Family lore tells that this was the room where the young Rigborg had to serve her confinement around 1600. The room has held an almost mythical place in the castle’s history, and according to legend, it was even furnished with items and furniture from Rigborg until the 1860s, when Baroness Marie Sophie had the room cleared.
In the 1870s, the room served as Countess Camille Bille‑Brahe’s bedroom, furnished with a canopy bed, period furniture, and a telegraph for both the chambermaid and the servant. It was connected to an adjacent tower, which served as her personal chamber and dressing room. That wing formed the countess’s private section, while the baron occupied the same wing on the ground floor.
During the time of Count Jessie and Julius in the late 19th century, the room was divided. The southern part, adjacent to what is now the Klunk Room, was referred to as Rigborg’s, while the area near the tower was called the Prince Room. This designation originates from the count-couple’s relationship with Crown Prince Christian (X), who participated in several hunting events at Egeskov and stayed in these chambers during his visits. At that time, the count-couple also owned a residence on Amaliegade in Copenhagen, next to the Yellow Palace—a property historically belonging to the royal family. During that period, Jessie and Julius’s neighbors were Prince Valdemar and Princess Marie, with whom they maintained a close relationship. This illustrates the long‑standing bond between the Egeskov estate and the Danish royal family, a connection that remains even stronger today with Princess Alexandra now residing at the castle.

The tale of the young Maiden Rigborg is among the most dramatic and sorrowful in Egeskov’s history. Her fate was widely discussed in her own time and was later mentioned by, among others, H.C. Andersen. Her life story includes that she was confined to a room at Egeskov Castle from 1599 to 1604—a punishment she endured for her intimate relationship with the nobleman Frederik Rosenkrantz, outside of wedlock.
Rigborg Brockenhuus was invited to court at a young age by Christian IV, serving as a lady-in-waiting to his wife, Anna Cathrine. She joined the court in the spring of 1598 and became part of the Danish Renaissance king’s life, with all the festivities and freedoms that entailed. During that year, she had a fateful encounter with the aforementioned young Frederik.
Her fate was sealed, and fearing that her condition would become public, she fled to Funen. However, when her father, Laurids Brockenhuus—the then owner of Egeskov—learned of it, he demanded punishment for both his daughter and Frederik Rosenkrantz. The punishment was severe: Frederik was given the choice of losing his head or his honor and two fingers. He retained his life and fingers but was forced to go to war in Hungary against the Turks, where he died a few years later in 1602.
Rigborg was sentenced to life imprisonment at Egeskov. This sentence was strictly enforced until her father’s death in 1604, when her mother Karen Skram interceded with the king in hopes of a milder punishment. From that point, Rigborg’s living conditions were gradually eased and improved, and she eventually managed to regain her freedom. After her mother’s death in 1625, she lived alone at Nybøllegaard, where she became a respected woman, forming connections with figures such as Bishop Hans Mikkelsen, Ellen Marsvin, and her daughter Kirsten Munk. She died on 16 September 1641 at Nybøllegaard.
Rigborg and Frederik’s son, Holger, who had to be raised elsewhere, spent much of his life striving to regain the right to bear his father’s surname. After many years of military service, he finally succeeded in 1624 following considerable pressure from Rosenkrantz relatives. In 1628, Holger Rosenkrantz was mentioned as a colonel, but like many other young men during the Thirty Years’ War, he died young in 1634. However, the legacy of Holger and Rigborg continued, as Holger’s son was accepted into one of the richest Norwegian families, thereby becoming the progenitor of the Rosenkrantz family of the Barony of Rosendal in Norway.