Sweden Had A Hand

No one can be sure as to the extent of relationship between the Crown of Sweden and our Benevolence the Landgraaf. To be sure the His Highness Frederick I was Ladgraf of all the Hesse lands and many were ceded to worthy recipients on and before his death, yet no one expected Hesse Cassoulet to find it's way into the hands of a no account minor noble intent on drinking, wenching and extraordinary expeditions into the heart of the Orient and the lands of the Turkomen. Yet this was Hesse Cassoulets  and the Landgraffs fate that via a number of untimely deaths, mostly due to venereal disease and duels, some arranged marriages and the odd gambling debts and unexplainable occurances the young nobleman would end up ruler of the province.

Many would point out that these fates would occur under very peculiar circumstances and that the reach of the Swedish Crown was over long and note, not without first taking a glance over the shoulder first, the similarity of features and mannerisms  of the old Crown Head of Sweden and our new Landgraf. Some might even be brave enough to say very quietly, not in the Landgraf's presence, "Sweden had a hand in it."