He was the son of
riksråd Nils Pedersson of Åkerö and
Anna Hogenskild of Hedensö. In 1569 married Anna Sture (1541-1595), daughter of
Svante Stensson Sture and
Martha Leijonhufvud and thus niece of queen
Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was raised at court, his mother being a lady-in-waiting, and became the playmate of prince
Magnus, Duke of Östergötland and courtier of king
Gustav I of Sweden in 1556. He was made member of the royal council by
Eric XIV of Sweden and served as a military commander in the
Northern Seven Years' War. In the autumn of 1573, the
Mornay plot was prepared to assassinate John III. The plot was led by
Charles de Mornay, who was in contact with
Christina of Denmark and the French ambassador in Copenhagen
Charles Dancay. John III was to be killed during a swords dance performed by Scottish mercenaries at the party which was to be given in October that year before the Scottish mercenaries departure to the Baltic, and the king's brother
Duke Charles was to be placed upon the throne. The plot did not materialize as de Mornay lost his nerve and never gave the sign to the mercenaries to take action. In September 1574, the plot was revealed and Charles de Mornay was arrested, interrogated and executed. It was never made clear who participated in the plot, but it was noted that the suspected conspirators Hogenskild Bielke,
Gustaf Banér and
Pontus De la Gardie often gathered at meetings in the apartment of
Princess Elizabeth of Sweden with
Princess Cecilia of Sweden, and Charles de Mornay claimed that one of the things which were agreed upon by the conspirators was to raise the dowry of Elizabeth from 100,000 to 150,000, so to make it possible for her to make a marriage of higher status, which would refer to the suggested marriage between Elizabeth and
Henry III of France, in which the French ambassador had expressed himself impressed by everything regarding Elizabeth with the exception of her dowry. The two royal sisters and their brother Charles were somewhat compromised, though neither they, Bielke, Banér or De la Gardie was openly accused of their suspected involvement. When the king and queen visited their son
Sigismund III Wasa in
Reval in 1589, he and Axel Bielke was appointed to serve as regent during their absence. He was described as clever and skillful and worked to increase the power of nobility against the crown. He sided with Sigimund III against Duke Charles. His son Svante fled to Denmark after the
War against Sigismund to avoid execution. Hogenskild was tried during the
Linköping Bloodbath in 1600, but was imprisoned rather than executed. In 1605, however, he was found to have been involved in a correspondence judged as treasonable alongside his daughter
Ebba Bielke. He was executed for treason in Stockholm. ==References==