Having successfully fought off the Danes, he returned to Stockholm and engaged in correcting the country's neglected political, financial, and economic situation.

Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government, and education emerged during this period.

[7] In addition, Charles X Gustav left command of the army and a seat on the council to his younger brother, Adolph John I, Count Palatine of Kleeburg.

On 14 February, the day after King Charles X's death, Hedwig Eleonora sent a message to the council stating that she knew that they contested the will and that she demanded that it should be respected.

[8] His mother, Queen Hedvig Eleonora, remained the formal regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672, but she was careful not to embroil herself in political conflicts.

[15] Italian writer Lorenzo Magalotti visited Stockholm in 1674 and described the teenage Charles XI as "virtually afraid of everything, uneasy to talk to foreigners, and not daring to look anyone in the face".

A remedy was attempted by chancellor Nils Brahe, who traveled to Copenhagen in the spring of 1675 to try to get the Danish princess Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark engaged to the Swedish king.

However, when news arrived of the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Fehrbellin, Danish king Christian V declared war on Sweden that September.

[3][22] Victory at the Battle of Halmstad (17 August 1676), when Charles and his commander-in-chief Simon Grundel-Helmfelt defeated a Danish division, was the king's first glimmer of good luck.

This finally happened on 4 December and Charles launched a surprise attack on the Danish forces to fight the Battle of Lund.

[3][23][24] All the Swedish commanders showed ability, but the chief glory of the day was attributed to Charles XI and his fighting spirit.

In 1679, Louis XIV of France dictated the terms of a general pacification, and Charles XI, who is said to have bitterly resented "the insufferable tutelage" of the French king, was forced at last to acquiesce to a peace that managed to leave his empire practically intact.

[citation needed] Charles devoted the rest of his life to avoiding further warfare by gaining larger independence in foreign affairs, while he also promoted economic stabilization and a reorganization of the military.

It meant that any land or object previously owned by the crown and lent or given away – including counties, baronies and lordships – could be recovered.

One of them was the former guardian and Lord Chief Justice Magnus De La Gardie, who, among many other Estates, had to return the extravagant 248-room Läckö Castle.

[31] The reduction process involved the examination of every title deed in the kingdom, including the dominions, and it resulted in a complete readjustment of the nation's finances.

Always followed by a military cortège, Charles toured the country more than other Swedish kings during this era and was famous for the speed at which he travelled, setting many records.

However, Charles also modernized the military techniques and worked to improve the skills and knowledge of the officers by sending them abroad to study.

[41] The Swedish navy suffered major defeats against Danish-Dutch forces in the Scanian War, revealing deficiencies in organization and supply, and disadvantages in basing the fleet at Stockholm.

Some assimilation policies included: the ban of all books written in Danish or Norwegian; the use of Swedish language in the conduct of sermons; and all new priests and teachers having to come from Sweden.

In the Baltic, the power structure was completely different, with a German-descended nobility that used serfs, something that Charles abhorred and wanted to abolish but was unable to.

Attending sermons on Sunday was made obligatory and ordinary people found walking during that time risked arrest.

Three years later, he declared it obligatory for all commoners to learn to read a catechism written by archbishop Olov Svebilius and then-bishop Haqvin Spegel so that they would understand the "magnificence of God".

Her personal merits and continued charitable acts throughout her tenure endeared her to the Swedish people and eased some of the difficulties brought on by her Danish background.

[48] The marriage produced seven children, of whom only three outlived Charles:[49] Ulrika Eleonora (the elder) was sickly, and the many child births eventually broke her.

He continued to perform his duties as usual, but, in February 1697, the pains became too severe for him to cope and he returned to Stockholm where the doctors discovered he had a large, hard lump in his stomach.

[51] Charles XI has sometimes been described in Sweden as the greatest of all the Swedish kings, except for Gustavus II Adolphus, unduly eclipsed by his father and his son.

[52] In the most recent book, Rystad's biography from 2003, the king is again characterized as a strong-willed shaper of Sweden through economic reforms and achievement of financial and military stability and strength.

The Swedish town of Karlskrona, built during his reign to host the primary navy base in southern Sweden, which it remains to this day, is also named after him.

[citation needed] The recognition of his sores and corpse didn't show the incorruptibility that medieval hagiographers believed to be a sign of Christian sainthood.