House Leijoncrona

The noble house Leijoncrona (introduced 1654, no. 591) matters on this site for one reason above all: it is the doorway by which the Vachells of Coley Park entered the Swedish nobility. The house traces back to Uppland, and its rise is closely linked to seventeenth-century court and diplomatic service.

Its best-known Coley connection is Christoffer Leijoncrona (c. 1662–1710), Sweden's resident in London (1697–1703) and later envoy to the Court of St James's (1703–1710). In London he married Françoise ("Frances") Vachell of Reading (baptised 6 August 1674, St Mary's, Reading). After his death in London on 8 April 1710, Françoise returned to Sweden with their children, and the family settled at Kråkerum in Mönsterås—firmly planting the Coley–Vachell thread on Swedish soil. 

The introduced Leijoncrona line later became extinct in the male line, but its historical importance remains outsized because it sits at the hinge-point between English gentry life around Reading and the Swedish noble genealogical world recorded at the Riddarhuset.

Further Reading:

• Svenskt biografiskt lexikon: "Leijoncrona, Christoffer".
• Riddarhuset (MINERVA): Leijoncrona (no. 591).
• Elgenstierna, Gustaf (ed.). Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor.