Ulvhild
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Queen Ulvhild, also mentioned with name Ulvhild Haakonardottir and Ulfhild Håkansdotter, was queen consort of Sweden. She is mentioned as a femme fatale of high-medieval Scandinavia.
Ulvhild was certainly from Norway. Legends (sagas) mention her as daughter of Norwegian magnate Haakon Finnsson, of the Thjotta family. It is amost certain that her mother was not queen Margaret Fredkulla, and the name of her mother has not been preserved to later centuries.
Young Ulvhild was firstly married to king Inge II of Sweden. They appear not to have had children. Afterwards, Ulvhild has been accused of poisoning king Inge. Already this created her reputation as dangerous woman.
After the death of king Inge, Ulvhild moved to Denmark. This was to have an asylum: she seems to have had relatives and allies in Denmark (she did not settle to Norway), whereas problems in Sweden. She is said to have married king Niels of Denmark in his old age. However, in c 1130 Ulvhild left Niels' court (if they were married at all) and returned to Sweden. It seems that no one arose any objection to her next marriage, and against legitimity of her children, and therefore it has been doubted that she actually was married with Niels. The church would not have accepted her new marriage, not any divorcing, it would have required annulment of the previous marriage if it were a marriage.
Whatever the case was, she however married thirdly Sverker I of Sweden who is said to be from modest and lowly family. The marriage was to him a means to enhance legitimacy, Ulvhild having been queen of Sweden already once. (Were Ulvhild -against all researched probability- a daughter of Margaret Fredkulla, herself daughter of king Inge I of Sweden, the marriage would have served Sverker yet better; Sverker seems not to have attempted to marry any known descendant of Sweden's earlier kings, he instead married two widows of such kings.)
After a decade or so, queen Ulvhild deceased, and Sverker married secondly Rikissa of Poland, widow of Magnus, king of Gothenland, Sverker's earlier rival and opponent.
Ulvhild had at least two surviving sons and two surviving daughters, all born of her third marriage:
- daughter, who was married to king Canute V of Denmark, Rikissa's son.
- son Jon Sverkersson, mentioned as jarl, but killed by peasants during last years of his father Sverker.
- son Karl Sverkersson, who after his father's murder held (parts of) Gothenland, was possibly called jarl and certainly held as his father's heir and dynastical successor, but ultimately succeeded to the throne of Sweden after their dynasty's rival Eric IX, as king Charles VII of Sweden.
- Ingegerd Sverkersdotter, Abbess of Vreta
If really a descendant of king Sverker I were father of Ingrid Ylva, then it is fully possible that he was also a son of Ulvhild.
