Original subtitles

[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]

[CHOIR SINGING]

[EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE]

Who are you?

I was king of Sweden.

AXEL: The Lord in his infinite wisdom

has seen fit to deprive us of our noble king,

Gustavus Adolphus,

while Sweden is in the midst of a grievous war.

For 14 years, our arms have served in the fields

against our enemies,

and in this dark hour, we still fight on

for the Protestant cause and for our country.

Our king is dead, but his spirit still lives in us

and in his child Christina.

Her father, our king,

brought up this child as a boy,

accustomed her ears to the sound of cannon fire

and sought to mold her spirit after his own.

Let's see the child.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Your Majesty, I swore to the king, your father,

to place this crown upon your head.

And now I swear by my life

to serve you as I served him.

[ALL CHEERING]

Men do not cry.

Shall I make my speech now?

Yes.

Good lords and Swedish men,

we, Christina, by the grace of God,

queen of the Swedes, the Goths, and the Vandals,

promise you to be a good and just king,

to protect you all,

and to guard the kingdom as our father did,

to rule wisely, and with God's help,

to keep the standard

as we received it from our fathers.

Concerning this war which we are bitterly waging,

we promise...

...we promise...

[SOFTLY] To wage it with courage.

We promise to win it!

I bless you all.

[ALL CHEERING]

The king is dead!

Long live the king!

ALL: Long live the king!

[DOG BARKING]

Your Majesty.

The arrival of Prince Charles

forced me to summon Your Majesty.

The Parliament is in session, waiting to act on his victories.

After 30 years of war,

Sweden now has the commanding place in Europe.

Now is the time for new, definite actions.

These I want to discuss with you.

There will be enough discussion in the Parliament.

You have reports for me to sign, My Lord Treasurer?

I have them here, Your Majesty.

Prince Charles' victory was crushing,

was it not, Chancellor?

Complete, Your Majesty.

Now would be a happy moment to announce

your betrothal to Prince Charles.

He returns a national hero.

I look forward to Prince Charles'

reception in the Parliament.

He will love it.

I have heard of the enemy's losses.

What were ours?

10,000 men, 4,000 horses, 200 cannon.

A few more victories like this,

and we'll have to hire foreigners

to fight our battles.

In the end, the enemy will pay for it.

In the meantime, it would be a good moment

to vote fresh monies for the war.

The lord treasurer will tell Your Majesty we need it.

He doesn't have to tell me.

These reports tell me.

This war is expensive.

The Parliament clamors for more war.

They clamor for a Swedish marriage for Your Majesty.

They clamor for an heir of Swedish blood.

In short, Chancellor, they clamor.

Here are your reports.

This one I keep.

Thank you, My Lords.

I shall see you in the Parliament.

Your Majesty?

Yes, Count Magnus.

It's so long since I've seen you.

I saw you yesterday.

To me, that's long since.

I'm not an idle woman, Magnus.

I have a war on my hands.

Are you going to marry the national hero?

You are petulant, Magnus,

and I have no time to soothe you.

The Parliament is waiting.

We are eager to greet our victorious cousin,

Prince Palatine Charles Gustavus.

[FANFARE PLAYING]

Welcome, my cousin.

For the great victory you have won,

Sweden is grateful.

We will not forget.

For the fatherland, Your Majesty,

and for loyalty to you and for glory,

no sacrifice is too great.

Our enemy is in retreat, and our standards

fly over the fields of their dead.

[EXCITED MURMURING]

Now, Your Majesty, would be a good time

to send fresh armies and crush these barbarians.

We want to continue

what we began in your father's reign

until every enemy soldier is disarmed.

This is not an ordinary war for treasure or conquest.

It is for our faith and for our God.

God is being invoked

in many lands these days, Your Grace.

What about the enemy's God?

When the enemy invokes God,

that is blasphemy, Your Majesty.

I wish I had your confidence, Archbishop.

We of the nobility are willing

to back our noble commander Prince Charles

- to the last man! - [INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

I thank the noble lord.

For your glory, Your Majesty,

I return to the wars with fresh courage.

[CROWD MURMURING]

You have all spoken.

You, my nobles,

you, my gallant general,

you, my archbishop,

and you, my hero cousin.

I have heard all your voices.

But what of the peasants?

You peasants have fought this war.

What have you to say?

Will you not speak, father?

What is there for us to say, Your Majesty?

Unbeknownst to us, the war is started,

and we are sent, and we go.

Well, you shall go no longer.

There are other things to live for than wars.

I've had enough of them.

We have been fighting since I was in the cradle

and many years before.

It is enough.

I shall ask the powers to meet

for a speedy and honorable peace.

There must be an end.

[CROWD MURMURING]

What, peace now, after such a victory?

MAN: No peace, Knut.

We have these heretics by the throat.

Let us have them on their knees.

Will you slaughter all of contrary faith, Archbishop?

You are too ambitious.

But, Your Majesty,

if the enemy refuses to accept our terms?

Offer them terms they will accept.

Your father, the king, must be avenged.

Not avenged, my Lord -- justified.

He must be justified.

We must have compensation for our soldiers.

- 20 million thalers. - 30 million.

I will take their last thaler.

The world rings with the fame of our armies,

and we shall win still greater glories for Sweden.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

Spoils, glory, flags, and trumpets.

What is behind these high-sounding words?

Death and destruction.

Triumphals of crippled men.

Sweden victorious in a ravaged Europe,

an island in a dead sea.

I tell you, I want no more of it.

I want for my people security and happiness.

I want to cultivate the art of peace,

the art of life.

I want peace, and peace I will have.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Oh, Your Majesty.

Every morning I come to wake you,

and every morning I find you already awake, and reading.

It's not right, Your Majesty,

to rob your sleep.

I have so little free time, Aage.

To spend it sleeping seems a waste.

[AAGE MUTTERING]

[CHUCKLES]

What a clever fellow is this, Aage.

- Who? - Molière.

Uh-huh. What is he?

Oh, he writes plays.

He makes fun here of pretentious ladies.

"As for me, Uncle, all I can I say is

that I think marriage an altogether shocking thing.

How is it possible to endure

the idea of sleeping with a man in the room?"

Is that good, Your Majesty?

CHRISTINA: [LAUGHING]

Not bad, Aage. Not bad.

They say

you are going to marry Prince Charles.

Do they?

What do you think of it?

Oh, I think it's good

for a queen to marry a hero.

CHRISTINA: Mm...

Well, what else do they say?

They say

you prefer the lord treasurer.

And what do you think of him?

I don't like him, Your Majesty.

- Why not? - The right foot.

He's too clever.

Everybody can't be simple and heroic, Aage.

Well...

...I don't like him.

[KNOCKING]

CHRISTINA: Ebba. Come in.

AAGE: Now, don't dally, Your Majesty.

You have a busy day.

Good morning, Ebba.

- What are you doing up so early? - I couldn't sleep.

That means you're either happy or unhappy. Which is it?

- Happy. - I'm glad.

And what makes you so happy?

Oh, no reason.

How wonderful to be happy for no reason.

Let's go for a sleigh ride.

I can't now.

Oh, why not?

Ambassadors, treaties, councils.

How boring.

But we'll go afterward, Ebba.

Oh, you always say that, but at the end of the day,

you're never free to go anywhere.

You're surrounded by musty old papers

and musty old men, and I can't get near you.

Today I'll dispose of them by sundown. I promise you.

And we'll go away for two or three days

- in the country. - Oh.

- Wouldn't you like that? - Oh, I'd love it.

The French ambassador, Monsieur Chanut,

is waiting in the council chamber.

CHRISTINA: There, they begin.

Countess, you're dismissed.

Run along.

I have good news for you, Monsieur Chanut.

Your countryman, the philosopher Descartes, is coming here.

CHANUT: What happier destiny for a Frenchman

than to come to you, Madame?

You are the only ambassador, Monsieur Chanut,

who doesn't treat me like an institution.

I must confess it's very agreeable.

That is charming of you, Madame.

But the arrival of the Spanish ambassador

makes it especially urgent

that you sign the treaty with France now.

Do not fear, Monsieur Chanut.

The Spaniard's arrival cannot disturb

the natural harmony between Sweden and France.

But the strained relations, Madame,

between my government and Spain.

They can never affect ours, Monsieur Chanut.

Madame, you are my despair.

Why?

Because you rebuff me always with such charm

that at the end of all our interviews,

I find myself always in a veritable glow...

of disappointment.

And I of anticipation.

Your Majesty, our university at Uppsala

is the oldest in Sweden, one of the oldest in Europe.

To admit professors from Spain and Italy

might corrupt the purity of our teaching.

The danger is not so much of corruption, my Lord,

as of staleness.

We need new wine in the old bottles.

AXEL: Here is the new draft

of the treaty with Cromwell, Your Majesty.

There are several important changes in it,

so if you'll read it, please, that I may know your opinion.

I'll do so, Chancellor.

Ahem.

Your Majesty, I must again speak to you

about your marriage with Prince Charles.

Oh, this eternal talk about Charles...

I cannot tell you how it wearies me.

I do not see eye to eye with Charles about anything.

He is a hero.

There are varieties of heroes.

He's a hero at fighting, and fighting bores me.

His only gift is with the sword.

The sword has made Sweden great, Your Majesty.

Yes, but do we not exalt that gift too much, Chancellor?

Ah, you cannot remake the world, Your Majesty.

Why not?

Look, Chancellor, the philosophers remake it.

The artists remake it.

The scientists remake it.

Now, why not we who wield the power?

The people follow blindly

the generals who lead them to destruction.

Will they not follow us

who lead them beyond themselves,

where there's grace and beauty, gaiety and freedom --

Europe is an armed camp, Your Majesty,

not utopia peopled with shepherds.

But, Chancellor...

Oh.

Snow again.

Eternal snow.

AXEL: Your Majesty, it is for Sweden.

It is your duty.

Why is it my duty?

My days and nights are given up to the service of the state.

I'm so cramped with duty that to be able to read a book,

I have to rise in the middle of the night.

I serve the people with all my thoughts,

with all my energy, with all my dreams,

waking and sleeping.

I do not wish to marry, and they cannot force me.

You must give Sweden an heir.

Not by Charles, Chancellor.

You are Sweden's queen.

You are your father's daughter.

Must we live for the dead?

For the great dead...

...yes, Your Majesty.

Snow is like a wide sea.

One could go out and be lost in it...

...and forget the world and oneself.

There are rumors that Your Majesty

is planning a foreign marriage.

They are baseless.

But, Your Majesty, you cannot die an old maid.

I have no intention to, Chancellor.

I shall die a bachelor.

Hmm. Of course, Magnus.

You heard everything.

No wonder you're so well-informed.

I'm rather disappointed

you're not going to marry Charles.

I'd much rather him than another.

Charles spends all his time reviewing troops.

It doesn't become you to make fun of Charles.

He has risked his life for his country.

He, at least, is no opportunist.

You're serious today.

It isn't that, Magnus.

MAGNUS: No? What, then?

I look at you, and I look at a stranger...

a stranger whom I do not altogether like.

I grant you your preferences if you'll love me.

Love you?

I wonder now, Magnus, if I have ever loved you.

I am your destiny, Christina.

Are you?

I long to escape my destiny.

You will long to return to it.

Where is Countess Ebba?

In her chamber, Your Majesty.

JACOB: The queen is selfish.

It is simple for her. She orders, and you obey.

How long are you going on this way?

Every time we meet, you promise to tell her you love me

and that want to marry me, and you never do.

EBBA: The trouble is, the queen is so dominating.

She's interested only in her own concerns.

- She never asks me. - [STAMPS FOOT]

Oh, Your Majesty.

Leave us.

Oh, forgive me. Forgive him.

It is you I cannot forgive, Ebba.

You needn't fear my domination any longer.

Oh, Your Majesty, please.

You pretended to be interested in me and my problems.

Your sympathy, your concern...

all pretense, underneath which you resent me.

You do not understand.

Your Majesty.

The difficulty is, Ebba, that I do.

AXEL: Your Majesty.

Well, what now?

I must warn you about the impending visit

of the Spanish envoy.

Sweden is the great Protestant stronghold of Europe.

Therefore, with this Spaniard, you must be polite but reserved.

Very well. I will.

[DISTANT CHEERING]

Well, what is this?

The people know that Prince Charles

is visiting you in the palace.

They're excited about it.

They want to see their queen.

Must I smile for the masses, Chancellor?

That is not too much to do for the people.

[CROWD CHEERING]

MAN: We want Prince Charles for our king!

MAN #2: And Christina for our queen!

MAN #3: Long live Charles Gustavus!

MAN #4: Long live Prince Charles!

MAN #5: Sweden for the Swedes!

MAN #6: Prince Charles for our king!

This is what comes, Chancellor,

from feeding the people a false hope.

- Aage... - Your Majesty?

My riding coat. We'll go out in the snow.

To hunt, Your Majesty?

At least not to be hunted.

[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]

[CARRIAGE APPROACHING]

[ALL SPEAKING SPANISH]

Foreigners.

Spaniards.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

[LAUGHING]

You find this amusing, do you? Where's that fool of a coachman?

It's not his fault. The ditch is full of soft snow.

It often happens like that here.

What a country.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

Aage, get the robe there, put it under the wheel.

Tell the coachman to take off his robe

and put it under the other wheel.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

Have you Spaniards no brains?

CHRISTINA: Now all together, with a big heave.

Aage, hold the horses.

Now all together, push.

[MEN YELLING IN SPANISH]

That's splendid.

How far is it to the nearest inn?

Two leagues.

You can be there by nightfall.

That is, unless you fall into another ditch.

Give the boy a thaler, Pedro.

Ha. Ha.

[CARRIAGE DEPARTING]

[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

CHRISTINA: Where's the landlord?

- There he is. - LANDLORD: Coming. Coming.

What can I do for you, young man?

Supper, room and bed.

I have only one room vacant, and that's the best one.

That's for people of quality.

It costs 3 thaler.

Give him 10, Aage.

LANDLORD: Thank you, milord!

This way, Your Lordship. This way.

LANDLORD: Yes, milord. Right up at the head of the stairs.

Just a few steps.

The best room in the house, it is, too, milord.

Here we are.

Right here, milord.

I hope this place serves your purpose, milord.

Hmm. Looks adequate, but lonesome.

Well, that's soon remedied...

a fine young man like Your Lordship.

It is a cold night to be alone, that's certain.

I could find Your Lordship some good company

if you're in the mood.

A thorough host, aren't you?

Thank you, milord.

Ah, a fascinating profession, to run an inn.

You sit still, and the world comes to you.

Yes, milord. Will you sup here?

I'll have a fire for you presently.

I will sup below.

Yes, milord.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS, LAUGHTER]

- MAN: No rooms? - [MAN SPEAKING SPANISH]

WOMAN: No. No rooms.

- We must have rooms. - There are no more rooms.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

We must have your best room.

My master's a great noble.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

PEDRO: In fact, you may never again

have a guest of his quality.

MAN: Someone --

Pedro, Pedro, El dinero, habla.

- You'll be well-paid. - You shall have 15 thalers.

LANDLORD: What is it? What does the gentleman want?

Accommodations for the night.

Why, only now,

this gentleman has taken our last room,

the best one.

[MEN SPEAKING SPANISH]

Sir, I owe you an apology.

I crave your forgiveness for my mistake.

There is no need, sir.

I took pleasure in earning that thaler.

I keep it for good luck.

I'm really mortified, sir.

Of course, sir.

It was the fault of my old coat.

I hope, sir, that you'll permit me

a less superficial acquaintance with you.

Will you favor me with your company at supper?

Gladly, if I may be your host.

- No, no, no. Pedro, aquí. - [PEDRO SPEAKS SPANISH]

It must be my privilege to entertain you.

Besides, you come from a country that's close to my heart.

- You know Spain? - Somewhat.

I should like news of your countrymen.

My countrymen?

Yes. I should like news of Velázquez.

Has he painted any new works recently?

And what of Calderón? He writes plays so quickly,

there must be new ones since last I heard.

When were you last in Spain?

I've never been there. Only in my thoughts.

How wonderful.

Well, you're a find, indeed.

Landlord, come here.

This gentleman will sup with me. See that you do your best.

And bring something to drink at once.

Yes, milord. Right away, milord.

You don't know what this means to me.

Have you ever traveled?

Have you ever been far from home?

Have you ever been [CHUCKLES] homesick?

I've never been out of Sweden.

Oh, then you don't know what it is to be homesick.

You don't know what it means to feel that sense of loss,

the pain of nostalgia.

One can feel nostalgia for places one has never seen.

Yes, that's quite true.

Young man, that's the second time

- I've underestimated you. - Mm.

LANDLORD: Milords.

The foreigner, he promised 15 thalers for a bed.

When did I ever let slip 15 thalers?

- To the kitchen. - Ooh!

Imagine, in this ice cap, finding someone who knows Spain.

You understand I admire your country.

It's rugged and strong and impressive.

It has all the virile qualities.

And from all your northern vastness here,

the Viking spirit has dominated Europe.

But what do the Vikings talk about in the evenings

when they come home from war and hunting?

Do they know the arts of living?

You find us uncouth?

[LAUGHS] Look at these people.

MAN: This is my lager.

[BOISTEROUS LAUGHTER]

Oh, look at that.

Hey!

[WOMAN LAUGHING]

Oh.

MAN: Now she'll stay way over there.

Take that with you!

MAN #2: She's all right!

[CHUCKLES]

I'll say this for them --

They know how to enjoy themselves.

At home, our people are less hearty,

but more graceful.

It's all a question of climate.

You can't serenade a woman in a snowstorm.

All the graces in the art of love,

the elaborate approaches

that go to make the game of love amusing

can only be practiced in those countries

that quiver in the heat of the sun...

in the still, languorous nights

where every breeze caresses with amour.

Love, as we understand it,

is a technique that must be developed

in hot countries.

CHRISTINA: Hmm.

Sounds glamorous, and yet, uh...

What?

Somewhat mechanical.

Evidently, you Spaniards make too much fuss

about a simple, elemental thing like love.

We Swedes are more direct.

But that's civilization,

to disguise the elemental with the glamorous.

A great love has to be nourished, has to be --

A great love?

Don't you believe in its possibility?

In its possibility, yes, but not in its existence.

A great love, a perfect love, is an illusion.

It is the golden fable of which we all dream.

But in ordinary life, it doesn't happen.

In ordinary life, one must be content with less.

ANTONIO: [LAUGHS]

So young and yet so disillusioned.

Young man, you're cynical.

Ha ha! Not at all.

Merely realistic.

Here you are, milords.

[SLURRED] Six!

[SLURRED] Nine!

It's the truth.

I say you're a liar.

I'm in the queen's army,

and I know what I'm talking about.

- Six! - Nine!

Nine is right.

Beyond are two gentlemen.

We'll ask them.

A tankard of ale that I'm right.

- Agreed? - Agreed.

- Six! - MAN: Six is right.

- Nine! - MAN #2: Six.

MAN #3: He says nine.

Sir, do you know the court in Stockholm?

Yes, I've been there.

Well, then you can settle our wager for us.

This drunken pig, who's my friend,

maintains that the queen, God bless her,

has had six lovers this last year.

I claim that's a disloyal, libelous statement.

[ANTONIO LAUGHS]

And what do you say?

I say there've been nine.

Six, indeed.

Why, this is a very loyal fellow.

Wait a minute.

I'd like to know first

what the gentleman's opinion is worth.

Do you know anything about the matter?

Yes, I know something,

but, uh, I'm not at liberty to speak.

- Not at liberty? - Mnh-mnh.

I give you liberty.

- Let's have the truth. - Yeah, the truth.

That it is six.

If you know anything, you know it's nine.

Come, come, gentlemen. This is unfair.

Yeah, you can't bully him.

You're a liar.

- Who's a liar? - You're a liar!

Nine.

I say it's six.

[CLAMORING]

MAN: I say nine!

MAN #2: Six!

- MAN #1: Nine! - MAN #2: Six!

[CLAMORING CONTINUES]

[GUNSHOT]

MAN: It's six...

Stop fighting. I'll tell you the truth.

MAN #2: Let's have the truth.

Well, gentlemen, I have the painful duty of telling you

that you are both wrong,

sixes and the nines.

MEN: Huh?

The truth is that the queen

has had 12 lovers this past year,

a round dozen.

Long live the queen!

ALL: Long live the queen!

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

ANTONIO: [CHUCKLES]

Any lie will find believers

as long as you tell it with force enough.

Well, it was a gallant fight.

Tell me, is there any truth to all these rumors?

In Spain, we hear the queen is a bluestocking

who cares more for learning than she does for love.

Hmm. What do they say of her in Rome, I wonder.

In Constantinople and Algiers?

Probably the farther from home, the nearer the truth.

[BOTH LAUGHS]

I think you gentlemen are in good sympathy.

If I'm not too bold, I could suggest a way

by which this gentleman may be accommodated.

It would be very welcome.

Your room, sir, is the best in the house.

If Your Lordship would agree to share it with...

I'm loath to force myself upon you, sir,

but I'll tell you of Toledo and Cádiz

and the bullfights of Madrid and the dancing of Seville.

LANDLORD: The bed, as you know, is large.

You might both lie on it

and never know that you were not alone.

I feel, sir, we have much to say to each other.

We've but broached our talk

of men and countries and love and manners.

It's true I find talking to you very pleasant.

LANDLORD: What do you say, sir?

I'm prepared to talk, I'm prepared to be quiet.

Whichever you prefer. [CHUCKLES]

My sleeping manners are beyond reproach.

LANDLORD: You would be doing a great service, sir.

It's more I ask for than a bed for the night.

It's a chance to talk of home.

I'll give up my room to you gladly.

Give up? I wouldn't hear of it.

Well, the truth is, please forgive me, sir,

but since I was little, since I was a child,

I've always disliked sharing my room with anyone,

so you take the room, and I'll go elsewhere.

I wouldn't hear of it.

There isn't another free bed in the inn.

Well, I'll sit before the fire.

Am I so unpresentable?

Do my manners disgust you? Does my speech bore you?

If you find me so unbearable,

forgive me for having imposed myself on you for so long.

- Good night, sir. - Please, I'm...

Say no more about it. I shall sit before the fire all night.

Oh, no, no, I... You couldn't.

I wouldn't, uh...uh...

I...

You shall share my room with me.

Oh, thank you very much. I'll be delighted.

If you're ever in Spain, I'll return the hospitality.

LANDLORD: Would Your Lordships like to retire now?

I think so. We're both tired.

[LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]

Good night, Aage.

ANTONIO: You know, pushing through these snowdrifts

is not like strolling under the orange trees at home.

It takes muscle.

I wish you both good night, milords.

I know you'll be comfortable.

I've always had good reports on this room.

The room is well-behaved, is it, landlord?

I mean, milord, I've never had any complaints.

[LAUGHS]

Shall I help you off with your boots, sir?

Uh, no, thank you.

- What's your name? - Elsa.

You're very pretty, Elsa. Are you also good?

When I do not like a man, yes.

That's true virtue.

The basis of all morality in a sentence.

Can I get you anything, sir?

No, thank you.

The master says you're to have everything you need.

CHRISTINA: Mm.

If you should need anything,

my room is at the end of the passage.

[DOOR CLOSES]

She prefers you.

You have the better chance.

I give her up gladly,

if you're interested.

[CHUCKLES] Nope. I'm not interested.

[CHUCKLES]

Well, uh, don't you think

since we're going to share the same bed,

we should be introduced?

I am Don Antonio Jose Miguel de la Prada, Count Pimentelli.

Knight of the Holy Roman Empire,

envoy extraordinary from His Majesty, Philip,

king of Spain, Aragon, and Castile.

I am Count Dohna.

You must visit Spain.

I hope to.

You shall stay with me.

As a matter of fact, you may find

our way of life very artificial.

We make a fine art of leisure.

Although we're ambitious as you are

to dominate Europe...

...we're not so intense about it.

We like to, uh...

We...

We mix our ambitions with other things.

Other...

Which side do you sleep on, your right or your left?

I don't know. I never thought of it.

ANTONIO: Well, a man, uh...

They say that a man should always sleep on his left side

to keep his sword arm free.

It's hereditary.

It's instinct.

Aren't you going to undress?

Yes.

[SWORD CLATTERS]

[SIGHS]

Of course.

It had to be.

I felt it.

I felt it.

A presence.

Oh, life is so gloriously improbable.

CHRISTINA: Mm.

[MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Milord?

ANTONIO: Well, what is it?

It is still snowing, milord.

ANTONIO: Good.

Well, they say we may not be able to move for three days.

Huh?

At what hour will Your Lordship get up?

ANTONIO: I shall not get up.

Huh?

Very good, milord.

Will you take chocolate?

ANTONIO: Yes. At once.

Will, uh, the other gentleman

take chocolate?

ANTONIO: Yes.

Very good, milord.

Two chocolates.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

They warmed and ripened in the Spanish sun.

My hacienda's overrun with them.

In the season of the grape harvest,

the air...smells purple.

Purple grapes.

[SNIFFS]

What are you doing?

I have been memorizing this room.

In the future, in my memory,

I shall live a great deal in this room.

You wait.

I'll show you the whole living world.

CHRISTINA: [CHUCKLES]

I have imagined happiness.

But happiness, you cannot imagine.

Happiness, you must feel.

Joy, you must feel.

Oh, and this great joy I feel now...

- Antonio... - What?

This is how the Lord must have felt

when he first beheld the finished world,

with all his creatures breathing, living.

[SIGHS]

And to think...

a few snowdrifts might have separated us forever.

CHRISTINA: Hmm.

We might have been born in different centuries.

No, I never would have permitted that.

- CHRISTINA: Oh. - Mm.

We're inevitable.

Don't you feel it?

I feel it.

But you, how can you be so sure?

You know me so little.

Mm-hmm. That's true.

There's a mystery in you.

Is there not in every human being?

Yes.

Tell me -- you said you would --

Why did you come to this inn dressed as a man?

In my home, I'm very constrained.

Everything is arranged very formally.

ANTONIO: Ah. A conventional household.

- Very. - Mm.

I like to get away from it sometimes to be free.

I can understand that.

You're going to court.

What if the queen keeps you there?

Let her try.

Hmm.

If half of the queen's reputation

is well-founded --

After you, she'll be tiresome.

Ah, to have found anyone in this wilderness

would have been miracle enough,

but to have found you.

This is too improbable.

I don't believe in you.

You're an illusion.

You'll vanish before my eyes.

CHRISTINA: [CHUCKLES]

Goodbye.

I shall live for our meeting.

I, too.

If you could travel with me to Stockholm...

Is it impossible?

Yes. I must go alone.

I loathe this separation.

As soon as I'm quit of this court business,

it won't be long.

We meet again, and then we do not separate.

You promise we meet again in Stockholm?

I promise.

Oh, what if I never see you again?

What if I curse myself for having let you go?

I promise you that we shall meet again.

[SIGHS] Goodbye.

Goodbye.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[SCOFFS]

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Ebba.

Your Majesty sent for me?

How are you, Ebba? You look so pale.

Your Majesty, since I lost your favor,

I have not slept.

I was hurt by you, Ebba, and I lost my temper.

Forgive me.

You shall marry Count Jacob.

Oh, you make me so happy, Your Majesty.

Oh, Your Majesty looks wonderful tonight.

The Spanish envoy will be dazzled.

[SIGHS] The last one was a shriveled old man.

EBBA: Oh, I hear this one is young and handsome.

Where did you hear that?

EBBA: Well, my maid met the ambassador's valet,

and she said...

she said that he said that the Spanish envoy --

AAGE: The lord treasurer attends, Your Majesty.

Is all in waiting?

We have time enough.

I wouldn't like to keep the court waiting.

You've kept them waiting for five days. Where have you been?

The whole court has been in an uproar.

- Did you go to Sala? - Perhaps.

You did not go there. We sent messengers.

Then I'm glad I did not go.

Why did you leave?

- To get away. - From me?

From all of you.

Why did you refuse to see me this afternoon?

Why? Why? So many questions.

There would be fewer questions if there were more answers.

What's happened to you?

You've never looked so lovely as you do now.

MAN: His Excellency Don Antonio de la Prada,

Count Pimentelli,

knight of the Holy Roman Empire,

envoy extraordinary

from His Most Gracious Majesty, Philip IV,

king of Spain, Aragon, and Castile.

[FANFARE PLAYING]

Welcome, Your Excellency.

Your Majesty, I have come on a special --

[CROWD MURMURING]

Your Excellency will convey to the king of Spain

our high appreciation of the honor he does us

in sending to our court a person of your quality.

AXEL: Ahem.

Your Excellency has the king's letter?

Your Majesty,

I have come on a special mission from His Majesty of Spain

on a matter of great public importance.

Will Your Majesty hear it now?

We will hear it presently

in private audience.

In the meantime, be assured of our warm consideration

to your sovereign and to you, his envoy.

I humbly thank Your Majesty.

We admire greatly the powers of your country.

Not only your skill in statecraft,

but in the sciences and in the arts.

Your Majesty is most gracious.

The repute you have for learning is known to all Europe.

We look forward to our further meeting with you.

We would like news of your men of genius,

of Velázquez and Calderón.

We will hear willingly of your cities...

Toledo and Cádiz, Madrid and Seville.

My country could have no greater tribute

than Your Majesty's curiosity.

In honoring your great men,

we elevate ourselves.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[DOOR OPENS]

The lord treasurer is waiting, Your Majesty.

I can't see him.

He says it is very urgent.

Tell him I don't want to see him.

Yes, Your Majesty.

- Well, Countess? - The queen...

The queen can't see you, Your Excellency.

You mean she won't.

She won't, Your Excellency.

I trust you are well, milord.

I am beholden to Your Lordship.

I apologize for the rigors of our winter.

I believe the snow delayed you on your way here.

A few days. It was nothing.

I hope you found suitable shelter.

Our country inns are rough.

I did very well. Thank you, Your Lordship.

The climate here, milord,

is fit only for those who are used to it.

It's not suited to foreigners.

I advise you to protect yourself against it.

You must be very careful.

Is this... Is this a threat, my Lord?

It's a warning.

A friendly warning.

[DOOR OPENS]

The queen will see Your Excellency.

Antonio.

Your Majesty.

Oh, you're angry.

I'm not angry.

I appreciate a jest, a royal jest.

However, the diversion being over,

may I conclude my mission to your unusual country?

My master, the king of Spain, has commanded me to --

Must we talk about the king of Spain?

Antonio, I feel just the same.

I don't.

I feel unlucky being the 13th.

Oh, but I was lying...terribly.

And now you don't love me anymore?

Don't despair, Your Majesty.

My master, the king of Spain, has the honor

of asking your hand in marriage.

It isn't pleasant to have betrayed one's king,

to have dishonored him in a far country.

Nevertheless, unworthy as I am,

permit me to present His Majesty, Philip...

king of Spain, Aragon, and Castile...

your royal, humble suitor.

I meant no dishonor to him or to you.

Oh!

Does he look like that? Ha ha.

I suppose he does.

I have quite a collection of royal portraits.

My suitors usually come in oil.

And I've kept them,

because I love a good painting.

[LAUGHS]

Why did you go out of your way to make me ridiculous?

All that idiotic talk of love and beauty...

it made my heart beat.

It made me dream like a fool and talk like one.

I thought you'd understand

when you saw me again, what had happened,

that it had been so enchanting to be a woman...

not a queen.

Just a woman in a man's arms.

Yes. If you'd left my heart alone.

But I fell in love with you.

I love you, Antonio.

Look.

The coin you gave me for helping you.

I've slept with it in my hand each night.

Oh. Forgive me for being a queen.

What do you want of me?

What do I want?

What?

I want back that room in the inn,

the snow that fell,

the warm fire, and the sweet hours...

...beloved one.

Christina.

MAN: Just as you say, milord.

Go out into the streets.

Talk to your fellow citizens.

Explain it to them.

We will, Your Lordship.

This is for the good of Sweden.

Yes, milord.

You understand then our purpose and our motive?

Yes, Your Lordship.

We're happy to be of service to Sweden.

I tell you, Sweden's facing the greatest danger

in her history, greater than war.

And it's a danger that hides

in the highest councils of the nation,

in the palace itself.

In the very chamber of the queen.

Nay, I do not charge the queen with disloyalty.

But she's under a spell,

the spell of Spanish witchcraft.

The Spaniard is here with a proposal from Philip of Spain.

Why doesn't she send him away?

Do you want a Spanish sovereign?

CROWD: No!

Do you want to give up the palace and faith

for which our fathers

fought and died, to go to Rome?

CROWD: No!

You're the most popular man in the kingdom.

You've only to appear in public, and the mob starts shouting.

You're the only one who can demand of the queen

that she send the Spaniard home.

You're the only one who can save Sweden from this calamity.

The council awaits Her Majesty.

MAGNUS: Her Majesty drives abroad with the Spaniard.

The business of the state may wait.

Whatever the queen does, Sweden will not suffer.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[BELLS JINGLING]

Send that Spaniard back home!

Send him away!

Down with the Spaniard!

Evidently my people, who are said to love me,

do not wish me to be happy.

Our Prince Charles, who has fought for us,

is kept apart and scorned!

The queen disports herself with a Spaniard!

I ask you Swedes -- Will you tolerate this infamy?

CROWD: No!

MAN: Then do something about it! We've --

WOMAN: The queen. Shh.

- The queen. - MAN #2: The queen.

See? She rides openly with him!

Down with the Spaniard!

[ALL CLAMORING]

[CLAMORING CONTINUES]

MAN: All right. Get on with it.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

MAN #2: Hey! Hey!

And I charge you, Magnus,

with having deliberately aroused the masses against the queen.

No. The facts speak for themselves, Chancellor.

The church will never permit such a marriage.

The queen does not contemplate such a marriage.

Then why doesn't she send the Spaniard home?

[INDISTINCT ARGUING]

[ARGUING STOPS]

I have been driving in the streets,

and I have seen disgraceful things.

How is it that we are not better policed?

In insulting our guests, they insult us.

Why is this not made clear to them?

The people resent this man, Your Majesty.

Not in his own person, but as interfering

with our hopes of your marriage to Prince Charles.

You have fed them this hope when you have known all the time

that I have no wish to gratify it.

I hold you responsible, all of you.

Your Majesty is not considering to accept King Philip's offer?

- No. - In that case,

the presence here of the Spanish envoy is superfluous.

He could go home.

Why?

Do I peer into the lives of my subjects

and dictate to them whom they shall love?

Will I serve them less if I'm happy?

What strangely foolish title is it

that calls me ruler

if in what concerns me most dearly,

I am to have no voice?

It is intolerable!

There is a freedom which is mine

and which the state cannot take away.

To the unreasonable tyranny of the mob

and to the malicious tyranny of palace intrigue,

I shall not submit!

Know this, all of you.

[CROWD CLAMORING]

General?

Your Majesty, the crowd demands to see you.

They demand entrance to the palace.

Are you pleased, Count Magnus?

GENERAL: There's no cause for alarm.

I'm not alarmed, General.

The guards are ready and waiting.

Their guns are primed.

Shall I order them to fire?

No, General.

GENERAL: I shall arrest the ringleaders?

No.

Then what shall I do, Your Majesty?

Let them in, General.

- MAN: Your Majesty! - MAN #2: You cannot do that.

But, Your Majesty...

Let them in.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

Let no one follow me.

Your Majesty must not go alone.

I am not afraid of my subjects.

[CROWD SHOUTING]

Dismiss the guards.

MAN: Right face.

Forward, march.

CHRISTINA: Open the doors.

MAN #2: Your Majesty, I --

[PLANK LIFTING]

[CROWD CLAMORING]

Well, my subjects...

this is a friendly visit.

Will not one of you speak?

No petition? No speech?

You come, then, just for a glimpse of me?

[CROWD MURMURING]

MAN: Send the Spaniard home!

MAN #2: We want to see the Spaniard!

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

[SHOUTING STOPS]

You, my good man, come here.

What do you do?

I am a blacksmith, Your Majesty.

Are you a good blacksmith?

I should be. My father was a blacksmith before me,

and his father was before him.

What if I came to your smithy

and told you I didn't like your blacksmithing?

You'd think it unreasonable, and rightly so.

My business is governing,

and I have the knack of it, as you have yours for trade,

by inheritance.

My father was a king, and his father before him.

My father died for Sweden, and I live for her.

Now, my good people,

go home to your work

and leave me to mine.

My blessing on all of you.

Long live the queen!

[ALL CHEERING]

MAN: Long live the queen!

[CHEERING CONTINUES]

MAN #2: Long live the queen!

MAN #3: Long live the queen!

Too bad, Count Magnus.

Right here.

[CLICKS TONGUE]

[BELLS JINGLING]

MAN: Here comes that Spaniard all alone!

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

MAN #2: Here he comes. He's coming.

[SHOUTING CONTINUES]

MAN #3: Kill the Spaniard!

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

Kill the Spaniard!

MAN #4: Kill him! Kill him!

Kill him!

Fortunate coincidence.

Can I be of help to Your Excellency?

You might call off your hirelings

and let me proceed to the embassy.

I don't understand Your Excellency's insinuations,

but I can take no chances

of complicating our splendid relations with Spain.

Therefore, I must insist on giving you

my personal protection and escort.

A horse.

The protection offered a prisoner, Your Excellency?

For your own safety.

Excelencia.

Excelencia. Excelencia.

You go to the embassy, Pedro.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

You hate him.

You have incited this riot against him.

MAGNUS: He is safe, Your Majesty,

which, but for my intervention, he might not have been.

I ask you to bring him here to me at once.

I should do so gladly, Your Majesty,

could I assume the risk.

Feeling is running high in the city.

There is only one safe course for Señor Antonio --

that you sign the passport for his return.

You're a jealous upstart, Magnus,

and you cannot endure that I love him.

If I am an upstart, Your Majesty, I glory in it,

for I owe my rise to your favors.

And to be jealous of Antonio

is a high form of patriotism.

This is dangerous for you, Magnus.

Do you realize how dangerous?

Put me to death.

If I die, he dies.

My orders are in good hands.

It is inevitable, Your Majesty...

he or I.

[SNAPS]

[SNAPS]

Prepare the passport for the Spanish envoy.

My Lord Ambassador,

this passport will assure you

a safe journey to the border.

Count de la Gardie...

...you are responsible for His Excellency's safety.

Permit me.

Your Excellency, you will tell your master

we're deeply sensible of the honor he has done us.

The ship Amarante awaits you

at the harbor of Helsingborg.

I wish you...

...a safe journey, my Lord.

Can I be of service to Your Excellency?

I have no recourse against you here, my Lord.

I am an ambassador on foreign soil.

But if you could do me the courtesy

to meet me on neutral ground...

That can be arranged, Your Excellency.

I shall provide convoy for you to the frontier.

Beyond the frontier, I shall be at your service

to give you my personal escort.

Thank you, my Lord.

Your Excellency.

From Her Majesty, the queen.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[FOOTSTEP APPROACHES]

Who's there?

It is I, Queen Christina.

I, Axel Oxenstierna.

What drives you here?

AXEL: I could not go to sleep.

I, too, could not sleep.

I remember when you led me,

a child, up the steps of this throne.

Your father and yourself,

you two have been my life.

And if now you fail me, I fail.

That is too great a burden you put on me.

I have grown up in a great man's shadow.

All my life, I've been a symbol.

A symbol is eternal and changeless,

an abstraction.

A human being is mortal and changeable...

...with desires and impulses...

...hopes and despairs.

I'm tired of being a symbol, Chancellor.

I long to be a human being.

This longing, I cannot suppress.

And yet you must.

You will.

His hand is upon you, the king's.

I have always listened to you with awe, Oxenstierna.

I respect no one in the kingdom as much as you.

Yet something in me cries out that this cannot be true,

that one must live for oneself.

After all, Chancellor,

one's own life is all one has.

Yes, Your Majesty, that is all one has.

Therefore, you must give it up to your duty.

Greatness demands all.

Am I great, Chancellor?

I feel so little and helpless and futile.

Yes, Your Majesty, when you are alone.

But tomorrow, when this great hall is filled

with the pride of your realm,

you will meet the occasion.

You will do your duty.

You will marry Prince Charles.

Duty. [SIGHS]

Duty.

My heritage, Your Majesty, and yours.

[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING]

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[DRUM ROLL]

[FANFARE PLAYING]

MAN: Her Majesty, the queen.

[FANFARE PLAYING]

My Lords, we are to hear

from Her Majesty's own lips today

her decision on a matter

that is near to all our hearts.

Your Majesty,

I have served your family for three generations.

My course is almost run.

Today fulfills my work.

In your great wisdom, you have put aside

all thought of a foreign alliance,

however brilliant.

We are happy that the wishes of your people

are your wishes.

Only those of Swedish blood

should sit on the throne of Sweden.

[CROWD MURMURING]

The question of the succession has long been the subject

of my earnest consideration.

I am come here today to tell you my decision.

There is among us one

who has served the state faithfully in war and peace,

one who is also related to me by blood.

I speak of the Prince Palatine Charles Gustavus.

I believe I shall be in agreement with you

in saying that above all others,

he is the man best fitted

for the government of this kingdom.

[CROWD MURMURING]

The prince has done me the honor of asking my hand in marriage.

The prince has my answer.

I have given him the reasons why I cannot accept this offer.

[CROWD MURMURING]

In the absence of an heir of my blood,

our constitution gives me the right

to nominate for your approval my successor.

I believe that no one would gratify your wishes better

than Prince Charles Gustavus.

I am resolved, therefore, here and now,

to place in your hands

my abdication from the throne of Sweden.

- CROWD: Oh! - Your abdication?

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

No! Your Majesty, no!

[SHOUTING CONTINUES]

No, Your Majesty, no.

Lord God, Madam,

what do you mean to do?

It troubles us to hear you speak

of forsaking those that love you as we do.

Can you be better than you are?

You're queen of all these countries.

And if you leave this large kingdom,

where will you find another?

Oh, continue, Good Madam,

as long as you live,

and we'll do all we can to help you bear the burden.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

I am grateful for your loyalty.

But there is a voice in our souls

which tells us what to do,

and we obey.

I have no choice.

Here are the emblems of power

which, herewith, I present to you before God and mankind.

My Lord...

...will you take the crown from my head?

No, Your Majesty, I will not do it.

I swore to your father

always to keep that crown upon your head.

I'll have no part in this,

nor, I think, is there any here that will.

[CROWD GASPS]

Colonel.

[CROWD GASPING]

And now, farewell.

I thank Almighty God

who caused me to be born of a royal stock

and raised me to be a queen

of so large and mighty a kingdom.

I thank, too, those nobles

who defended the state when I was a child,

and all of you

for the fidelity and attachment you've shown me.

Let me look at you once more.

[SOBBING]

And so, let me remember you

with love and loyalty...

...till memory is no more.

God bless you.

Farewell.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

[FANFARE PLAYING]

She'll be on the boat.

When the tide is full and the wind is with us, we'll sail.

- And she'll go with us? - Yes.

Where to?

The islands of the moon.

Where's that?

[CHUCKLES] A place I've never been.

I hope it's warmer there.

Enchanting.

What's the population?

Two.

[BOTH LAUGHS]

But first we have a little stop to make

right across the border.

To change horses?

To rid the world of an extremely annoying person.

- Count Magnus? - Yes.

I'll leave Sweden a much more amiable country.

- You wait here, Pedro. - Sí, Excelencia.

[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING]

Right over there behind that clump of woods, Your Excellency.

At your pleasure, my Lord.

Goodbye, Sweden.

Aage.

[SWORDS CLINKING]

Well, Aage, where's the carriage?

Bad news, Your Majesty.

There's been an accident.

The relief horses are lamed.

Impossible to get new ones till the morning.

Does that mean we have to spend the night here?

Yes, Your Majesty.

It'll do Your Majesty good to have a night's rest.

Oh, rest. Ugh!

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Are you ready to sail?

MAN: Yes, Your Majesty. The boat is right here.

- Captain. - Your Majesty.

I humbly greet you.

Antonio.

What has happened?

It was a duel, Your Majesty.

- Count Magnus? - Yes.

Why do you stand here like this?

Christina.

Are you in pain?

No. Not now.

Have you said goodbye to your country?

Yes. To everything but you.

Ah.

How sweet your eyes are.

Shh.

You mustn't talk.

When the wind is with us, we sail.

Yes.

Spain.

My home is on a white cliff overlooking the sea.

CHRISTINA: Mm.

You'll never leave me, will you?

No. Never.

Your Majesty.

Shh.

You must rest.

Rest.

Antonio?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Do you still want to sail, Your Majesty?

The house on the cliff.

Yes, Aage, we will sail.

I'll tell the captain.

The tide is full,

and the wind is with us.

The wind is with us.

[WHISTLE BLOWS]

MAN: All hands on deck!

Let the gangway fall.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]