The legacy started by Gustav I was continued by his sons, who didn't always agree with his ways – or each other's. Owing to his shift from an elective to a hereditary monarchy, the House of Vasa ruled Sweden for more than a century.
Erik: The chosen king, reigned 1560 – 1569
Erik was the eldest son of Gustav Vasa, and his only child with his first wife Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg. He was thus first in line to the throne. He was born at Tre Kronor in 1533, and when his mother died less than two years later, his father remarried. Erik grew up with eight half-siblings. He was educated alongside his brother Johan, four years his junior, and had an aptitude for languages, mathematics and history.
In 1557, Erik was granted fiefdoms in Kalmar, Kronoberg and Öland, and he became the Duke of Kalmar. His relationship with his father became strained due to Erik's mighty ambitions to gain an influential foreign wife – he offered his hand to several royals including Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Renata of Lorraine and Anna of Saxony. Gustav needn’t have worried, however; sadly none of Erik's offers were accepted.
