Christina Gyllenstierna Christina ( " Kristina " or " Kerstin " ) Nilsdotter of Fogelvik , Heiress of Tullgarn ( 1494 / 5 – January 1559 ) , was the wife of the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger , and after his death , leader of resistance to Christian II of Denmark . In her lifetime she was called " Lady Kristina " ( Swedish : " Fru Kristina " ) , but later was referred to as " Kristina Gyllenstierna " because of the house of nobility to which she belonged . Background . Gyllenstierna was a great - granddaughter of King Charles VIII of Sweden through her father , a younger son of Christina Karlsdotter Bonde , for whom she was named . In 1511 , she was married to Sten Svantesson partly to strengthen his political position . She was from a family of Danish origin . Her grandfather Erik Eriksen of Demstrup ( " Gyldenstjerne " ) was Danish , but became acquainted with Sweden , because the two realms were united in the Kalmar Union . When Sweden and Denmark began to fight over control of the Union , Erik allied with the Swedish claimant , Charles VIII . As reward , Charles ' s daughter , the heir of Fogelvik , was married to him and he ultimately became the High Steward of Charles ' court . Gyllenstierna ' s mother was Sigrid Eskilsdotter ( Banér ) of Venngarn , Heir of Lindholm ; so Christina was the half - sister of Cecilia Månsdotter of Eka , mother of the future king Gustav I , through her mother ' s other marriage . Her father was Niels Eriksen , Lord of Tullgarn ( also written Nils Eriksson , and surnamed " Gyllenstjerna " by later historians ) . Her family belonged to the highest Swedish nobility of this " Regency " era . During this period , Sweden was governed almost continuously by " Regents " , first for the infant son of Charles VIII , and then simply in opposition to Danish authority under the Union . Sten ' s father Svante Nilsson was Regent from 1504 – 1512 . At his death , Sten , then only 18 , became Regent . He took the name " Sture " in honor of a previous Regent . It is likely that Gyllenstierna acted as political advisor to her spouse . The couple was regarded as king and queen in all but name . In 1519 , Peder Månsson , Bishop of Västerås , expressed his surprise in a letter from Rome to the Abbess of Vadstena Abbey that Sture and she were not yet crowned . The same year , the authorities of Stockholm referred to Christina as " Our Dear Princess " . Danish invasion . In 1520 , Sven was killed in battle against Christian II of Denmark , and the Privy Council of Sweden submitted to Christian II . Gyllenstierna took command of the Swedish forces and held out stoutly at Stockholm . The peasantry of central Sweden , roused by her patriotism , flew to arms and defeated the Danish invaders at Balundsås on March 19 and were only with the utmost difficulty finally defeated at the bloody battle of Uppsala , on April 6 . Gyllenstierna was now elected " King " by ten councillors of state in Uppsala . which however never has been recognized officially . In May the Danish fleet arrived , and Stockholm was besieged by land and sea . But Gyllenstierna resisted valiantly for four months longer . She surrendered on September 7 after great starvation and suffering in the city . She took care to exact beforehand an amnesty of the most explicit and absolute character for all acts of resistance to Denmark . King Christian promised , that " Everything from the past will be forgotten " , that she would be granted the fief Tavastehus in Finland and that neither she nor her family would be punished . During all this , Anna Eriksdotter ( Bielke ) defended and commanded the city of Kalmar in the same fashion . After the defeat . On November 1 , Christian crowned himself king of Sweden and invited the nobility to great festivities to celebrate the coronation . At a grand ball , he even danced with Gyllenstierna . The festivities lasted for three days . On November 7 , Christian summoned the Swedish nobility to a meeting . Lady Christina , as well as several other influential women , were also invited . When they arrived , the doors were shut and guards set in place . Christian accused them all of deposing the pro - Danish Archbishop Gustav Trolle . He specifically accused Sten Sture as responsible for this , and directed his accusation toward Gyllenstierna . She stepped forward and stated that the king could not punish them for this , nor could he accuse her late spouse and her for having performed the deposition alone : everyone in the room had signed the bill of deposition , the removal of Archbishop Trolle had been a part of the rebellion , and Christian had pledged amnesty to everyone involved in the rebellion . " We have proof , " she added , " the document is here . " At this , the document with the signatures of everyone supporting the deposition of the Archbishop was brought forward . But Christian had found a loophole , which the Swedes had overlooked . The deposition of a bishop was also a crime against the church - heresy - and the king had no authority to pardon them for that . So he could punish them without violating his pledge . Christian then took his revenge , known as the Stockholm Bloodbath . Christina ' s brother Erik Nilsson , Lord of Tullgarn , was executed by beheading , as were many other Swedish magnates . Gyllenstierna inherited Tullgarn , little benefit as it then did her . Her husband ' s remains were exhumed and burned publicly at the stake as a heretic . Gyllenstierna was declared a great traitor and rebel , and as such King Christian called upon her and publicly asked her to choose : which did she prefer , to be burned at the stake or to be buried alive ? Confronted with this choice , she was unable to reply and fainted with horror . After this , Christian was advised to spare her life . To save her life , she ceded a large part of her property to Christian . Gyllenstierna ' s mother Sigrid was sentenced to be drowned ( the only woman condemned to death ) , but avoided execution by surrendering all her estates . Gyllenstierna , her mother , her half sister and other noble ladies of Sweden were imprisoned in the feared and infamous " Blåtårn " ( " Blue Tower " ) of Copenhagen Castle . She had the company of her two little sons in the prison . However , Danish rule in Sweden was soon overthrown by Gustav Vasa , and in 1523 the Danes themselves deposed Christian . In 1525 , the two countries made peace and Gyllenstierna was released to return to Sweden . At this time , she received a proposal of marriage from Søren Norby , Grand Admiral of Denmark , which she turned down . It was rumored that she had intended to marry Norrby as a means to gain the Swedish throne for herself and her children . Gustav Vasa interrogated her about this , but she denied it . Later life and family . In 1527 Gyllenstierna remarried , to Johan Turesson , Lord of Falun . Gustav Vasa saw her as a threat when she first returned , as she was as great a national symbol as he was . This marriage was arranged as a form of retirement for her ; she thereby promised not to involve herself further in politics . In 1527 , a rebellion broke out in Dalarna in opposition to Gustav ' s introduction of the Protestant Reformation to Sweden . The leader of the rebellion was the so - called " Daljunkern " ( " the youngster from Dalarna " ) , who claimed to be Nils Sture , the 15 - year - old elder son of Lord Sture and Gyllenstierna . Gustav defeated the rebels , and Daljunkern fled to Norway and then Germany , where he was arrested and executed by Gustav ' s order . Gustav had Gyllenstierna write a statement where she declared that Daljunkern was not her son but " To my knowledge a thief and impostor . " According to Gustav ' s official history , Nils had died a year earlier . But some modern historians think that Nils may have been Daljunkern . Gyllenstierna was briefly made responsible for the court of the royal children between the death of queen Margaret Leijonhufvud in 1551 and the king ' s marriage to queen Katarina Stenbock in 1552 . She had two sons from her first marriage : Nils and Svante Stensson Sture . From her second marriage , she had a son , Gustaf Johansson . Eric XIV made Svante Count of Vestervik and Stegeholm , and at the same time made Gustaf Count of Enköping ( later changed to county of Bogesund ) . Most of Sweden ' s highest nobility is descended from Gyllenstierna through daughters of these two counts . Her distant direct descendant , Sibylla of Saxe - Coburg - Gotha married Prince Gustav Adolf , Duke of Västerbotten , and with Sibylla ' s son , King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden , Gyllenstierna ' s blood returned to the Swedish throne .