Charlotta Skjöldebrand


Charlotta Letitia Skjöldebrand née Ennes, was a Swedish court official. She served as Senior lady-in-waiting to Josefina, Queen of Sweden from 1835 to 1866.

Life

Charlotta Skjöldebrand was the daughter of businessman Pehr Ennes and Elisabet Margareta Brändström. She married count Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand in 1811. She was the mother of artist and military officer Eric Bogislaus Skjöldebrand.
In 1836, she was appointed to succeed Elisabet Charlotta Piper, as senior lady-in-waiting to Crown Princess Josefina. She kept her office after the elevation Queen Josefina in 1844 and into her widowhood in 1859.
Upon the succession of King Oscar I of Sweden in 1844, a number of reforms where introduced to subdue "the most spectacular pomp" and provocative grandeur of court life, and several courtly ceremonies, customs and rituals where abolished. Additionally, while the king allowed his mother the queen dowager to keep a full queen's household of the old standards and the use of the queen's apartments, most offices of both the king's and queen's household was left vacant for political reasons, and Charlotta Skjöldebrand was to introduce the reforms at a queen's court where the posts of married ladies-in-waiting was left vacant, leaving her without a deputy, and with only maids-of-honour to supervise.
Emil Key described her in 1864–65:
Charlotta Skjöldebrand was also active as a non-professional painter.