Catherine Stenbock
Katarina Stenbock (Torpa, Västergötland on 22 July 1535 - Strömsholm, Västmanland on 13 December 1621) was the third and last consort of King Gustav I of Sweden, and the Queen-Consort of Sweden between 1552 and 1560. She was daughter of Gustaf Olofsson Stenbock and Brita Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud, who was the sister of the King's previous consort, Margareta Leijonhufvud.
Biography
Like the previous queen, she was engaged when the king decided to marry her, but the engagement was broken so the king could have his way. It is said that she ran away and hid behind a bush in the garden when the king arrived at her parents mansion, and according to old stories, she often talked about her earlier fiancé in her sleep. The marriage was contested by the church and clergy, because of her relation to the king's former queen.
The marriage was celebrated in the city of Vadstena at great expense, at the same time as the plague swept through the country and the city of Åbo (Turku) burned down, and people claimed to see bad omens and evil signs in the sky. The day after, Katarina was crowned Queen, the parties lasted for three days. When when the court departed, the city of Vadstena burned down in a great fire, which was seen as another bad omen. The marriage was not a happy one, which was admitted by the king himself; he was even said to contemplate writing a law which would prevent any future marriage between: "Two people, of which one was young and one was old". It is said that the king heard her talking of her former fiance, Gustav Three Roses, in her sleep, during which she said : "King Gustav is very dear to me, but I will never forget the Rose". The king's health declined during the next years, and she was more a nurse than his wife for the eight years she was queen. At one point, there were signs that she was pregant, but she never had any confirmed pregnancy.
After the death of the king, she lived as a widow for 61 years; she was the first Swedish dowager queen given the title "Riksänkedrottning", which means "The Queen Dowager of the Realm". Her estates made her very wealthy as a widow. She lent money to several of the kings following her husband. She also acted as a mediator in conflicts. Her estates was within the duchy of her step-son Duke Charles, who contested her authonomy within his realm, and she had many conflicts with him. In 1581, Duke Charles contested her right to her estates, but her property was protected by King John III of Sweden. She had a good relationship with John and often lent him money. She was the first lady of the court in 1560-68, and was made god mother of king Eric's son with Karin Månsdotter (1568). At the dethronement of King Eric XIV in 1568, she was described as leaving the city of Stockholm in a boat with her stepdaughters; Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, husband of Princess Sophia, took her, his spouse and princess Elizabeth from the palace. She did have plans to remarry; in about 1570, she wanted to marry Francis, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, the brother of her stepdaughter's husband, Duke Magnus, but these plans were prevented by Magnus. Karin Hansdotter, Anna (d.1568) and Ebba Brahe were all at different times employed at her court. She was buried in Uppsala Cathedral.
References
- Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon (1906), Katarina Stenbock. [1]
- Herman Lindqvist, "Historien om Sverige".
- Herman Lindqvist (2006). Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar (Swedish). Norstedts Förlag. ISBN 9113015249.
- Lars Ericson: Johan III (John III) (Swedish)
- Lars-Olof Larsson: Gustav Vasa - Landsfader eller tyrran? (Gustav Vasa - Father of a country or a tyrrant?) (Prisma) (Swedish)
- Herman Lindvist: Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar (History of all the queens of Sweden) (Swedish) (2006)