Maria Leszczyńska was the daughter of the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński. During the family’s exile in Sweden she lived for three years in Kristianstad. This explains how she learnt to speak Swedish and later, as queen of France, was able to welcome Ulla Sparre to Ver- sailles with a greeting in that language. This official portrait from the late 1720s, with its lavishly carved and gilded frame, is one of several that were sent to the Swedish court.