After the abdication of Queen Christina

Christina abdicated on June 5, 1654, and was succeeded by her cousin Carl Gustav, in order to be able to profess Catholicism openly and learn about the arts and sciences of the Renaissance. The Jesuits sent the priest Paul Kasati to Stockholm to judge her sincerity in converting to Catholicism.

However, she did not abdicate entirely because of her conversion to Catholicism, and there was criticism at the time that she was too freewheeling and profligate She canonized 17 counts, 46 barons, and 428 low-ranking nobles over the course of 10 years, and sold or mortgaged 1,200,000 Swedish silver dollars worth of property to pay for their money. She is also clearly starting to get tired of conquering large areas of the country, but still maintaining provincial **. During the abdication ceremony at Uppsala Castle, Christina's throne markers were removed one by one; But Per Brahe, who was in charge of removing the crown, couldn't bear to do it, and she had to take it off herself.

Dressed in an ordinary taffeta robe, she gave a farewell speech in a trembling voice, thanked everyone and handed over the throne to Karl X, who was dressed in black. Per Brach once wrote: "She stood there and began to speak in a smooth and beautiful manner, and several times in the middle it was felt that her tears were about to pour out; Her Majesty's speech touched all the men and women who were sincere, and all the women present wept silently.

People are all moved with regret and anguish that Her Majesty has suspended her duties as ruler of the world before God has allowed it; And at that time, she was as beautiful as an angel! ”

Her abdication put an end to the most turbulent Vassa dynasty in Swedish history (1521-1654).

Financially, Christina remained secure after her abdication, and her income came from Norrköping, Gotland and Össel, Pomerania and other places.

In the summer of 1654, she changed into men's clothes at the border and rode across Denmark like a man. Relations between Sweden and Denmark were still tense at the time, and it was impossible for the newly abdicated Queen of Sweden to enter Denmark safely.

He arrived in Antwerp, then under Spanish control, in August. She was welcomed by a banquet hosted by locals, including Ambassador Shanyu and former Norwegian Governor General Hannibal Sehested. On 24 December 1654, she converted to Catholicism at the Chapel of the Grand Duke of Leopold in Brussels, but she did not dare to declare it publicly, fearing that the Swedish Privy Council would stop paying her for her living expenses.

Since she had not yet publicly proclaimed her new faith, the Pope and King Philip IV of Spain did not dare to openly support her. She raised a large sum of money with a loan on her own so that she and her entourage of 255 men and 247 horses could reach Italy. The Duke of Tyrol was almost bankrupt by her visit.

The Pope's correspondent, Lucas Holst, met her in Innsbruck. On November 3, 1655, after Christina converted to Catholicism at Innsbruck Castle, she wrote to Pope Alexander VII and her cousin Karl X.

Maria Eleonora often wrote to Christina, asking for permission for her and her German court to leave Griffskormo Castle. Christina knew that the Privy Council would not allow it, so she wrote back. Maria Ilionora eventually asks the two to leave Sweden together, while Christina invites her mother to Stockholm in an attempt to persuade her not to leave.

However, she fled to Denmark in 1640 with her court lady, Anna Sofia von Bülow, on a Danish ship. There they were entertained by Christian IV, but this did not make much of a good Danish impression on the demanding Maria Eleonora. She wanted to return to her native Brandenburg, so the Elector of Brandenburg demanded reparations from Sweden, and the Swedish Privy Council intended to revoke her fief and possessions.

As a young woman, Christina eventually found a way to compromise on all sides, paying for her mother's alimony out of her own pocket.

Maria Eleonora returned to Sweden in 1648, and Christina bought her mother the newly built Makalos (meaning "peerless") castle near the Stockholm Royal Palace. The ** of the castle was supposed to be extremely expensive, but Cristina never paid for it and returned the castle in 1652. Maria Eleonora died of illness in 1655, a year after Cristina abdicated.