The Sture murders in Uppsala, Sweden, of 24 May 1567, were the murders of five incarcerated Swedish nobles by Erik XIV of Sweden, who at that time was in a state of serious mental disorder, and his guards. The nobles, among them three members of the influential Sture family, had been charged with conspiracy against the king and some were previously sentenced to death. Erik's old tutor, who did not belong to this group, was also killed when he tried to calm the king after the initial murders.
Uppsala Castle, site of the Sture Murders
Svartsjö Castle
Svante Sture
Erik XIV of Sweden
Eric XIV was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was captured in a rebellion led by his brother John in 1568 and formally deposed 26 January 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Estonia, after it placed itself under Swedish protection in 1561.
Portrait by Domenicus Verwilt, 1561
Image of King Eric on a wall of Stockholm Palace
Eric's sarcophagus in Västerås Cathedral
Karin Månsdotter as drawn by her husband