1. Queen Gunilla is acknowledged to have acted as the political adviser to John III and to have influenced his religious policies in favour of Protestantism.
25 Facts About Gunilla Bielke
1. 2.
Gunilla Bielke was the daughter of a cousin of John III, the former governor of Ostergotland Johan Axelsson Bielke, and Margareta Axelsdotter Posse.
3.
In 1582, Gunilla Bielke was appointed as maid of honour to the Queen, Catherine Jagellon.
4.
About half a year after the death of his first queen in 1583, John III chose Gunilla Bielke to be his next consort, after first having considered Sigrid Brahe.
5.
Gunilla Bielke is described by her contemporaries as a beautiful blonde, though the portraits preserved by her are considered to be too stylistic to give a true image of her appearance.
6.
Similar to the mother and stepmother of John III, Margareta Leijonhufvud and Katarina Stenbock, Gunilla Bielke was already engaged when the King decided to marry her.
7.
Gunilla Bielke was engaged to the noble Per Jonsson Liljesparre, and initially refused the king's proposal on her own initiative.
8.
Gunilla Bielke's family forced her to agree, retract her refusal, and consent to the marriage.
9.
Gunilla Bielke's engagement was broken, and her wedding to the king was arranged.
10.
Gunilla Bielke was given a very large allowance and is regarded as one of the richest of the queens of Sweden.
11.
Gunilla Bielke is credited with having influenced his policy regarding religion in favour of Protestantism, similar to the way his first spouse, Catherine Jagiellon, had influenced him in favour of Catholicism.
12.
Gunilla Bielke accompanied John III to the council in Reval in Swedish Estonia in 1589, where the monarch came into conflict with the councillors of the noble parliamentary estate.
13.
Gunilla Bielke acted as a mediator between the monarch and the deposed councillors during the conflict.
14.
Gunilla Bielke successfully made recommendations for supplicants to John III; even the siblings of her spouse relented in their opposition to Gunilla Bielke and asked her to speak to the king on their behalf.
15.
The political influence of Queen Gunilla Bielke was not without controversy.
16.
Rather, it has been regarded in a more negative light than the equally large influence of her predecessor; Gunilla Bielke was a member of the nobility, and she was accused of using her influence to benefit her relatives.
17.
In 1590, John III left instructions for Queen Gunilla Bielke to serve as regent, should his son with her succeed to the throne while being still a minor.
18.
Gunilla Bielke was succeeded by his son in his first marriage, King Sigismund, the stepson of Gunilla, who was in Poland at the time of his father's death.
19.
Queen Dowager Gunilla Bielke refused to leave the Royal Castle in Stockholm before the arrival of Sigismund to Sweden, eager to have the support of Sigismund in protecting the large inheritance she had been given in the will of her late spouse against her former brother-in-law Duke Charles.
20.
Duke Charles, who had been received constant reports of the king's health during his illness, claimed that Gunilla Bielke had concealed the death of the late monarch for days while stealing from the Royal Castle's belongings.
21.
Queen Anna accused Gunilla Bielke of having deprived the royal castle of most of its belongings, making it uncomfortable and bare, and the two queens clashed for religious reasons.
22.
Gunilla Bielke retired to Braborg Castle in the Duchy of her son, Ostergotland, where she resided until her death.
23.
Gunilla Bielke was given an unusually generous allowance and lands in the will of her spouse, as well as sole and complete custody of her son, and thereby of his duchy.
24.
In 1597, aged only 29, Queen Dowager Gunilla Bielke died of a fever and was interred in Uppsala Cathedral.
25.
Gunilla Bielke is the main character in the 1983 novel Stackars lilla drottning - Historisk roman om Gunilla Bielke, Johan III:s unga gemal by Anna Sparre.