Emerentia von Düben, known as Menza, (1669-1743), was a Swedish lady-in-waiting, favourite of queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden.

Emerentia was initially employed as a chamber maid at the court of the queen, Ulrika Eleonora and was in 1690 made responsible for Princess Ulrika Eleonora. She was enobled with her brothers in 1707 and became lady-in-waiting and Baroness. She stood by Ulrika's side her entire life as her support and advisor and enjoyed great influence. Foreign diplomats often gave her large sums to influence the queen, especially before the queens marriage but she is not considered to have abuse her influence. She did, however, gather a great fortune: she received a great inheritance from the queen in 1741, and at her own death in 1743, she left a fortune of $200.000, the yearly wage of 877 chamber maids (the position in which she had started) put together.

[edit] See also

• Bertha Zück

[edit] References

• http://runeberg.org/sbh/dubeneme.html
• http://www3.lu.se/info/lum/LUM_02_99/LUM2_01_hov.html

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