Svante was born at
Penningby Castle (
Penningby slott), at
Norrtälje in
Uppland, the son of
Nils Bosson Sture ( – 1494). Nils belonged to the
Natt och Dag dynasty, but took the surname Sture from his maternal grandfather
Sven Sture. Svante himself never used the surname Sture, but his son
Sten later adopted it in order to associate himself with the memory of
Sten Sture the Elder (who, confusingly, was unrelated to Sven Sture but was nevertheless a distant cousin of Svante's through the Natt och Dag line). Svante's mother was Birgitta Tordsdotter Bonde (1439–1494), a member of the
Bonde family and cousin of King
Karl VIII. His first marriage in 1486 was with Iliana Gisladotter Gädda. Through this marriage he was the father of future statesman and regent of Sweden,
Sten Sture the Younger (1493–1520). He married a second time in 1504 with
Mette Dyre ( – before 1533). ==References==