Israeli Professor Solves 340-Year-Old Mystery of Queen Christina's Death

An Israeli professor, Zaïd Abbasi from the Technion, has proposed a new explanation for the death of Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in 1654 and died in 1689. Abbasi, along with colleagues Rolf Bart and Luis Maximilian Bujia, suggests that the queen suffered from undiagnosed diabetes, which led to a chronic leg wound and ultimately fatal sepsis.

Christina, who ruled from 1632 to 1654, inherited the throne at age six and ruled independently from age 18. She was known for her education and intellectual pursuits but also for her controversial departure from Lutheranism and embrace of Catholicism. After abdicating, she left Sweden dressed as a man, changed her religion, and settled in Rome, where she was eventually buried in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

The new research, published in the Swedish journal Lakartidningen, analyzes historical documents, including an autopsy report from three days after her death. While the autopsy revealed few definitive causes due to decomposition, it noted a skin inflammation on her leg, diagnosed at the time as erysipelas. The researchers connect this to a chronic, non-healing wound.

Abbasi and his colleagues identified symptoms consistent with diabetes, such as excessive thirst and weight loss, which were documented in Christina's later years. They argue that in the 17th century, diabetes was not recognized as a distinct diagnosis, and its complications, like chronic wounds and infections, were poorly understood. The leg wound likely became infected, leading to sepsis, the probable cause of her death at age 62.

The investigation began with a chance conversation between Abbasi and Professor Bart at Ohio State University. Abbasi's subsequent research into historical documents, including a report found in a private Viennese archive, led to the hypothesis linking diabetes, a leg wound, and sepsis. Previous examinations of Christina's remains in 1965 confirmed her sex and revealed scoliosis but did not pinpoint the cause of death.