grevinde Leonora Christina Ulfeldt

Born at Frederiksborg Castle on 8 July 1621, Leonora Christina was the daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk. In 1636 she married Corfitz Ulfeldt, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, and their fortunes were closely tied as his political fall led the family into exile.

In 1663, after years of conflict surrounding her husband’s alleged treason, she was handed over to the Danish authorities and imprisoned in Copenhagen’s Blue Tower. She remained there for more than two decades, and that long confinement became the basis for the work she is best known for, Jammers Minde, a vivid autobiographical account admired as a classic of Danish literature.

After her release in 1685, she lived her later years in relative quiet and died in 1698 at Maribo Monastery. Today she is remembered not only as a royal figure caught in one of Denmark’s most dramatic political scandals, but also as a writer whose resilience and sharp eye gave lasting shape to her story.