Margaret Leijonhufvud

Biography

Early life

Margaret Leijonhuvfud was a member of one of Sweden's most powerful noble families: the early Leijonhufvud clan of Swedish nobility (the name meaning Lion's Head), being the daughter of Erik Abrahamsson Leijonhufvud, a man executed in the Stockholm bloodbath, and wife Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa, the second cousin of king Gustav.

There is very little known of her life prior to her marriage. Her father was executed when she was four years old, during which time she hid with her mother and siblings in the Västerås Monastery. She spent her childhood mainly at Lo Castle in Västergötland and Ekeberg in Närke. At that time, the contemporary educational ideal for a Swedish noblewoman was to be tutored in reading, writing, economics, and mathematics. She was expected to learn how to manage a large estate and landholding and perform the duties of her future spouse in his absence, as well as to have knowledge at least in the German language except Swedish, and to deport herself with humility but also dignity by reading religious literature. Finally, it was customary for a girl from the nobility to spend some time in a convent to complete her education, and Margaret is likely to have received this customary education.

Though there is no explicit confirmation of this, it is considered very likely for Margaret to have served as a maid-of-honour to the queen, Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg: she was fifteen years old in 1531 when the king married Catherine. Her sister Brita married the king's favorite courtier Gustav Olofsson Stenbock in the presence of the royal couple shortly after, and though no list of Queen Catherine's ladies survives, Margaret's social position, connections, age, and contemporary custom makes it extremely likely that she completed her education by serving the queen, as was the custom for girls of her position at the time.

Marriage

In 1535, the King was widowed by Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg and left with only one legitimate child and heir. A new marriage for the King was deemed necessary, and his decision to choose a spouse from among the nobility has been explained by the need to secure inner support and allies among the nobility for his rule, and because of the political and religious difficulties, along with the great cost and time, involved in negotiating a marriage with a foreign princess.

Margaret was selected to marry the king as she belonged to one of the leading noble families of the realm, creating an alliance between the king and one of the most powerful factions of the nobility; her mother was a relative of the king, and her sisters were both married to the king's favorite courtiers: Birgitta "Brita" to Gustav Olofsson Stenbock, and Anna to Axel Eriksson Bielke.

There is no confirmation about how Margaret felt about the marriage: both church law, as well as secular law, banned forced marriages, but both religious and secular custom demanded that children should obey their parents. According to the traditional tale, Margaret hid in a box when the king came to her parents' estate to propose.

Margaret married King Gustav I October 1536 in Uppsala Cathedral in a ceremony conducted by archbishop Laurentius Petri and was crowned Queen there the next day. At her wedding, her brothers Abraham and Sten were knighted, as well as her brother-in-law were named riksråd, beginning what was referred to as the period of the Kungafränderna ('The King's Relatives'), meaning the relatives he acquired through marriage with Margaret, in which her relatives were given prominent positions and influence at court as the king's closest allies, married in with the king's relatives and often present at official royal representational ceremonies. During the first years of their marriage, Margaret's mother Ebba played a dominating role in the royal court, and it was said that even the king did not dare to oppose his mother-in-law.

According to tradition, Margaret was engaged to Svante Sture when the king decided to marry her, but her family broke the engagement and her former fiancé was married to her sister, Martha Leijonhufvud, instead. A story describes how her sister's marriage came about. According to tradition, 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 reportedly asked in a rage: "What is this?!" upon which Queen Margaret swiftly answered: "My Lord Sture is asking me for the hand of my sister!" At this, the king just as swiftly answered: "Granted!"

Queen

Queen Margaret has been given a very good estimation in contemporary documents as well as in history, and referred to as intelligent and beautiful; she is described as a loyal wife who never abused her influence, as a responsible parent, a skillful manager of the royal court and household, and as a compassionate philanthropist of the poor and needing. The marriage has been described as happy, and the king was not known ever to have been unfaithful to her.

Margaret was loyally devoted to her birth family her entire life, who was greatly benefited by her royal marriage, and often successfully used her as mediator for benefits from the king. Several of her male relatives was given offices by the king, and her sisters benefited from favors granted to their spouses: her sister Anna's spouse was made the greatest landholder in Östergötland and her sister Brita's spouse the equivalent in Västergötland, while her widowed mother and maternal grandmother Anna Karlsdotter was granted personal lands and the right to the income of personal taxes from their peasantry. On a personal level, Margaret seems to have been closest to her sister Martha, who is most frequently mentioned in her correspondence, addressed as "The Dearest Sister of My Heart" and who more often than other family members successfully asked her for mediation with the king on behalf of herself, her spouse and supplicants.

As queen, she was given the responsibility of the royal household and as such the right to appoint artisans and merchants with Royal warrant of appointment.

The members of the royal household are only fragmentarily known during her tenure, but she hosted a great number of maids-of-honour, who were successively married to the king's male courtiers in order to carefully balance the power among the noble families of the realm. One of the most well-known of such marriages is that of the great heiress Ebba Lilliehöök. Among the most prominent members of her own staff was the cunning woman Birgitta Lass Andersson, a trusted favorite and confidante with medical knowledge, who was entrusted many of her private affairs and also saw to the health of herself, her sister Martha and children.

Margaret was also a landlord in her own right, and she was closely involved in the management of her personal estates and its dependents. She remained a Catholic her entire life despite the Swedish Reformation, and is known to have made donations to the still active Vadstena Abbey, following the example of her family, her mother being the benefactor of Vreta Abbey.

Death

Margaret 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. According to the chronicle of Aegidius Girs, Margaret thanked her spouse on her death bed for making her queen, regretted that she had not been worthy of it, and asked her children not to quarrel. When she died, she was deeply mourned by the king. Tradition say that an eclipse took place upon her death. She died at Tynnelsö Castle.

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 Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern

Magnus (1542–1595), Duke of Västanstång (western Östergötland) and Count of Dal (Dalsland), mentally ill

Karl (1544-1544)

Anna (1545–1610), wife of George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz

Sten (1546–1547)

Sophia (1547–1611), wife of Duke Magnus II 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