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Helga De la BracheSwedish fraudster posing as secret royal daughter
Date of Birth: 06.09.1817
Country:  Sweden |
Content:
Helga de la Brache: The Swedish Impostor
Helga de la Brache was a Swedish fraudster who pretended to be the secret royal daughter. For several years, Helga received a royal pension after convincing authorities that she was the secret daughter of King Gustav IV and Queen Frederica of Sweden. Even though Gustav IV and Queen Frederica divorced in 1812, Helga claimed that her parents secretly remarried in a monastery in Germany, leading to her birth in Lausanne in 1820. She was later sent to be raised by Princess Sophia Albertine.
When Princess Sophia Albertine passed away, Helga was hidden in a psychiatric institution in 1892 to conceal the truth about her birth. However, she returned to her family in Baden in 1834 and lived under house arrest for some time. She then found herself back in a psychiatric institution, from which she escaped and sought refuge under the wing of a charitable foundation. Eventually, she started receiving a pension from her mother's family in Germany. Helga financially supported many loyal friends who stood by her during her years of persecution.
However, there came a point when the money stopped coming in, which was particularly devastating since she had grown accustomed to a royal lifestyle. Many people in Sweden and Finland believed her story and provided her with significant financial support. A cultured and educated woman who validated all of Helga's claims assisted the cunning and devious fraudster. Even skeptics had to admit that, theoretically, de la Brache could have been the king's daughter. This belief stemmed from the fact that all contact with the dethroned dynasty was strictly prohibited in 19th century Sweden, making it nearly impossible to obtain any factual information about royal family relations.
Discovery of the Truth
In March 1861, Carl XV personally granted Helga an annual pension of 2400 crowns and promised to help her purchase furniture for her home from the state treasury. Finally, in 1876-1877, it was proven that Helga de la Brache was actually born as Aurora Florentina Magnusson in Stockholm. Her real father, Anders Magnusson, was a common watchman, and her mother was left penniless with five children after his death in 1826. Aurora only received one year of formal education.
In her true story, there was a moment when she overheard her mother's conversation, revealing that she was an adopted daughter. Supposedly, her biological parents belonged to the nobility, with her father being Count de Geer and her mother an unmarried noblewoman. It is believed that this discovery pushed Aurora towards deception.
Life as an Impostor
In 1835, she worked as a maid for the accountant Hedman, whose family unanimously believed that Aurora could "elevate her status" with her intellect. In 1838, she started working for a wealthy 78-year-old merchant, whose daughter Henrika became so attached to Aurora that she dressed her in elegant clothing and eventually left her family for her. By 1846, both women arrived in Turku, where Aurora managed to promote her noble name, de la Brache, and mastered the art of fainting when anyone asked "uncomfortable" questions about her parents. In 1848, Aurora and Henrika lived in Örebro, and from 1857-1859, they resided in Sala, where they attempted to open a fashionable clothing store. In 1860, they arrived in Stockholm, where they began their schemes, seeking help for the "secret daughter of royal blood."
On March 2, 1877, Aurora was found guilty of impersonation and sentenced to fines. She spent several years living in a rented apartment with Henrika. Later, the women relocated to Djurgården Island. According to artist Georg von Rosen, even on her deathbed, Aurora continued to believe in her royal heritage.
