Elsa Elisabeth Brahe

Elsa Elisabeth Brahe (29 January 1632 – 24 February 1689), was a Swedish countess and duchess, married to Adolph John I, Count Palatine of Kleeburg, Duke of Stegeborg, the brother of king Charles X of Sweden.

This marriage was said to have been arranged partially to eradicate the potentially difficult that could otherwise disturb the power balance among the noble fractions at court caused by the highly controversial love match between her relative Margareta Brahe and her brother-in-law Johan Oxenstierna.

At the Swedish court, Elsa Elisabeth became involved in a dispute of rank with her sister-in-law, Countess Palatine Maria Eufrosyne of Zweibrücken, already on the year of her marriage.

At Stegeborg, the Ducal couple held a grand representational court life in order to secure support among the nobility for Adolph John's political ambition.

After the great reduction of Charles XI in 1682-86, the ducal couple was no longer able to host a representational social life in accordance with their rank, and reacted by isolating themselves entirely from the outside world.