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

Eric XIV of Sweden Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of E ...

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 1558-61, and possibly informally in 1563-65. Life ...

. 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 ...

Life

Constantia Eriksdotter and her sister

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

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 in Stockholm – 27 January 1627 in Brussels), was Princess of Sweden as the daughter of King Gustav I and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, and Margravine o ...

, 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 a mistress of King Eric XIV of Sweden and then briefly queen as his wife. Early life Karin was born in Stockholm to a soldier and later prison guard n ...

. 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 ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a c ...

. The same year, she was awarded nine estates in Väne parish in Bohuslän by her cousin king

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar, N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and ...

. 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 ...

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

Skaraborg County Skaraborg County ( sv, Skaraborgs län ) 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 Älvsb ...

. A moonstone belonging to Constantia is still kept in the Undenäs church.

Issue

# Carl Frankelin (d. 1631), major, fell at

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...

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 people 17th-century Swedish people Daughters of kings