Lady Jane Ruthven or Lady Jean Ruthven,, of noble Scottish descent, was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Queen Christina of Sweden.
Background
Ruthven was born to the Scottish general Patrick Ruthven, 1st Earl of Forth, who was in Swedish service from 1609 to 1637, and Jane Henderson. Her father and uncle were both in Swedish service, and she kept in contact with the latter after he left Sweden.
Career
She was also the maternal niece of General John Henderson. With some exceptions, such as Ebba Sparre, lady Jane Ruthven and Louise van der Nooth, Queen Christina did not show any interest in her female courtiers, and generally mentions them only to express contempt over their femininity and portray herself as more masculine than them. The more of them that comes here the worse it is".
Ruthven, as such, belonged to a small circle of female favorites.
lieutenant is known that the English ambassador Bulstrode Whitelocke cultivated her company because of her influence at the Swedish court.