Martha Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (24 December 1520 in Ödeby Lillkyrka, Ekeberg, Närke – 15 January 1584 in Stegeholm), known as Kung Märta (lit.
[1] Like her sister, Märta was almost always pregnant, giving birth to at least fifteen children in just twenty-one years, of whom ten lived to adulthood.
As the sister of the Queen and by marriage to the head of one of the most prestigious families in Sweden, Martha had a position of high status and participated in certain ceremonies in court life.
The Vasa dynasty was not regarded to have the same right to the Swedish throne as did the Sture family, which members had on several occasions had the position of regent of Sweden during the former century.
Despite this, Martha's spouse Svante and her sons Erik and Nils was appointed to serve in the Northern Seven Years' War (1563–1570).
In August 1566, Martha's son wrote to her: "I do hope to be able to defend myself with other things than letter and seal", which hinted preparations of a conspiracy.
The clothes worn by Svante, Nils and Erik Sture at the time of their deaths were kept by Martha, and are now on display in Uppsala Cathedral's northern tower.
[2] Through Catherine, Martha Leijonhufvud put forward her demands for a letter of protection against further persecution by the King; an official statement of the innocence of the murder victims; economic compensation and the arrest of the people truly responsible for the behavior of the monarch, which was regarded to be his adviser Jöran Persson.<[2] The King accepted all terms of the settlement, though he soon reinstated Persson.
After the King recovered his sanity, he demanded back the compensation given to the murder victims in a new tax to pay for his controversial wedding with the commoner Karin Månsdotter, a marriage regarded as a scandal and insult by the nobility.
[2] She had the blood bricks melted to coins with the image of the King's brothers John and Charles in Vadstena, which were used to equip the Dukes' troops, and had words spread about the atrocities of the King through her acquaintances in Europe to justify the coup, which successfully replaced Eric XIV with John III.
[4] In 1573, after ten years had passed without any change in the matter, Erik convinced Prince Charles to provide them with 200 men to help them elope.
Erik asked Malin to take a trip on the sleigh with him, and when they were seated, the prince's guards came forward and the couple departed from the estate.