Ruth Wolff's play, The Abdication, premiered at England's Bristol Old Vic Company in 1971 with Gemma Jones as the Swedish queen. It was later picked up for productions in the U.S., Italy, the Netherlands and Montreal. Although in history, Christina was met by the pope on her arrival and showered with gifts, Wolff fictionalizes the past to have the pope send Azzolino to interview Christina to determine whether she's worthy of such a meeting. This allows the playwright to use their meetings to consider the relationship between women and power in a patriarchal world.
Christina - Zwischen Thron und Liebe (1974) was originally announced with Robert Shaw and Vanessa Redgrave starring.
Christina - Zwischen Thron und Liebe (1974) was savaged by reviewers upon its initial release. As a result it was a failure at the box office that pretty much put an end to attempts to turn Liv Ullmann into an American star. It has been rarely seen since then, but the few critics who have seen it have spearheaded a re-evaluation of the picture, suggesting its treatment of history and feminist issues was ahead of its time.
Filming began in Kalmar, Sweden. The Kalmar Castle, situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, served as a location; the castle also had historical relevance, as it was the birthplace of Queen Christina. Shooting also took place in London at Pinewood Studios beginning July 1973, and, after five weeks, moved to Italy. There, exteriors were filmed at Villa Farnese outside Viterbo, and Bourbon Palace in Caserta. Since Caserta was inside the "cholera zone," actors and crew members received cholera vaccinations prior to arrival. The budget was estimated at $3.3 million, up $500,000 from a $2.8 million budget, figured two years earlier, due to "dollar devaluation," as stated in Variety.