Category Archives: German Royals

Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia is the current pretender to the Prussian throne, and head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. He is the direct male-line descendent of Prussia’s last King of Prussia and German Emperor Wilhelm II.

photo: By StagiaireMGIMO – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33300040

Georg Friedrich Ferdinand was born in Bremen, Germany on June 10, 1976, the only son of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Prussia and Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen. He has one younger sister, Cornelie-Cécile, born in 1978. His father died in 1977 after suffering injuries in a military training exercise. As his father’s two elder brothers had lost their rights to succession, this made Georg Friedrich heir to his grandfather, also named Ludwig Ferdinand, as the future Head of the House of Hohenzollern.

He began his schooling in Fischerhude, before attending grammar schools in Bremen and Oldenburg. He then attended Glenalmond College in Scotland where he completed his A-levels. It was during that time, in 1994, when his grandfather died and Georg Friedrich – at just 18 years old – became Head of the House of Hohenzollern and pretender to the Prussian throne. This led to a dispute by two of his uncles – both of whom had been excluded from succession due to marriages that were deemed unequal – who challenged Georg Friedrich as being the sole heir of his grandfather. After over 10 years of legal battles and court cases, it was determined that while Georg Friedrich was indeed the heir to his grandfather and the rightful Head of the House, his uncles were also entitled to a portion of their father’s estate.

Georg Friedrich completed two years of military service with the Bundeswehr before earning a degree in Business Economics at the University of Freiburg. During that time, he took on internships at various software companies, both in Germany and abroad. Today, in addition to representing the House of Hohenzollern, he works as Managing Director of Kgl. Prussian Beer Manufacturer, based in Berlin. He is a member of the board of the Princess Kira of Prussian Foundation (founded by his grandmother) and served as Chairman for several years before handing the chairmanship over to his wife. As head of the house, he owns a ⅔ share of Hohenzollern Castle, with the other ⅓ owned by Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern (the Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern). He also owns Princes’ Island in Plön and several other properties.

Georg Friedrich and Sophie – photo: By Rainer Halama – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79088921

In January 2011, Georg Friedrich’s engagement to Princess Sophie of Isenburg was announced. Born in March 1978, Sophie is the daughter of Franz-Alexander, Prince of Isenburg and Countess Christine von Saurma zu der Jeltsch. The couple married in a civil ceremony held in the Potsdam Town Hall on August 25, 2011. Two days later, a religious ceremony was held at the Church of Peace, followed by a reception at the Orangery Palace, both in Sanssouci Park. The couple live in the Babelsberg district of Potsdam with their four children:

  • Carl Friedrich Franz Alexander (born 2013)
  • Louis Ferdinand Christian Albrecht (born 2013)
  • Emma Marie Charlotte Sofia (born 2015)
  • Heinrich Albert Johann Georg (born 2016)

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Prussian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, a grandson of Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and German Emperor, was the pretender to the Prussian throne from 1951 until his death in 1994.

Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia – source: Wikipedia

Prince Louis Ferdinand Victor Eduard Adalbert Michael Hubertus of Prussia was born November 9, 1907, at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Germany, the second son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At the time, his grandfather, Wilhelm II, was the King of Prussia and German Emperor. Louis Ferdinand had five siblings:

 

Raised at the Crown Prince’s Palace in Berlin and Cecilenhof in Potsdam, Louis Ferdinand also spent some time near Danzig where his father served with the Prussian military. In keeping with family tradition, Louis Ferdinand was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 1st Guards Regiment on his 10th birthday in 1917. The following year, the monarchy was abolished following World War I. His father went to the Netherlands with the former Emperor, while he and his siblings stayed in Germany, having been ensured of their safety.

After studying economics in Berlin, Louis Ferdinand traveled to the United States where he settled for some time in Detroit, Michigan. Upon his elder brother’s marriage and subsequent renunciation of his succession rights, Louis Ferdinand returned home to Germany, became involved in the aviation industry, and served in the German military.

 

In May 1938, Louis Ferdinand married Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia. She was the daughter of Grand Duke Kyril Vladimirovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They were second cousins, once removed, through their mutual descent from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Two ceremonies were held, a Russian Orthodox ceremony was held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, followed by a Lutheran ceremony held at Huis Doorn, the Dutch home of the former Emperor Wilhelm II. Louis Ferdinand and Kira had seven children:

  • Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (1939 – 2015) – married (1) Waltraud Freydag, had issue; (2) Ehrengard von Reden, had issue; (3) Sibylle Kretschmer, no issue
  • Prince Michael (1940 – 2014) – married (1) Jutta Jörn, had issue; (2) Birgitte Dallwitz-Wegner, no issue
  • Princess Marie Cécile (1942) – married Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg, had issue
  • Princess Kira (1943 – 2004) – married Thomas Liepsner, had issue
  • Prince Louis Ferdinand (1944) – married Countess Donata of Castell-Rüdenhausen, had issue
  • Prince Christian-Sigismund (1946) – married Countess Nina Reventlow, had issue
  • Princess Xenia (1949 – 1992) married Per-Edvard Lithander, had issue

Louis Ferdinand served in the German military until 1940 when his elder brother was killed in action. The outpouring of sympathy and support for the former royal family at the Prince’s funeral concerned Adolf Hitler, who saw this as a threat to his leadership. Thus, Hitler issued a decree in 1940 – the Princes Decree – which prohibited members of all of Germany’s former ruling houses from participating in any military operations. From that point, Louis Ferdinand took over the management of his grandfather’s former summer residence – Cadinen Palace – in East Prussia until the end of the war.

Quite popular in Germany, Louis Ferdinand was voted as the ‘most honorable person’ to become President of the Federal Republic of Germany, despite not having had any role in politics. A later poll gained him even higher results. The Prince quickly stated that while he might accept the position, he would not give up his claim to the German Imperial Crown.

Following German reunification in 1990, Louis Ferdinand led the efforts to have his ancestor, King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) reburied on the grounds of Sanssouci. He also began efforts to reclaim many of the private properties of his family which had been seized by the Nazis and Communists without compensation. Although unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the private properties, his efforts led to changes in German law after his death. His grandson Georg Friedrich continues to pursue the return of Hohenzollern properties and assets.

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Louis Ferdinand became the pretender to the Prussian throne upon his father’s death in 1951. His elder brother had lost his succession rights upon his marriage, making Louis Ferdinand first in line. His own two elder sons’ marriages were also deemed unequal, thus excluding them from succession. It fell upon his third son, also named Louis Ferdinand. The younger Louis Ferdinand died in 1977, leaving his young son Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia as the sole heir and first in line to succeed his grandfather. This led to a legal battle among Louis Ferdinand’s older sons – both of whom had been excluded – but claimed a right to some of their father’s estate. While the young Georg Friedrich remained his grandfather’s heir as Head of the House of Hohenzollern, he was no longer the sole beneficiary of the estate, and Louis Ferdinand’s elder sons both received a portion of their father’s estate upon his death.

Just weeks before his 87th birthday, Prince Louis Ferdinand died in Bremen on September 26, 1994. He was buried in the castle cemetery at Hohenzollern Castle.

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Prussian Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – a grandson of the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – is the pretender to the former ducal throne, and head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

photo: Frankie Fouganthinderivative work: Surtsicna – This file was derived from: Benedikte of Denmark and Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.jpg:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26616171

Prince Andreas Michael Friedrich Hans Armin Siegfried Hubertus was born on March 21, 1943 at Schloss Casel in Lower Lusatia. He is the only child of Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his first wife Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth.

Andreas has three half-siblings from father’s second marriage to Denyse Henriette de Muralt, and one half-sibling from his mother’s second marriage to Richard Whitten:

  • Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1949) – married Gion Schäfter, had issue
  • Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1951) – married Friedrich-Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen, had issue
  • Adrian of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1955) – married (1) Lea Rinderknecht, had issue; (2) Gertrud Krieg, no issue
  • Victoria Whitten (1948)

Following his parents’ divorce in 1946, Andreas moved with his mother to her family home in Austria. There, she met and married her second husband, Richard Whitten, an American military officer stationed in Salzburg. Three years later, the family returned to the United States, settling in New Orleans, where Andreas attended school. Having become heir to the former ducal throne upon his grandfather’s death in 1954, a few years later he began making regular visits to Germany in preparation for his future role as head of the Ducal House. He studied Business Administration at Louisiana State University in the early 1960s, before returning permanently to Germany in 1965. There, he completed two years of military service with the Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion 6 based in Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein. Andreas then began training in the forestry industry, including an apprenticeship with Mueller & Son in Hamburg from 1969-1971. He then worked at a Japanese financial firm, learning how to run a successful business.

On July 31, 1971 in Hamburg, Prince Andreas married Carin Dabelstein, the daughter of Adolf Dabelstein and Irma Callsen. Having received formal approval from his father as Head of the House, the marriage was deemed fully legitimate and dynastic. Andreas and Carin have three children:

  • Princess Stephanie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1972) – married Dr. Jan Stahl, no issue
  • Hubertus, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1975) – married Kelly Rondesvedt, has issue
  • Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1977) – unmarried

After the birth of their elder son, Andreas and his wife decided to leave Hamburg and move to Coburg. There, he worked to establish a presence within the city and the European community as a whole. He began to reach out to extended family, hoping to heal many of the wounds caused in the past – primarily after his grandfather had sided with Hitler during World War II. He became involved with numerous civic organizations and focused on his work as Administrator of the Coburg Family Foundation.

Callenberg Castle. photo: By Überfranke – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83970018

Following the fall of communism and the reunification of Germany, Prince Andreas began working to re-acquire former family property that had been seized after the war. In 1996 he was able to purchase back over 4,900 acres of forest in Thuringia, and in 2000, the Family Foundation negotiated with the German government and the Free State of Thuringia to acquire an additional 15,000+ and 1,900+ acres, respectively. The family – through the foundation – also own Callenberg Castle in Coburg and Greinburg Castle (link in German) in Grein, Austria.

Having firmly set his roots in Coburg, Andreas served on the Coburg City Council from 1996-2002. During this time, he became the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha upon his father’s death in January 1998. He continued to serve as Administrator of the Family Foundation until retiring and handing the reins to his son, Hubertus, in January 2012.

Embed from Getty Images

Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2011, the Prince has continued to be as active as possible. He spends much of his time with family and friends, traveling, and visiting his properties in Germany and Austria. He is a first cousin and close friend of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and is the godfather of the King’s younger daughter, Princess Madeleine. Because of this relationship, the Prince is often seen in attendance at Swedish royal family events.

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittoria Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

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Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg was the second of the three wives, all of whom died young, of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. Given the names Polyxena Christina Johanna, she was born on September 21, 1706, in Langinswalbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, now Bad Schwalbach in the German state of Hesse. Polyxena was the eldest of the six daughters and the second of the ten children of Ernst II Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg and Eleonore Maria Anna von Löwenstein-Wertheim.

Polyxena had nine siblings:

Polyxena’s husband Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1723, Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, the future Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, proposed marriage with Polyxena. Carlo Emanuele’s first wife Anna Christine of Sulzbach, a cousin of Polyxena, died of childbirth complications on March 12, 1723, shortly after the birth of her only child Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro of Savoy. After a proxy marriage on July 23, 1724, in Rotenburg, Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, now in Hesse, Germany, Polyxena and Carlo Emanuele were married in person on August 20, 1724, in Thonon-les-Bains, Chablais, then a province of the Duchy of Savoy, now in France. When her husband became King of Sardinia in 1730, Polyxena became Queen of Sardinia.

Polyxena was entrusted with the care of her stepson Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro. She became very attached to him and greatly mourned his death on August 11, 1725. Polyxena had had a close relationship with her mother-in-law Anne Marie d’Orléans. The two often stayed at the Villa della Regina outside the capital of Turin, where Anne Marie died in 1728.

Polyxena with her two eldest children, Eleonora and Vittorio Amedeo; Credit – Wikipedia

Polyxena and Carlo Emanuele had six children:

The children of Carlo Emanuele and his second wife Polyxena; (L-R) Eleonora; Vittorio Amedeo; Maria Felicita and Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

Polyxena was active in charity work, founding a home for young mothers in Turin in 1732. She worked with Italian architect Filippo Juvarra, the architect of the great Basilica of Superga in Turin, to remodel and renovate buildings including the Villa della Regina and the Palazzina di Stupinigi. She was also the patroness of the painter Giovanni Battista Crosato.

In 1733, Polyxena gave birth to her last child Prince Carlo of Savoy, Duke of Chablais, who lived a little over five months. She fell seriously ill in June 1734, and died at the Royal Palace in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy, on January 13, 1735, aged 28. Polyxena was first buried in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin and was moved to the Basilica of Superga in Turin in 1786.

Basilica of Superga; Credit – By Paris Orlando – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74180727

Two years after Polyxena’s death, her widower married Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, the daughter of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans the daughter of King Louis XIV of France’s only sibling Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. Sadly, like Carlo Emanuele III’s first two wives, Elisabeth Therese also died young, dying in 1741, aged 29, from puerperal fever (childbed fever), thirteen days after giving birth to her third child, her only child who survived childhood.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Ernst II. Leopold (Hessen-Rotenburg) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_II._Leopold_(Hessen-Rotenburg)> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyxena_of_Hesse-Rotenburg> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlo-emanuele-iii-king-of-sardinia/> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Polissena d’Assia-Rheinfels-Rotenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polissena_d%27Assia-Rheinfels-Rotenburg> [Accessed 19 June 2021].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Поликсена Гессен-Рейнфельс-Ротенбургская — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81-%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 19 June 2021].

Anna Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittoria Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

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Anna Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Countess Palatine Anna Christine of Sulzbach was the first of the three wives of Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and, after Anna Christine’s death, Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. The eighth of the nine children and the youngest of the five daughters of Theodor Eustach, Count Palatine of Sulzbach (1659 – 1732) and Maria Eleonore of Hesse-Rothenburg (1675 – 1720), Anna Christine was born on February 5, 1704, at Sulzbach Castle in the Palatinate-Sulzbach, a state of the Holy Roman Empire, now in Bavaria, Germany. Her father was the head of a Roman Catholic cadet branch of Bavaria’s House of Wittelsbach.

Sulzbach Castle, Anna Christine’s birthplace; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna Christine had eight siblings:

Carlo Emanuele, Anna Christine’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 15, 1722, in Vercelli, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy, Anna Christine married Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the son of Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia and his first wife Anne Marie d’Orléans. The couple had one son:

On March 12, 1723, a few days after giving birth to her son, Anna Christine, aged nineteen, died of childbirth complications, at the Royal Palace of Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy. She was first buried in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin and was moved to the Basilica of Superga in Turin in 1786. In 1724, Anna Christine’s widower married her cousin Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Theodor Eustach (Pfalz-Sulzbach) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Eustach_(Pfalz-Sulzbach)> [Accessed 18 June 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anne Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Christine_of_Sulzbach,_Princess_of_Piedmont> [Accessed 18 June 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/carlo-emanuele-iii-king-of-sardinia/> [Accessed 18 June 2021].

Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Effigy of Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, the first of the three wives of Gustav Vasa I, King of Sweden, was born on September 24, 1513, in Ratzeburg, Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the third of the six children and the second of the five daughters of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1470 – 1543) and Katharina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1488 – 1563), daughter of Heinrich IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Katharina’s parents, Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Katharina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; Credit – Wikipedia

Katharina had five siblings:

Since 1397, Sweden was part of the Kalmar Union in which the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were ruled by one monarch. Denmark was dominant in the Kalmar Union,  and this occasionally led to uprisings in Sweden. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden asserted his claim to Sweden by force when he ordered a massacre of Swedish nobles in Stockholm. The actions of King Christian II stirred the Swedish nobility to a new resistance. During the Swedish War of Liberation (1521 – 1523), Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa successfully deposed King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, ending the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Gustav Vasa was then elected King of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag.

Gustav I Vasa, King of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

The fledgling King of Sweden needed heirs for his new House of Vasa. After being rejected by several potential brides’ families, Gustav Vasa was advised to consider the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg. Although the duchy was small and poor, the ducal family was related to many of the most powerful dynasties of Europe and was Protestant, which was important for the ongoing Swedish Reformation. With all this in mind, Gustav Vasa chose Katharina as his wife.

In September 1531, Katharina was escorted to Stockholm, Sweden where she married Gustav I Vasa, King of Sweden on September 24, 1531, her eighteenth birthday. On December 13, 1533, Katharina fulfilled her most important duty as queen consort when she gave birth to a son, the future Erik XIV, King of Sweden.

Katharina and Gustav Vasa’s son Erik XIV, King of Sweden had an unsuccessful reign. Erik was deposed via a rebellion by his half-brother from his father’s second marriage who reigned as King Johan III of Sweden. Erik was imprisoned in various castles for eight years. He was most likely murdered due to the three major conspiracies that attempted to depose his half-brother Johan III and place Erik back on the Swedish throne. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that Erik probably died of arsenic poisoning.

In September 1535, during a ball given in honor of her brother-in-law, Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway, who was visiting Sweden, the pregnant Katharina fell while dancing with Christian III. The fall confined her to bed and led to complications, and she died on September 23, 1535, the day before her twenty-second birthday along with her unborn child. Katharina was initially buried in the Storkyrkan (Great Church) in Stockholm, Sweden. Following her husband’s death in 1560, Katharina’s remains were reburied at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden, together with her husband King Gustav I and his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud.

Effigies of Gustav I Vasa and his first two wives; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Effigy of Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Sweden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Katharina von Sachsen-Lauenburg (1513–1535) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Sachsen-Lauenburg_(1513%E2%80%931535)> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Saxe-Lauenburg> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Gustav I, King of Sweden. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/gustav-vasa-i-king-of-sweden-reigned-1523-1560/> [Accessed 4 April 2021].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2021. Katarina av Sachsen-Lauenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarina_av_Sachsen-Lauenburg> [Accessed 4 April 2021].

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg was born on March 24, 1628, at Herzberg Castle, in Herzberg am Harz, Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was the second but the only surviving of the four daughters and the fifth of the eight children of Georg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1582 – 1641) and Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt (1601 – 1659), daughter of  Ludwig V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Magdalene of Brandenburg.

Sophie Amalie’s parents are ancestors of the British royal family and other European royal families through their sons Ernst August and Georg Wilhelm – the fathers of King George I of Great Britain and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Sophia Amalie’s youngest brother Ernst August married Sophia of the Palatinate, daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of King James I of England, and wife of Friedrich V, Elector of the Palatinate. Sophia of the Palatinate was a granddaughter of King James I of England and first cousin of King Charles II of England and King James II of England.

In 1692, Ernst August was appointed Prince-Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (which eventually became the Electorate of Hanover). Over in Great Britain, due to the lack of heirs in the House of Stuart, and not wanting the throne to go to a Roman Catholic, Parliament passed the 1701 Act of Settlement, giving the British throne to Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover and her Protestant descendants. Sophia of the Palatinate died on June 8, 1714. Her son George was now the heir to the British throne. Queen Anne of Great Britain died on August 1, 1714, only 54 days after Sophia died. Sophie Amalie’s nephew, King George I of Great Britain, was only 56th in line to the throne according to primogeniture, but the nearest Protestant according to the 1701 Act of Settlement.

Sophie Amalie had four brothers and three sisters. Her sisters all died young.

Frederik III and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, circa 1643; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie’s family lived at her birthplace Herzberg Castle until 1636 when her father moved his residence to Hanover. There he built the Leineschloss, a palace by the Leine River, that became the residence of the Hanoverian dukes, electors, and kings. In March 1640, 12-year-old Sophia Amalie was betrothed to 31-year-old Prince Frederik of Denmark, the third but the second surviving of the four sons of Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway and his first wife Anna Katharina of Brandenburg. Frederik had an elder brother Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark who had been elected heir apparent in 1608 (Denmark was an elected monarchy at that time) and was expected to succeed their father. Because of the bride’s young age, the marriage was delayed for three years. On October 1, 1643, at Glücksborg Castle in Glücksborg, Duchy of Schleswig, then a Danish possession, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, Frederik and Sophie Amalie were married.

Sophie Amalie’s five eldest children: left to right: Wilhelmina Ernestina, Anna Sophia, Frederika Amalia holding Frederik, and Christian; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie and Frederik had eight children including Jørgen who married Queen Anne of Great Britain and had his name anglicized to George and Ulrika Eleonora who married King Karl XI of Sweden.:

Before Frederik’s marriage, his father King Christian IV sought to provide him with a pathway to his future and also to use Frederik to gain influence in the northern German areas of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite being christened a Protestant, Frederik became the administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and the Prince-Bishopric of Verden. In 1647, Friedrich was appointed governor of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Sophie Amalie and Frederik lived in the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein until a sudden event changed their lives. On June 2, 1647, Frederik’s 44-year-old childless elder brother Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark and heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, died and his death opened up the possibility for Frederik to be elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. However, when King Christian IV died less than nine months later, on February 28, 1648, Frederik had not yet been elected heir apparent to the Danish throne. After long deliberations between the Danish Estates and the Rigsraadet (royal council), he was finally elected King of Denmark. King Frederik III and Queen Sophie Amalie were crowned on November 23, 1648, at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Sophie Amalie as Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

As Queen of Denmark, Sophie Amalie became the center of court life. She replaced the old medieval court entertainment with opera and ballet. She enjoyed fashion, parties, theatre, and masquerades, and made the French taste fashionable in Denmark. Sophie Amalie was ambitious, participated in state affairs, with her husband’s blessing of her husband, and influenced policy as his adviser.

From the start of King Frederik III’s reign, Sophie Amalie was involved in the power struggle between the crown and the Danish nobility, symbolized by the Sons-In-Law Party composed of the Danish nobles who married Frederik III’s half-sisters, the daughters of King Christian IV and his morganatic second wife Kirsten Munk. Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, married to Frederik’s half-sister Leonora Christina, Countess of Schleswig-Holstein, was the leading member. There were rumors that Count Corfitz Ulfeldt was associated with a plot to poison Frederik III and Ulfeldt and his wife left Denmark and settled in Sweden. The plot was proven to be false but Ulfeldt agreed to accept the offer of King Karl X Gustav of Sweden to enter his service because he wanted to humiliate King Frederik III. Ulfeldt participated in the Swedish invasion of Denmark in the Danish-Swedish War of 1657 – 1658  and is considered the most notorious traitor in Danish history. He was tried in absentia for high treason, his property was confiscated, and his children were banished. Ulfeldt, who was seriously ill, died in 1664 while on the run. Because of her alleged involvement in the intrigues of her husband Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, Leonora Christina was imprisoned for 22 years as a political prisoner. Only after the death of Sophie Amalie did Leonora Christina gain her freedom.

Sophie Amalie, circa 1670; Credit – Wikipedia

Frederik III, King of Denmark and Norway died at the age of 60, after three days of a painful illness, on February 9, 1670, at Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. During the reign of her son King Christian V, Sophie Amalie remained a player in state affairs despite her son’s dislike of her interference. Sophie Amalie’s relationship with her daughter-in-law Charlotte Amalie was not positive. She refused to give up her position as queen and her precedence as the first lady of the court to her daughter-in-law. King Christian V frequently resorted to moving to another palace with his wife so that Queen Charlotte Amalie and Queen Dowager Sophie Amalie would not be present in the same palace at the same time.

The Death of Queen Sophie Amalie by Kristian Zahrtmann; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie Amalie survived her husband King Frederik II by fifteen years, dying on February 20, 1685, aged 56. They were interred with Frederik’s parents in the crypt of Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark. In 1613, a year after the death of his first wife and Frederik’s mother Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, King Christian IV ordered the construction of a new burial chapel because the space inside Roskilde Cathedral for burials was running out. However, the interior of the Christian IV Chapel was not completed until 1866. At that time, the caskets of Christian IV (died 1648), his first wife Anna Katharina of Brandenburg (died 1612), his eldest son and heir apparent Christian who predeceased him (died 1647), his second son who succeeded him as King Frederik III (died 1670); and Frederik III’s wife Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneberg (died 1685) were placed in the completed Christian IV Chapel.

Christian IV Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral: Caskets front row left to right: Anna Katharina, Christian IV,  Christian, Prince-Elect; back row left to right: Sophie Amalie, Frederik III; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Amalie af Braunschweig-Lüneburg. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Amalie_af_Braunschweig-L%C3%BCneburg> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Georg (Braunschweig-Calenberg). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_(Braunschweig-Calenberg)> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Amalie von Braunschweig-Calenberg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Amalie_von_Braunschweig-Calenberg> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Amalie_of_Brunswick-Calenberg> [Accessed 13 March 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. Unofficial Royalty. Frederik III, King of Denmark and Norway. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/frederik-iii-king-of-denmark-and-norway/> [Accessed 13 March 2021].

Anna Katharina of Brandenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anna Katharina of Brandenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway, Anna Katharina of Brandenburg was born on June 26, 1575, in Halle, Archbishopric of Magdeburg, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. She was the second of the nine children and the eldest of the two daughters of Joachim Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg and his first wife Katharina of Brandenburg-Küstrin.

Anna Katharina had eight siblings:

Anna Katharina had one much younger half-sister from her father’s second marriage to Princess Eleonore of Prussia:

Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

In the autumn of 1595, eighteen-year-old Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway made a trip through some of the German monarchies. He met twenty-year-old Anna Katharina and decided to marry her. After a life-threatening crossing over the Baltic Sea to Denmark, Anna Katharina and her parents attended Christian’s coronation in Copenhagen in 1596. Christian and Anna Katharina met again in January 1597 and later that year, the marriage contract was signed. The wedding took place on November 27, 1597, at Haderslevhus Castle in Denmark. Anna Katharina was crowned Queen of Denmark on June 11, 1598, at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Anna Katharina with her eldest son Christian who predeceased his father; Credit – Wikipedia

Christian IV and Anna Katharina had six children:

Beate Huitfeldt, a Danish noble who had served as maid of honor to Christian IV’s mother, was appointed as principal lady-in-waiting to Anna Katharina and remained in that position until Anna Katharina’s death. After Anna Katharina died in 1612, Beate Huitfeldt then served as the royal governess of the household of Anna Katharina’s sons. Anna Katharina was praised for her modesty and piety. She often accompanied Christian IV on his trips but had no influence on the politics of Denmark. Christian IV had affairs during his marriage and Anna Katharina was certainly aware of them. Her maid of honor Kirsten Madsdatter gave birth to Christian’s son the day after Anna Katharina gave birth to her last child.

A little more than a year after the birth of her last child, Anna Katharina died on April 8, 1612, at the age of 36, and was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. After the Christian IV Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, was completed, Anna Katharina’s casket was moved to the chapel along with the caskets of her husband King Christian IV (died 1648, the silver-plated casket in the photo below), her eldest son Christian (died 1647) who predeceased his father, her second son who succeeded his father as King Frederik III (died 1670) and Frederik III’s wife Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneberg (died 1685).

Sarcophagus of Anna Katharina of Brandenburg in the foreground – Photo Credit © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Cathrine af Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Cathrine_af_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anna Katharina von Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Katharina_von_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Catherine_of_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Frederick,_Elector_of_Brandenburg> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. 2021. Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/christian-iv-king-of-denmark-and-norway/> [Accessed 26 February 2021].

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow was born on September 4, 1557, in Wismar, Duchy of Mecklenburg, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. She was the only child of Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and his first wife Elizabeth of Denmark, daughter of Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway and his second wife Sophie of Pomerania. Sophie’s mother Elizabeth died in 1586 while returning from visiting her daughter in Denmark. After the death of his first wife, Sophie’s father Ulrich III married Anna of Pomerania but their marriage was childless.

Sophie’s husband Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

In Denmark, marriage negotiations had been unsuccessfully conducted for Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway during the end of his father’s reign and during the first thirteen years of Frederik’s reign. The negotiations were difficult because Frederik insisted on meeting the prospective bride before committing to her. In 1572, Frederik’s aunt Elizabeth of Denmark and her husband Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (Sophie’s parents), arranged for Frederik to meet a prospective bride Margaret of Pomerania at Nykøbing Castle in Denmark. Elizabeth and her husband brought along 14-year-old Sophie. Frederik II and Sophie were half-first cousins through their grandfather Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway, Frederik through his first wife Anna of Brandenburg, and Sophie through his second wife Sophie of Pomerania. Instead of being interested in Margaret of Pomerania, Frederik II was interested in Sophie. On July 20, 1572, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Frederik II and Sophie were married.

Frederik II and Sophie had seven children. Through their daughter Anna, who married James VI, King of Scots, later also James I, King of England, they are ancestors of the British Royal Family.

Frederik II and Sophie; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite a 23-year age difference, Frederik II and Sophie had a happy marriage. Sophie is consistently mentioned in Frederik’s handwritten diary as “mynt Soffye“, meaning “my Sophie”. She never interfered in government matters, always accompanied him on his travels, participated in his hunts, and nursed him when he was ill. Sophie was interested in books, visited the Danish pioneering astronomer Tycho Brahe, collected folk songs, and encouraged historian Anders Sørensen Vedel to publish his Hundredvisebogen, a collection of a hundred Danish folk songs he had gathered that became the foundation of Danish literary tradition.

Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway died, aged 53, on April 4, 1588. When her husband died, Sophie was a thirty-year-old widow with seven children ranging in age from five-years-old to fifteen-years-old. Her eldest son who succeeded his father as Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway was only eleven-years-old. Sophie wanted to play a role in the government but was given no role in her son’s regency council. From 1590, she did act as regent of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein for Christian as was the custom in the duchies. Sophie arranged the marriages and dowries for her daughters including a marriage for her daughter Anna (Anne) with the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, James VI, King of Scots who also became King of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Nykøbing Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1593, when Christian IV was declared of age, Sophie engaged in a power struggle with the regency council and the Danish Council of State. According to custom, she wanted the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein to be divided between her two younger sons but was unsuccessful. In 1594, Sophie was forced to retire to her dower property Nykøbing Castle on the island of Falster in Denmark.

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophie managed her estates on the Danish islands of Falster and Lolland so well that her son King Christian IV borrowed money from her on several occasions for his wars. She also engaged in trade and money-lending with Danish nobles. Sophie had a great love of knowledge and studied chemistry, astronomy, and other sciences. She often visited her homeland Mecklenburg and when her daughter Hedwig married Christian II, Elector of Saxony in 1602, she attended the wedding in Dresden, Saxony.

Tomb of Frederik II and Sophie – Photo by Susan Flantzer

Sophie survived her husband by forty-three years, dying on October 14, 1631, at the age of 74, at Nykøbing Castle on the island of Falster in Denmark and was buried with her husband Frederik II in the Chapel of the Magi at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark. At the time of her death, she was the richest woman in Northern Europe.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Af Mecklenburg. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_af_Mecklenburg> [Accessed 18 January 2021].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Von Mecklenburg (1557–1631). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_von_Mecklenburg_(1557%E2%80%931631)> [Accessed 18 January 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Sophie Of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_of_Mecklenburg-G%C3%BCstrow> [Accessed 18 January 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan. 2021. Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway.  [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/frederik-ii-king-of-denmark-and-norway/> [Accessed 18 January 2021].

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway, Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg was born on July 9, 1511, at Lauenburg Castle in Lauenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the second of the six children and the eldest of the five daughters of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Dorothea had five siblings:

King Christian III of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Dorothea’s homeland, the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, was one of the first states of the Holy Roman Empire to accept the Protestant Reformation, and Dorothea came to her marriage as a Lutheran. On October 29, 1525, in Lauenburg, fourteen-year-old Dorothea married the twenty-three-year-old future King Christian III of Denmark and Norway, son of Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway and his first wife Anna of Brandenburg.

Dorothea’s dowry of 15,000 guilders was considered extremely small. The groom’s father Frederik I, who had only reluctantly given his permission to the marriage, did not attend the wedding. Frederik I was the last Roman Catholic Danish monarch. All subsequent Danish monarchs have been Lutheran. Christian already had Lutheran views and, as King, would turn Denmark Lutheran. Perhaps, Frederik I’s refusal to attend his son’s wedding was due to religion and the small dowry. Dorothea and Christian initially lived in Hadersleben, now Haderslev, Denmark, where Christian resided as governor of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

Dorothea and Christian had five children:

After a reign of ten years, Christian’s father Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway died on April 10, 1533. However, because of religious differences caused by the Reformation, a power struggle ensued regarding the succession. This resulted in a two-year civil war, known as the Count’s Feud, from 1534 – 1536, between Protestant and Catholic forces, which led to Christian ascending the Danish throne as King Christian III. In 1537, Christian III was also recognized as King of Norway. On August 6, 1536, Dorothea and Christian made their official entry into Copenhagen, Denmark. Four days later, Dorothea rode a snow-white horse at the side of her husband to Copenhagen Cathedral where they were crowned King and Queen of Denmark. Two months later, Lutheranism was established as the Danish National Church.

King Christian III and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

The relationship between Dorothea and Christian was a happy one. Christian trusted her and allowed her a great deal of influence. Contemporary accounts show her to have been politically active and to have participated in state affairs. Shortly after his succession to the throne, Christian III supported plans to have Dorothea appointed future regent of Denmark should their son, the future Frederik II, succeed to the throne while still a minor. However, these plans were defeated by the Danish State Council, particularly by Johan Friis, the Chancellor of Denmark, whom Dorothea strongly resented. Friis also prevented Dorothea’s admission to the Danish State Council after the death of her husband.

Christian III, King of Denmark and Norway died on January 1, 1559, aged 55, at Koldinghus, a Danish royal castle, on the Jutland Peninsula in Kolding, Denmark. He was buried in the Chapel of the Magi at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark in a tomb designed by Flemish sculptor Cornelis Floris de Vriendt. His 25-year-old son succeeded him as Frederik II, King of Denmark and Norway. After Christian III’s death, Dorothea took over the management of Koldinghus, where she resided with her own court. She made annual trips to visit her daughters Anna, Electress of Saxony and Dorothea, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Shortly after Christian III’s death, Dorothea fell in love with Johann II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev, Christian III’s unmarried half-brother from his father’s second marriage to Sophie of Pomerania. Johann was ten years younger than Dorothea and as early as 1559, there was talk of marriage. However, the marriage was opposed by various theologians who considered it impossible for a widow to marry her late husband’s brother and was eventually prevented, despite several years of efforts from Dorothea.

Dorothea’s son King Frederik II; Credit – Wikipedia

Dorothea and her son Frederik II had a tense relationship and she had always favored her younger sons Magnus and Hans. She had often used her parental authority to reprimand Frederik‘s lifestyle and this did not change after he became king. Frederik II detested his mother’s reprimands and attempts to be involved in state affairs as she had done during her husband’s reign.

During the Nordic Seven Years War (1563 – 1570), fought between Sweden and a coalition of Denmark, Norway, Lübeck, and Poland–Lithuania, the tension between Dorothea and her son Frederik II reached a breaking point. Dorothea was strongly against the war and repeatedly offered to act as a mediator because her nephew Eric XIV was King of Sweden. Frederik II warned his mother to stay out of state affairs. However, Dorothea continued her contact with Sweden. In 1567, Frederik II discovered that his mother had conducted secret negotiations, without his knowledge and during ongoing warfare, to arrange a marriage between his brother Magnus and Princess Sofia of Sweden, the half-sister of King Eric XIV of Sweden. Frederik II put a stop to the marriage plans. Although Dorothea told her son that she only intended to benefit Denmark and establish peace, in Frederik II’s mind, his mother had committed treason and she was informally exiled to Sønderborg Castle, where she lived the remainder of her life.

Tomb of King Christian III and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg – Photo by Susan Flantzer

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Denmark and Norway died on October 7, 1571, aged 60, at Sønderborg Castle in Sønderborg, Denmark. She was initially buried at the Sønderborg Castle Chapel (link in Danish). In 1581, her son Frederik II had her remains transferred to Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark where she was buried next to her husband King Christian III.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2021. Dorothea Af Sachsen-Lauenburg. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_af_Sachsen-Lauenburg> [Accessed 11 January 2021].
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