Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock; 22 July 1535 – 13 December 1621) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of King Gustav I.
Early life
Catherine Stenbock was born on 22 July 1535 in Torpa Castle, Sweden. She was the daughter of Riksråd Gustaf Olofsson Stenbock and Brita Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud, who was the sister of King Gustav's previous consort Margaret Leijonhufvud. She was thus the maternal niece of Queen Margaret and first cousin of the royal children of that marriage, including future kings John III of Sweden and Charles IX of Sweden. Her siblings included Ebba Stenbock.
There is little information about her prior to her marriage. It is possible that she served as maid of honor to her aunt, the Queen, but either way, she was most certainly known to the King personally: due to the marriage of her aunt, her family belonged to the relations to the King named as Kungafränderna (`The King's Relations´), who played an important role at court, and participated in the family events of the monarch, as well as he was present at the weddings and other events of her family. Her parents were both favored by the monarch. Their marriage was hosted by the King in parallel to his own first marriage in 1531, her father founded his career as a riksråd upon his loyalty to the King, and her mother was in the King's confidence: it was said that "In her [Queen Margaret's] sister Bridget... he always had much trust". In 1555, she and the royal children accompanied the King to the province of Finland, where they stayed until 1556. According to another version, Catherine did so on her own initiative.
During the rebellion of the Dukes, the King's brothers, which erupted after the controversial marriage of the King and ended in the dethronement of King Eric XIV that same year, Catherine and her stepdaughters, the Princesses Sophia and Elizabeth, were with the King in the capital. According to the official statement given by Prince John after the deposition in 1569, they were placed under guard, prevented from leaving and placed under the threat of being presented to Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia as hostages.