Kirsten Munk

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Kirsten Munk (sometimes "Christina Munk") (6 July 1598 - 19 April 1658, Boller Castle near Horsens), was a Danish noblewoman, the second (morganatic) wife of King Christian IV of Denmark and mother to twelve of his children.

[edit] Biography

Kirsten Munck was daughter of count Ludvig Munck and noblewoman Ellen Marsvin. She was the mother of twelve children, among them the famous Leonora Christine. In 1615, she was married to the king morganatically. In 1627, she was given the title Countess of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1628, she fell in love with a cavalry captain of the same age as she, Otto Ludwig von Salms, and could not hide their relationship. The king himself had a relationship with Vibeke Kruse. The king accused her of adultery, sorcery and having contact with a magician in Hamburg. In 1629, she was exiled to Jutland for adultery.