residence of his bride. Catherine's rights were protected by John III, who reminded Charles that although the King had not mentioned the estate in his will, he had asked the Princes to ensure the right of his widow to it verbally. The conflict, however, continued until 1582, when John III formally had the royal council declare a verdict in favor of Catherine in the matter and threaten Charles with the loss of his succession rights to the throne unless he respected the decision. In 1570, Catherine had a wish to marry Duke Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg, the brother-in-law of her stepdaughter Princess Sophia. These plans was however prevented by the spouse of Sophia, Magnus II of Saxe-Lauenburg. During the time of conflict between her and Duke Charles of the rights to Strömsholm, she received a proposal from a German Count Palatine, but declined the offer. During the reign of John III, she no longer had such a prominent place at court, as the King was married. Because of her royal rank, she occupied a more and more dominant role in her own birth family, and often hosted family meetings and arranged family occasions such as weddings and funerals, and continued to act as a channel between her relatives and the royal house. In 1574, a scandal took place when her brother Erik Stenbock made his legendary elopement with their cousin, Malin Sture, daughter of her famous aunt Martha Leijonhufvud. The couple were in love, but had been forbidden to marry by Martha because they were cousins. Martha had the King imprison Erik, but Catherine and Duke Charles both acted as mediators, and managed to have Erik released and have their love marriage acknowledged within a year. In 1582, she participated in the meeting between Karin Månsdotter and Queen Catherine Jagellon at Svartsjö Castle. Queen Catherine Stenbock, as well as Queen Gunilla Bielke, both acted as mediators during the conflict between the King and the Royal Council in 1589–90. During the conflict, John III suspected the Councillors of conspiring to depose him in favor of the son of Eric XIV. Catherine was informed that rumors circulated in which she was to have hosted a meeting for the Councillors at Strömsholm where they conspired to depose the King. She contacted the King and defended her against the accusations, and was never openly accused. In 1592, John III died and was succeeded by