Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden

Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden

Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, was Queen of Sweden from 1531 until her death in 1535, as the first wife of Gustav I of Sweden

Catherine was born on 24th September 1513, a daughter of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and his wife Catherine.

Catherine’s marriage to Gustav I of Sweden, was arranged purely for political reasons.

King Gustav was new to his conquered Swedish throne, and keen to marry and have heirs as soon as possible.

Negotiations to marry Dorothea of Denmark, Sophia of Mecklenburg, Anna of Pomerania and Hedwig of Poland, had all failed – Gustav was finally advised to consider the Duchy of the Saxe-Lauenburg’s – and Catherine.

Though the duchy was small and poor, it had many advantages
Its dynasty was related to many of the most powerful dynasties of Europe, which would give Gustav valuable Imperial connections through Catherine’s mother.

The duchy was Protestant, which was important for the ongoing Swedish Reformation.
It would give a valuable link to Denmark, as Catherine’s older sister Dorothea was married to Christian, the Crown Prince of Denmark.

Finally, after three years of negotiations, the marriage was approved.
In September 1531, Catherine was escorted to Sweden by the highest lords and ladies of the realm.

Their wedding was celebrated in Stockholm on Catherine’s 18th birthday, 24th September 1531.

Very little is known about Queen Catherine as a person, or her tenure as queen.

There is no information of her courtiers, although she is assumed to have brought ladies-in-waiting from Germany in addition to her Swedish ones.

Among these ladies was Margaret Leijonhufvud – King Gustav’s future second queen.

History describes Catherine as capricious, cold, melancholic and discontented
Their marriage has been described as a stormy and unhappy one.

On 13th December 1533 however, Catherine fulfilled her most important task as queen consort – by giving birth to an heir to the throne, the future King Eric XIV.

In September 1535, King Christian III of Denmark was visiting the Swedish royal court, and a ball was given in his honour.
While dancing with the Danish king, a heavily pregnant Queen Catherine tripped and fell.

The fall was bad enough to confine Catherine to her bed.
Catherine began to get worse, causing complications to her pregnancy.

21 year old Catherine died on 23rd September 1535, with her unborn child still inside her.
Catherine was buried in Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden.

At the time of Catherine’s death, King Gustav was engaged in a feud with Count Lübeck and Count Rostock.
The Counts spread the rumor that King Gustav had caused his wifes death.

The rumour was that he had murdered his queen by beating her on the head with a silver cane.

The exhumation of Catherine’s skeleton, in the 1940s, showed no sign of any such injury, and no accusations were ever made by her family.

Furthermore, King Christian III himself, confirmed Queen Catherine’s fall while he was dancing with her, in his private letters.