Margaret Leijonhufvud
Margareta Leijonhufvud, born Margareta Eriksdotter (January 1, 1516 - August 26, 1551) was a Swedish Queen consort, the consort of King Gustav I and the Queen of Sweden from 1536 to 1551.
Biography
Margareta Leijonhuvfud was a member of one of Sweden's most powerful noble families, daughter of Erik Abrahamsson Leijonhufvud, a man executed at Stockholm bloodbath, and Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa, (a relative of the king), and already engaged when the king decided to marry her. The engagement was broken off for the sake of the king, and her fiancé was married to her sister instead.
There is a story that describes this: The king caught his new queen and her former fiancé together alone, with the young man, Svante Sture, on his knees before the queen. The King asked in a rage:"What is this?!" and Queen Margareta then swiftly told him; " My lord Sture is asking me for the hand of my sister!" , at which the king just as swiftly answered; "Granted!", and Svante Sture was hastily married to the queen's sister Martha Leijonhufvud, a woman known to be so dominating that she was nick-named "King Martha". It does not seem that Queen Margareta and Svante Sture ever repeated anything that could be seen as improper again, and if they did, they were not discovered. The first years of their marriage, Margarets mother Ebba played a dominating role in the royal court, and it was said that even the king did not dare to opose his mother-in-law the queen's mother; her influence, however, was not political.
Queen Margareta was described as intelligent and beautiful, and the marriage was considered a happy one; her husband was not known to be unfaithful to her. She devoted her life to domestic duties and family life. She remained a Catholic her entire life, and it was painful for her to make clothes and curtains of the textiles the king confiscated from old Catholic convents, but it does not seem that she ever used any influence to promote her own beliefs in politics, in religion or otherwise. She did however, give donations to the still active Vadstena Abbey, as well as her family: her mother was also the benefactor of Vreta Abbey. Margareta often used the services of a cunning woman, the peasant-wife Brigitta Andersdotter, whom she often hired to see to the health of herself, her sister Märtha and their children, and very appreciated for her skill. She was almost constantly pregnant, which devastated her health. In August 1551, she and her children made an excursion by boat on Mälaren between Gripsholm and Västerås, and on their return, she took ill with pneumonia. When she died, she was deeply mourned by the king.
Through her eldest daughter Katarina, she is a direct-line ancestor of Queen Victoria.
Ancestors
| Abraham Kristiernsson (Leijonhufvud) | |||||||||||
| Erik Abrahamsson (Leijonhufvud) | |||||||||||
| Birgitta Månsdotter (Natt och Dag) | |||||||||||
| Margaret Leijonhufvud | |||||||||||
| Erik Karlsson (Vasa) | |||||||||||
| Ebba Eriksdotter (Vasa) | |||||||||||
| Anna Karlsdotter (Vinstorpa) | |||||||||||
Children
- John III (Johan III) (1537-1592), Duke of Finland, King of Sweden 1567-1592
- Catherine (1539-1610), wife of Edzard II, Count of East Frisia
- Cecilia (1540-1627), wife of Christoper II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern
- Magnus (1542-1595), Duke of Västanstång (western Östergötland) and Count of Dal (Dalsland), mentally ill
- Karl (1544-1544)
- Anna Maria (1545-1610), wife of George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz
- Sten (1546-1547)
- Sophia (1547-1611), wife of Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, who was nephew of Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg
- Elizabeth (1549-1597), wife of Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch
- Charles IX (Karl IX) (1550-1611), Duke of Södermanland, Närke, Värmland and northern Västergötland, Regent of Sweden 1599-1604, King of Sweden 1604-1611
References
- Herman Lindqvist (2006). Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar (History of all the queens of Sweden) (in Swedish). Norstedts Förlag. ISBN 9113015249.
- http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0021.html
- Carl Silfverstolpe: Vadstena klosters uppbörds- och utgiftsbok (The account-book of Vadstena Abbey) (Swedish)
- Wilhelmkina stålberg: Anteqningar om svenska qvinnor (Notes on Swedish women) (Swedish)