Constantia Eriksdotter (1560–1649) was the illegitimate daughter of

Eric XIV of Sweden Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He w ...

and

Agda Persdotter Agda Persdotter (died after 1565), also known as ''Agda i Porten'' ('Agda of the Gate'), was the official royal mistress of the future King Eric XIV of Sweden during his time as a Crown Prince in 1558–1561, and possibly informally in 1563–156 ...

. She was called "The Queen of

Tiveden Tiveden is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge in Sweden, throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers; historically a hiding place for outlaws. In historic times it, along with Tylöskog and Kolmården, formed the border b ...

Life

Constantia Eriksdotter and her sister

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

were removed from their mother's custody when she married in 1561. This was illegal, as according to the law the mother had sole custody until the children reached the age of three. They were placed first in the court of

Princess Cecilia of Sweden Cecilia of Sweden (Swedish: ''Cecilia Gustavsdotter Vasa''; 16 November 1540 – 27 January 1627), was Princess of Sweden as the daughter of King Gustav I and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, and Margravine of Baden-Rodemachern as the ...

, then that of

Princess Elizabeth of Sweden Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (also known as ''Elisabet Gustavsdotter Vasa''; 5 April 1549 – 20 November 1597), was a Swedish princess, and a duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch by marriage to Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch. Sh ...

(1564), and finally that of queen

Karin Månsdotter Karin Månsdotter (in English Catherine; 6 November 1550 – 13 September 1612) was first the Mistress (lover), mistress and then the queen consort of King Erik XIV of Sweden. Early life Karin was born in Stockholm to a soldier and later pri ...

. In 1573, she visited her deposed father in prison, and was possibly the last family member to see him alive. On 13 January 1594, she married the English nobleman Henry Frankelin, courtier to her uncle

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl (; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of ...

. The same year, she was awarded nine estates in Väne parish in

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

by her cousin king

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

. In 1595, she was further granted Bocksjö Manor in the parish of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, where she chose to reside. As a widow after 1610, she mainly lived at Odenfors gard in Linköpings kommun outside Vreta. She died at

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

and was buried together with her husband at Undenäs Old Church in Undenäs parish (''Undenäs socken'') in

Skaraborg County Skaraborg County ( ) was a Counties of Sweden, county of Sweden from 1634 until 1997. It was disestablished at the end of 1997 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus County, Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg County, Älvs ...

. A moonstone belonging to Constantia is still kept in the

Undenäs Undenäs is a locality in Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to ...

church.

Issue

Carl Frankelin Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

(d. 1631), major, fell at

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

when occupied under the Treaty of Stettin. #Johan Frankelin #Maria Catharina Frankelin (d. 1661), married to governor and nobleman Anders Koskull (1594-1676) #Elisabet Frankelin (d. 1655), married to Christian Frost (d. 1631)

References

Other Sources

*Gadd, Pia: ''Frillor, fruar och herrar - en okänd kvinnohistoria'' Falun 2009 (Swedish) *Neander Gustaf. Constantia Eriksdotter. En konungadotter i Tivedsbygden. 1941. (Swedish) *Elgenstiernas Ättartavlor II sid. 817. (Swedish) *Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon XVI sid. 421–422. (Swedish) *Wikenros,Ingemar: Constantia Eriksdotter: Kungadottern på Bocksjöholm och Odensfors. Mariestad 1992. (Swedish) *Wikenros,Ingemar: Kungadottern Constantia Eriksdotter: Ättlingar och gårdar i Undenäsbygden. Mariestad 2010. *Riddarhusets Stamtavlor på cd-rom (med kompletteringar och rättelser) (Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eriksdotter, Constantia Illegitimate children of Swedish monarchs 1560 births 1649 deaths 16th-century Swedish nobility 17th-century Swedish nobility Daughters of kings House of Vasa