Princess and duchess. She was originally Princess of Sweden of the Vasa Dynasty, youngest daughter of King Gustav I and Queen Margaret. When her mother died in 1551 she was taken care of by relatives. She and her sisters were well prepared financially and image-wise to meet prospective husbands. In a court of her own, she took care of children her brothers had out of wedlock. One of her handmaidens eventually became queen as her half-brother King Eric XIV's wife, Queen Catherine of Sweden. In the conflict where he lost his throne in 1568, Elizabeth, a sister their step-mother Dowager Queen Catherine Stenbock of Sweden were used as pawns by her brother John. She tried to help her siblings get along with each other and corresponded with them consistently, at times also on political subjects. Especially close to her youngest brother Carl, she was even suspected of taking part in a plot against John once he had become king. Once expected to marry King Henry III of France, she accepted the proposal of Duke Christopher of Mecklenburg, recently widowed, and married him 1576. The couple lived in the city of Gadebusch. She promoted Swedish interests in Mecklenburg and had a hand in widowed brother Carl's second marriage to Princess Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1592 her husband died and since she was excluded from further income, she returned to Sweden with their only child, a daughter named Margaret Elizabeth, and she received a Swedish dowry that had not been paid, taking up residence in Norrköping. She had a very good reputation as musical, virtuous and accomplished. Elizabeth died suddenly in 1597. Her cenotaph is in Schwerin Cathedral in Germany where it had been created for her and her spouse, but in the end she was buried in her father's family grave in Upsala Cathedral.
Princess and duchess. She was originally Princess of Sweden of the Vasa Dynasty, youngest daughter of King Gustav I and Queen Margaret. When her mother died in 1551 she was taken care of by relatives. She and her sisters were well prepared financially and image-wise to meet prospective husbands. In a court of her own, she took care of children her brothers had out of wedlock. One of her handmaidens eventually became queen as her half-brother King Eric XIV's wife, Queen Catherine of Sweden. In the conflict where he lost his throne in 1568, Elizabeth, a sister their step-mother Dowager Queen Catherine Stenbock of Sweden were used as pawns by her brother John. She tried to help her siblings get along with each other and corresponded with them consistently, at times also on political subjects. Especially close to her youngest brother Carl, she was even suspected of taking part in a plot against John once he had become king. Once expected to marry King Henry III of France, she accepted the proposal of Duke Christopher of Mecklenburg, recently widowed, and married him 1576. The couple lived in the city of Gadebusch. She promoted Swedish interests in Mecklenburg and had a hand in widowed brother Carl's second marriage to Princess Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1592 her husband died and since she was excluded from further income, she returned to Sweden with their only child, a daughter named Margaret Elizabeth, and she received a Swedish dowry that had not been paid, taking up residence in Norrköping. She had a very good reputation as musical, virtuous and accomplished. Elizabeth died suddenly in 1597. Her cenotaph is in Schwerin Cathedral in Germany where it had been created for her and her spouse, but in the end she was buried in her father's family grave in Upsala Cathedral.
Bio by: Count Demitz
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