Euphemia of Sweden

Euphemia of Sweden
Duchess consort of Mecklenburg
Coat of arms of the Bielbo Dynasty of Sweden
Born	1317
Died	16 June 1370 (aged 52–53)
Spouse	Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg
Issue	Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg Albert of Sweden Magnus I, Duke of Mecklenburg Ingeborg, Duchess of Bavaria, Countess of Holstein-Rendsburg Anna of Mecklenburg
House	House of Bjelbo
Father	Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Mother	Ingeborg of Norway

Euphemia of Sweden (Swedish: Eufemia Eriksdotter; 1317 – 16 June 1370) was a Swedish princess, spouse of Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg, Duchess consort of Mecklenburg, heiress of Sweden and of Norway, and mother of King Albert of Sweden.

Euphemia was born in 1317 to Eric of Sweden (b. c. 1282, murdered 1318), Duke of Södermanland, second son of King Magnus I of Sweden, and Princess Ingeborg of Norway (1301 – c. 1360), the heiress and the only legitimate daughter of King Haakon V of Norway, whose hereditary Kingdom of Norway thus became the inheritance of Euphemia and her brothers.

In 1319, her infant elder brother Magnus VII of Norway (1316–1374) succeeded their maternal grandfather to the throne of Norway. That same year, Swedish nobles exiled their uncle, King Birger of Sweden, after which the infant Magnus was elected King of Sweden. Their mother Ingeborg had a seat in the guardian government as well as the position of an independent ruler of her own fiefs, and played an important part during their childhood and adolescence.

The 24 July 1321 marriage contract for Euphemia was signed in Bohus Castle in her mother's fief in Bohuslän. Her mother had plans to take control over Danish Scania, next to her duchy. The marriage was arranged with the terms that Mecklenburg, Saxony, Holstein, Rendsburg and Schleswig would assist Ingeborg in the conquest of Scania. This was approved by the council of Norway but not Sweden. When Ingeborg's forces under command of her lover Knut Porse invaded Scania in 1322–23, Mecklenburg betrayed her and the alliance was broken. Eventually, the affair of Euphemia's marriage led to a conflict between Ingeborg and the governments of Sweden and Norway, which led to the demise of Ingeborg's political position in the guardian governments. The marriage took place anyway, after a fifteen-year engagement. Euphemia did not lack influence in Sweden. She is known to have acted as the witness of seals in several documents. In 1335, when King Magnus appointed Nils Abjörnsson (Sparre av Tofta) to drots, the condition that Euphemia would act as his adviser was included in his appointment.