia after 28 years in Sweden following the death of her husband. Nevertheless, she was warmly welcomed as she grew older. Relations with her son Gustav III remained strained.