The Royal Seminary was founded after the so-called Hertha debate over women's rights prompted by Fredrika Bremer's 1856 novel Hertha. At the time, Swedish women were considered incompetent wards of their husbands, fathers, or brothers under the Civil Code of 1734 and could only be granted legal majority by a personal petition to the Crown. The novel argued against this and supported female admission to institutions of higher education. It was ultimately successful on both counts. The Swedish Parliament permitted women to petition their local courthouses instead of the king in 1858 and finally granted legal majority to all women over the age of 25 in 1863. The call for entry to higher education was answered first by Stockholm's 1859 . Subsidized by influential men, the course provided free lectures and private recitations for elective classes covering religion, natural science, mathematics, history, grammar, literature, French, personal hygiene, and drawing. When this proved hugely popular, it was expanded into a full normal school. The Royal Seminary for the Training of Female Teachers was inaugurated on 1 October 1861 and was likewise free. In addition to the subjects provided by its predecessor, it offered courses in German, English, geography, natural philosophy, and pedagogy. The first head of the institution was Hilda Elfving, the governess of the royal princess Louise. It was organized along new lines by Jane Miller Thengberg in 1864, which made it the focus of study trips from other schools nationwide. The foremost purpose of the seminary was the training of female teachers for public elementary schools and girls' schools. The study period was three years with a voluntary additional year. In 1873, the other Swedish universities were opened to women, but female students were initially rare. During the 1880s, the Royal Seminary was still described as the foremost center for female higher education. It became increasingly obsolete as women gained greater access to other institutions, however, and was finally closed in 1943.
Royal Normal School for Girls
The Royal Normal School for Girls opened in 1 October 1864, acting as a feeder programme and training ground for the Royal Seminary. The headmaster of the Royal Seminary acted as its principal, but it also had its own head teacher, who was always to be a female. Both of them were under the supervision of a directory of the state. It was the first public girls' school in the country, admitting girls with at least 4 years of elementary education. The levels were six. The Normal School was to act as a role model for all the girls' schools in Sweden and advertise the latest innovations and recommendations of state policy. The system of the school was what was to be referred to as the "normal school type", and the "8th classes girls' school", as it was called, became the customary definition to whether a girls' school could be called a proper secondary educationschool for girls or not. Although it was not free, scholarships permitted fifteen free pupils and five reduced-fee pupils each term.
