Princess Cecilia’s Visitation to England, 1565–1566

Abstract

In 1565, princess Cecilia, a younger sister of king Erik XIV of Sweden, travelled to England to visit Queen Elizabeth, with whom she had established a friendship. The motivations for her visit serve as a clear example of the fundamental principle of Anglo-Swedish relations during the late 1500s, which was based upon personal royal relationships, reciprocity, and gift-giving. For Cecilia, Elizabeth was the ultimate European female role model, whose royal person itself was the siren song that compelled Cecilia to visit a monarch who was already being referred to as a real life female Solomon. For her brother, King Erik, however, Cecilia played an important role in the larger context of Swedish international relations. He wanted Cecilia to keep Elizabeth on friendly terms with him as he was at war during this time with Denmark and Poland. Important to notice, however, is that, from the available records, Cecilia did not participate in political discussions: her presence was sufficient to meet Erik’s diplomatic aims. Thus, this episode in Anglo-Swedish relations must be understood as a dualistic experience—one with both prosopographical and diplomatic significance.