Sigrid Eriksdotter of Sweden (15 October 1566 – 1633) was a Swedish princess, the legitimized daughter of King

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 of his lover, later spouse and 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 ...

Biography

Sigrid was born in

Svartsjö Castle Svartsjö is a smaller locality in Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanl ...

, Färingsö, to King Eric and Karin Månsdotter before their marriage, but was from the beginning treated as if she was legitimate. She was taken care of by Johanna (Jeanne) de Herboville, the wife of a French noble

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

immigrant.Sture Arnell (in Swedish): Karin Månsdotter, Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1951. ISBN Eric XIV married Karin

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse ...

in 1567, and officially in 1568, when she was ennobled and crowned queen under the name Katarina Magnusdotter. Sigrid was present at her mother's wedding and at her coronation, together with her brother

Gustav Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media *Primeval (film), ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film *Gustav (film series), ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hu ...

. The wedding was unique; never before had the children of the couple been present at a royal wedding. The presence of the children was a way to demonstrate their new status: both of them were officially confirmed as legitimate, and Sigrid and her brother were given all the privileges of a royal princess and prince. In 1568, her father was deposed, and his family, including Sigrid was imprisoned with him. Sigrid was periodically allowed to live outside of the house arrest of her parents, in the care of Herboville and queen dowager Catherine Stenbock. She was removed from her father in 1573 and taken to

Turku castle Turku Castle ( fi, Turun linna, sv, Åbo slott) is a medieval building in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

with her mother. In 1575, she was separated from her brother, who was removed from her mother's custody. In 1577, her father died, and Sigrid and her mother were freed and allowed to settle in Liuksiala Manor in Finland. Her position after the deposition of her father was somewhat unclear, but she did not have the full position of a royal princess: in the painting attributed to her, she is called : "''Fröken Sigrid Vasa, Konung Eriks äkta dotter''" (in English: "''Miss Sigrid Vasa, legitimate daughter of King Eric''") not "Princess". The title of "Miss" was only used by noblewomen until the 19th century. Nevertheless, she had a good relationship with her paternal family. She was made

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom ...

to her cousin

Princess Anna of Sweden Anna Vasa of Sweden (also Anne, pl, Anna Wazówna; 17 May 1568 – 26 February 1625) was a Polish and Swedish princess, starosta of Brodnica and Golub. She was the youngest child of King John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon. She was ...

in 1582, and traveled with her to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, where she was present at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

of 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 1587. Soon after this, she met with her brother Gustav again in Poland. No other meeting between the siblings after this is mentioned. In 1587, Sigrid was granted the fief of her mother's residence Liuksiala Manor, as well as the right to inherit it. It is unclear whether this meant that Liuksiala was now the property of Sigrid rather than Karin, but Sigrid was after this given her own income from the estate. Sigrid had a close relationship with her mother, and often visited her in Finland. It is unclear how long Sigrid remained at the court of Anna, but in 1596, she was again living in Finland, and at her wedding in 1597, she was given permission from Anna to marry, indicating that she was still formally a lady-in-waiting at that time. In 1599, Sigrid followed her spouse in exile to Riga, where he fled from Charles IX as a known loyalist of king Sigismund. She returned to Finland as a widow in 1603. After her second marriage in 1609, Sigrid lived at the Swedish court, where her husband had a position. It is confirmed that she occasionally had conflicts with Charles IX regarding financial matters, and that the king at such occasions called her a "bastard", but there is nothing to indicate that she was in any way disregarded at court.

Family

Sigrid married two noblemen. In 1597, she married nobleman Henrik Klasson Tott (died 1603). Children with Henrik Klasson Tott *

Åke Henriksson Tott Åke Henriksson Tott (or Achatius Tott; 1598–1640) was a Finnish soldier and politician. His estates included Ekolsund in Sweden, Sjundeby in Finland, Polchow in Swedish Pomerania and Lihula in Swedish Livonia. He was born in Lohja to Pri ...

(1598–1640) * Anna Henriksdotter Tott, died as a child * Erik Henriksson Tott (died 1621) On 10 September 1609, she married the county chief and royal council judge Nils

Nilsson Nilsson is a Swedish surname and the fourth most common surname in Sweden. The name is a patronymic meaning "Nils's son". Nils was a very common name, especially in 19th century Sweden. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 89.8% of all known be ...

. Their wedding was held at Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm.

Notes

References

* Lars-Olof Larsson (in Swedish): ''Arvet efter Gustav Vasa'' (The Inheritance of Gustav Vasa) * Wilhelmina Stålberg (in Swedish): ''Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor'' (Notes on Swedish women) * Nordisk familjebok (1876–1926) * Sture Arnell: ''Karin Månsdotter'', Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1951. ISBN. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigrid Of Sweden, Princess 1566 births 1633 deaths Sigrid 1568 House of Vasa Swedish ladies-in-waiting 16th-century Swedish people Royal reburials Daughters of kings