Helena Pedersdotter Strange (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Helene''; in Sweden also called ''Queen Elin''; c. 1200–1255) of a Danish

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

family later called

Ulfeldt The House of Ulfeldt is the name of an old and distinguished Danish-German noble family. The family was represented by several royal Danish councilors during the 15th and 16th century, when the family was among the most influential in Denmark. Hi ...

was a

Queen of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary ...

as the wife of King Canute II. Her father was the Danish

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Peder Strangesson and her mother was Ingeborg Esbernsdatter, of the noble

Hvide Hvide (English: ''Whites'') was a medieval Danish clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before the 16th century it was not used as a surname. It signified t ...

clan, a niece of Danish Archbishop

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a gr ...

. She is believed to have married the Swedish regent Canute in about 1225, though the exact year is not known. From 1222 he was the regent for the child monarch, King

Eric XI of Sweden Eric "XI" the Lisp and Lame Swedish: ''Erik Eriksson'' or ''Erik läspe och halte''; Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Eiríksson'' (1216 – 2 February 1250) was king of Sweden in 1222–29 and 1234–50. Being the last ruler of the House of Eric, he stood ...

, and took the throne himself in 1229, thereby making Helena, or Elin as she was often called in Sweden, Queen. She used the same seal as her husband on official documents, a curious fact which indicates that she may have exerted some political influence. In 1234, her husband died, and the deposed King Eric returned.

Queen Dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...

Elin remarried the

man Filip Lauresson. In 1247, she witnessed her son from her first marriage rebel against the new monarch; he failed, and was executed in 1248. Her second son was executed in 1251, and the same year, she became a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

. She died about 1255.

Children

Holmger Knutsson Holmger Knutsson (1210s – 1248) was a Swedish nobleman and a claimant to the Swedish throne during the reign of King Eric XI of Sweden. His tomb cover showed two Coats of Arms: one is known to have been used by his father, the other is that ...

, d. 1248, executed in a rebellion after the Battle of Sparrsätra of 1247. #

Filip Knutsson Filip () is a masculine given name and a surname, cognate to Philip. In Croatia, the name Filip was among the most common masculine given names in the 2000s. Notable people with the name include: ; Given name * Filip Barović (born 1990), Monten ...

, executed in 1251.

Children

Further reading