Vibeke Kruse was the official mistress

Mistress (lover)

A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...

 of King Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

 between 1629 and 1648 and the mother of one of his three acknowledged, illegitimate sons, Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve (1630-1658)

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve was an illegitimate child of Christian IV of Denmark and his chambermaid and mistress Vibeke Kruse....

. She was described as influential.

Biography

Not much is known of her background, but it is believed that her parents were from Germany. Kruse had been servant of King Christian's spouse, Kirsten Munk

Kirsten Munk

Kirsten Munk was a Danish noble, the second spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark, and mother to twelve of his children.- Early life and Morganatic marriage:...

. She was fired in 1628, and employed by Munk's mother, Ellen Marsvin

Ellen Marsvin

Ellen Marsvin was a Danish noble, landowner and county administrator. She was the mother-in-law of King Christian IV of Denmark as the mother of Kirsten Munk....

. In 1629, Christian was invited by Marsvin to her estate, were he met Kruse, and she became the King's mistress after his breakup with Munk the same year. It has been suggested, that Marsvin encouraged this. In 1631, she was given an allowance and the estate Bramstedt in Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

. In 1645, the French ambassador raported, that she had a great deal of influence on the King. In 1646, when the Crown Prince asked his father for money, he was told to ask her. She turned Christian against his spouse and his morganatic children.

After the King's death in 1648, Corfitz Ulfeldt

Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606-1664)

Count Corfits Ulfeldt , Danish statesman, was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. After a careful education abroad, concluding with one year under Cesare Cremonini at Padua, he returned to Denmark in 1629 and quickly won the favor of King Christian IV...

 and Munk tried to sue her. They sealed her estates, turned her and her daughter out of the royal palace and demanded an extraordinary trial, were the law could be set aside. The trial never occurred, as she died of natural causes shortly thereafter.

Kruse's enemies saw to it that she was buried unnoticed and without ceremony in a cemetery outside the city walls. In 1652 her body was moved to Kølstrup Church on the island of Funen

Funen

Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...

.

Issue

She had the following children;

• Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve
  Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve (1630-1658)
  Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve was an illegitimate child of Christian IV of Denmark and his chambermaid and mistress Vibeke Kruse....
  
  (1630–1658)
• Elisabeth Sophia Gyldenløve (1633–1654); married Major-General Klaus Ahlefeld