, consort = yes , succession = Countess Palatine of Veldenz , reign = 1562–1592 , predecessor = , successor = , succession1 = Regent of Veldenz and Lautereck , reign1 = 1592–1598 , reign-type1 = Regency , predecessor1 = , successor1 = , birth_date = 19 June 1545 , birth_place = , death_date = , death_place = , house = Vasa , father =

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

, mother =

Margaret Leijonhufvud Margaret Leijonhufvud (née ''Margareta Eriksdotter''; 1 January 1516 – 26 August 1551) was Queen of Sweden from 1536 to 1551 by marriage to King Gustav I. She played a political role as the advisor of, and the intermediary to, her spouse the ...

, spouse =

George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz George John I (German: Georg Johann I.; sometimes called George Hans) (11 April 1543 – 18 April 1592) was the Count of Veldenz from 1544 until 1592. Life George John was born in 1543 as the only son of Rupert, Count Palatine of Veldenz. George ...

, issue =

George Gustavus, Count Palatine of Veldenz George Gustavus (German: Georg Gustav) (6 February 1564 – 3 June 1634) was the Count of Veldenz from 1592 until 1634. Biography George Gustavus was born in 1564 as the eldest son of George John I, Count Palatine of Lützelstein. His father die ...

Anne Margaret of Palatinate-Veldenz
John Rupert
Anne Margaret, Countess Palatine of Simmern-Sponheim
Ursula, Duchess of Württemberg
Joanna Elizabeth

John Augustus, Count Palatine of Lützelstein John Augustus (German: Johann August) (26 November 1575 – 18 September 1611) was the co-Duke of Veldenz from 1592 until 1598 and the Duke of Lützelstein from 1598 until 1611. Life John Augustus was born in 1575 as the second surviving son of ...

Louis Philip, Count Palatine of Guttenberg Louis Philip (German: Ludwig Philipp) (24 November 1577 – 24 October 1601) was the co-Duke of Veldenz from 1592 until 1598 and the Duke of Guttenberg from 1598 until 1601. Life Louis Philip was born in 1577 as the third surviving son of G ...

Maria Anne
Catherine Ursula

George John II, Count Palatine of Lützelstein-Guttenberg George John II (German: Georg Johann II.) (24 June 1586 – 29 September 1654) was the co-Duke of Veldenz from 1592 until 1598 and the Duke of Guttenberg from 1598 until 1611, and the Duke of Lützelstein-Guttenberg from 1611 until 1654. Life Ge ...

Princess Anna of Sweden ( sv, Anna Gustavsdotter; 19 June 1545 – 20 March 1610), also known as ''Anna Maria'' and ''Anne Marie'', was a Countess Palatine consort of

Veldenz Veldenz is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the former main seat of the County of Veldenz, ...

by marriage to

. She served as Interim Regent from 1592 to 1598, and supervised the partition of the territories between her sons. She was the daughter of King

and Queen Margaret.

Biography

Early life

Very little is known about Anna's childhood. During her early childhood, she, as well as her siblings in the royal nursery, were primarily under the care of her mother the queen's trusted nurse, Brigitta Lars Anderssons, her mothers cousin lady Margareta and the noble widow Ingrid Amundsdotter.Tegenborg Falkdalen, Karin, Margareta Regina: vid Gustav Vasas sida : n biografi över Margareta Leijonhufvud (1516–1551) Setterblad, Stockholm, 2016 After the death of her mother in 1551, she as well as her siblings were placed in the care of Christina Gyllenstierna and then under her aunts Brita and

Martha Leijonhufvud Martha Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (24 December 1520 in Ödeby Lillkyrka, Ekeberg, Närke – 15 January 1584 in Stegeholm), known as (), was a politically-active Swedish noblewoman. She was the sister of Queen Margaret Leijonhufvud and sister-in ...

before her father's remarriage to

Catherine Stenbock Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 at Torpa, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland – 13 December 1621 at Strömsholm, Västmanland) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of ...

.Karin Tegenborg Falkdalen (2010). Vasadöttrarna (The Vasa Daughters). Falun: Historiska Media. (In Swedish) They were then under the responsibility of their stepmother and, more precisely, the head-lady-in-waiting Anna Hogenskild. As her sisters, she was given a careful education, and tutored in foreign languages, particularly the German language. In 1556, she and her sisters were given a

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

of 100.000 '' daler'', had their portraits painted and their personal qualities described in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

by the court poet Henricus Mollerus, and introduced on the Dynastic European marriage market. Several dynastic marriages where suggested from that point on. In 1559, a marriage was suggested between Anna and

Louis VI, Elector Palatine Louis VI, Elector Palatine (4 July 1539 in Simmern – 22 October 1583 in Heidelberg), was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of ...

or Poppo XII of Henneberg (1513–1574). After the scandal surrounding Princess Cecilia that year, Cecilia's main suitor George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz, chose to direct his marriage negotiations toward Anna instead. The marriage was contracted because it could give George John I the needed funds (her dowry of 100.000 was larger than most German Princesses, who normally had 28.000 at the most), and because it could give the Swedish Royal House valuable contacts as George John I, though a petty ruler himself, was related with most of the German Princely Houses. The wedding was conducted at the Stockholm Royal Castle 20 December 1562. It was noted that Anna wore a crown of pearls and the king of Denmark was among the wedding guests. Anna and George John I remained in Sweden for some time after the wedding to gather her great dowry. In 1563, the three princesses Cecilia, Anna and Sophia had sent a letter of protest to their brother king Eric XIV regarding his imprisonment of their brother John, something he had a very negative reaction to. The couple finally left Sweden for Germany in July 1563, and settled in Lauterecken in Veldenz.

Countess Palatine

The marriage is described as a happy one, and Anna reportedly acted as the adviser of George John, trying to use her influence to restrain his many adventurous and expensive projects. During the journey of her brother Charles in Germany in 1577, he was suspected by their brother John III to conspiring against him, and Anna acted as a mediator. In 1578–79, she also participated in the negotiations between Duke Charles and

Maria of Palatinate-Simmern Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

. George John used Anna's great fortune to finance an expensive court life and ruinous speculations, and accumulated debts which ruined her fortune and the economy of the state, often by taking loans to pay other loans. One of the most costly expenses was the foundation of the city of Pfalzburg (1570) in Northern Alsace and where their court often resided in the castle La Petite Pierre (Lützelstien). In 1579, her dowry was evidently wasted, as she and her spouse could not afford to attend the wedding between her brother Charles and Maria of Palatinate-Simmern in accordance with their status. Anna was often assigned by George John to act as mediator in his business affairs: in 1588, she was given the task by him to persuade

Charles III, Duke of Lorraine Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark. In 1545, his father died, and ...

to prolong his chance to buy back the city of Pfalzburg, which he had previously sold to Lorraine with the right to buy it back, so that he might have the time to loan money to buy it back in time. Anna successfully persuaded the Duke of Lorraine to prolong George John's right to buy Pfalzburg back, but it finally became a part of Lorraine in 1590.

Regency and later life

Upon the death of George John in April 1592, the state was bankrupt and the interests of her late husband's debts was greater than the entire state income: he left a debt of 300.000 florines, and she spent the rest of her life trying to repay it. In parallel with this, the state also faced political turmoil, as George John had divided the areas of the state between their sons, which resulted in an inheritance feud between the sons which made the realm impossible to govern. In order to solve the inheritance dispute between her son about the lands of the state, Anna acted as mediator, and administered the undivided territories as effective regent for six years from 1592 until the dispute could finally be solved, and the lands peacefully divided between the sons. In order to solve the debt problems, Anna dissolved the court and lived in the household of her brothers-in-law until she could afford to have her own household again: she also entered negotiations with her brother Charles IX and queen dowager

Gunilla Bielke Gunilla Bielke; Swedish: ''Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke af Åkerö'' (25 June 1568 – 19 July 1597) was Queen of Sweden as the second wife of King John III. Queen Gunilla is acknowledged to have acted as the political adviser to John III and to h ...

in order to be given the Swedish funds which she managed to have John III promise to send her before his death. Anna did not managed to convince her brother Charles IX to participate in her regency, but she cooperated very well with her co-regents, Ernst Philip of Baden and her brothers-in-law Rickard of Simmern and Louis of Württemberg, and successfully managed to solve the problems her regency faced. In 1592, she threatened the Duke of Lorraine with Swedish intervention if he did not stop his son from warring the areas around in Lützelstein. In 1598, Anna successfully made sure that her eldest son Georg Gustav was secured the control of Veldenz, and her younger son Johan August was given full control of Lützelstein, before she retired from power. Remigiusberg Sarg Anna Maria von Schweden

Remigiusberg Sarg Anna Maria von Schweden

She spent her retirement after regency on her dower residence in Lauterecken and Remigiusberg. In her will, she donated a large sum with an income to be divided among the poor annually. Anna was described as a faithful and dutiful, compassionate and cooperative but also firm: she was afforded to recognition of having successfully solved an extremely difficult situation during her regency because of her personal qualities and by emphasizing her status an authority as the central figure and matriarch of the dynasty. She was popular and respected in Veldenz, where she was affectionately referred to as "Mother Anna".

Family

She married Georg Johann, the

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

on 20 December 1562. The couple had the following issue: #

(1564 – 3 June 1634) # Anne Margaret of Palatinate-Veldenz (28 April 1565 – 2 October 1566) # John Rupert of Palatinate-Veldenz (9 September 1566 – 1 October 1567) # Anne Margaret of Palatinate-Veldenz (17 January 1571 – 1 November 1621); married Count Palatine Richard of Simmern-Sponheim # Ursula of Palatinate-Veldenz (24 February 1572 – 5 March 1635); married

Louis III, Duke of Württemberg Louis III, Duke of Württemberg, (german: Ludwig der Fromme; 1 January 1554, in Stuttgart – 28 August 1593, in Stuttgart) was a German nobleman. He was the Duke of Württemberg, from 1568 until his death. The only surviving son of Christoph, ...

# Joanna Elizabeth of Palatinate-Veldenz (2 October 1573 – 28 July 1601) #

(26 November 1575 – 18 September 1611) #

(24 November 1577 – 24 October 1601) # Maria Anne of Palatinate-Veldenz (9 June 1579 – 10 October 1579) # Catherine Ursula of Palatinate-Veldenz (3 August 1582 – 22 January 1595) #

(24 June 1586 – 29 September 1654)

Ancestry

References

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
*

Ulf Sundberg Ulf Eskil Erik Sundberg (born 29 September 1956) is a Swedish economist, historian and author of books and magazine articles. Sundberg was born in Stockholm, graduated '' Studentexamen'' at Whitlockska in 1976 and became a Master of Philosophy ...

, Kungliga släktband
Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon
(In Swedish)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anna of Sweden House of Vasa 1545 births 1610 deaths Anna 1545 16th-century women rulers House of Wittelsbach 16th-century German people Daughters of kings