Charles XI of Sweden - Under Guardian Rule

Under Guardian Rule

Charles was born in the Stockholm Palace Tre Kronor in November 1655. His father Charles X of Sweden had left Sweden in July to fight in the war against Poland. After several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659 and gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg. In mid-January 1660 he fell ill and one month later he wrote down his last will and died.

Young Charles' education was left at the care of the regents appointed by his father. His mother Queen Hedvig Eleonora was the formal regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672, but she never involved herself much in politics. During his first appearances in parliament, he talked to the government through her: he would whisper the questions he had to her, and she would ask them loud and clear. As an adolescent, Charles devoted himself to sports and exercises, and his favourite pastime bear-hunting. He appeared ignorant of the very rudiments of statecraft and almost illiterate. His main difficulties were evident signs of dyslexia, a disability that was poorly understood in those days. According to many contemporary sources, the king was considered poorly educated and therefore not qualified to conduct himself effectively in foreign affairs. Charles was dependent on his mother and advisors to interact with the foreign envoys since he had no foreign language skills apart from a little German and was ignorant of the world outside the Swedish borders.

Italian writer Lorenzo Magalotti visited Stockholm in 1674 and described Charles XI as "virtually afraid of everything, uneasy to talk to foreigners, and not daring to look anyone in the face". Other traits was a deep religious devotion: he was God-fearing, frequently prayed kneeling and attended sermons. Magalotti otherwise described the king's main pursuits as hunting, the upcoming war, and jokes.