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Karl Knutsson was born in 1409, the son of Knut (Tordsson) Bonde, knight and member of the privy council (riksråd), and died in 1470. His first marriage, in 1428, to Birgitta Turesdotter (Bielke) (died 1436) gave him the daughter Kristina. His second marriage, in 1438, to Katarina Karlsdotter (Gumsehuvud) (died in 1450) produced his second daughter Magdalena, who married Ivar Tott. He also had two children by his mistress Kristina Abrahamsdotter, Anna and Karl.

In 1434 he became member of the Privy Council of Sweden and in October of the same year he assumed one of its most senior offices, Lord High Constable of Sweden , or Riksmarsk. Due to the growing dissatsifaction over king Eric of Pomerania among the Swedish nobility, Charles was in 1436 he was made Rikshövitsman , an office as Military Governor of the Realm and finally replacing the king as an elected regent from 1438 to 1440. Eric of Pomerania was forced to step down from the throne and Christopher of Bavaria, was elected king in the Sweden, Norway and Denmark. At the coronation of Christopher in September 1441, Charles was dubbed to knighthood and appointed Lord Chief Justice of Sweden , or Riksdrots. Already in October he resigned as Lord Chief Justice and became resumed his office as Lord High Constable and from 1442 he was the military governor, hövitsman, at Vyborg in Finland.

At the death of Christopher in 1448, he was elected king of Sweden on June 20 and on June 28 he was according to tradition hailed as the new monarch at Mora Stones , not far from Uppsala. His election as king of Sweden also resulted in an effort of trying to reestablish the Kalmar Union under Swedish initiative and in 1449 he was elected king of Norway and received the coronation at Trondheim on November 20.

See also: Engelbrekt