Quite strangely it was, yes. The Netherlands is the country with which Sweden has had the longest uninterrupted diplomatic relations, but there were never any attempts to seal them with a marriage alliance. I'm guessing because during the 17th & 18th century the Dutch were closer allied with the Danes while Sweden often allied with France.The marriage of the future king and queen in June 1850 would have been possibly the only such Dutch-Swedish union?
Margareta Eriksdotter was the second cousin once removed of her husband, the King. Since surnames were still not used in Sweden at the time and people used patronymics instead she wasn't known by the name of Leijohufvud during her lifetime. It wasn't until the late 16th century that noble families started creating surnames based on their family crests. Being both a (somewhat) close relative of King Gustav and a member of the highest echelons of the Swedish nobility made her the perfect choice of bride. Another important reason for choosing her was that a match with a foreign princess would be both costly and the process to time consuming. The country needed a queen and the King needed a mother for his son Erik and someone to bear him more sons. Margareta became highly respected and much loved by both her husband and the Swedish people and it's believed that it was partly her skills when dealing with the troublesome aristocracy and foreign diplomats that finally secured the throne for the new dynasty. Her husband is famously said to never have been unfaithful to his wife.Margaret Leijonhufvud who was a Catholic queen was a benefactor of both Vadstena Abbey and Vreta Abbey which were still active despite the Swedish Reformation.
There wasn't that much of a difference in beliefs at the time. Although protestantism had gained a large following in the country the reformation as introduced by Gustav I was more a political movement than one based on faith. It wasn't until later, especially during his son King Johan, that the divide was made more distinct.
At time of her death Karin was one of three living Swedish Queen Dowagers one of whom was her stepmother-in-law Queen Katarina. If that sounds much she was during a few of the last years of the 16th century one of four living queens and queen dowagers.Karin's tenure as queen was very short from July 1568 to January 1569 when her husband King Eric XIV was deposed and they were both imprisoned.
Prior to her marriage Karin had been the king's mistress.
The queen dowager who died in Turku is buried at is buried in the Cathedral of Turku in Finland.
To confuse the matter even more at one time the three living queens were all named Katarina (Karin is a more informal variety of the name) and they all once met at the "Meeting of the three Queens Katarina" at Svartsjö castle in 1582.
Today she is most known because of the longstanding rumour that she was killed in a fit of rage by her husband who is to have hit her in the head with a hammer. She wasn't though.
