Hedvig Catharina Lilje
| Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Hedvig Catharina Lillie 1695 Sweden |
| Died | 1745 Paris, France |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Other names | Hedvig Catharina Lillie |
| Occupation | noblewoman |
| Known for | Political Salon |
Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie, née Lillie (1695–1745), was a Swedish countess, notable for her salon and political activity. She was a known political figure during the party strife of the age of liberty, and used her influence in favor of the Hats Party and its ally, France. She was the grandmother of Count Axel von Fersen the Younger.
Hedvig Catharina was born to Count Axel Johan Lillie (alternative spelling Lilje or Lillje) and Agneta Wrede. In 1709, she married count Magnus Julius De la Gardie. The marriage was arranged by her mother. Her family had suffered from economic problems due to the Great Reversion of Charles XI of Sweden in the 1680s, and the marriage with Hedvig Catharina, who from a very wealthy family, saved her spouse from ruin. She hid six children, among them being the famous scientist Eva Ekeblad. Her son married Cathérine Charlotte De la Gardie, and through her youngest daughter Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie she became the grandmother of Axel von Fersen the Younger.
Her spouse was a leading member of the Hats Party, which has been said to be founded in his salon. He is said to have introduced the political salon in Sweden in his home, where she acted as his hostess. Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie has been described as an intelligent beauty, and soon became a sympathizer and leading member of the Hats Party in her own right.
She also had an cultural impact. Her salon was the center of the noble amateur theatre, which flourished in Stockholm in the 1720s- and 1730s and is estimated to have played a part in the establishment of the first Swedish language professional theater at Bollhuset in 1737. Her daughter Brita Sophia was the female lead of the theatrical society Grev De la Gardies Comoedianter (Count De la Gardie's Comedians), and when the first Swedish national theater was founded in 1737, two of the first female actors there were recruited from among the servants of the De la Gardie household.
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