ABSTRACT
At the Swedish court in the 1770s, the entrées and regulations aimed at creating a detailed hierarchy of visible access to members of the aristocracy were not a list of men and women particularly close to the royal family. Instead, the entrées fulfilled several functions including imitation of Versailles. In particular, they could boost the prestige of a number of men and women. However, the men and women who received this status were almost all courtiers. Increasing their prestige thus also intensified the potential respect due to the court and, therefore, the monarch himself. The court connections needed for an entrée emphasised how the king was the undisputed centre of this new political system after the 1772 coup. The handing out of entrées to a few princes furthermore aimed to augment the prestige of the court around the king.
