Duchess Anna of Prussia and Jülich-Cleves-Berg (3 July 1576 – 30 August 1625) was Electress consort of Brandenburg and Duchess consort of Prussia by marriage to

John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg John Sigismund (german: Johann Sigismund; 8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from the House of Hohenzollern. He became the Duke of Prussia through his marriage to Duchess Anna, the eldes ...

. She was the daughter of

Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia Albert Frederick (german: Albrecht Friedrich; pl, Albrecht Fryderyk; 7 May 1553 – 27 August 1618) was the Duke of Prussia, from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the secon ...

, and

Marie Eleonore of Cleves Duchess Marie Eleonore of Cleves (16 June 1550 – 1 June 1608) was the Duchess of Prussia by marriage to Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. She was the eldest child of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria. Life She was t ...

Biography

Anna was married to John Sigismund on 30 October 1594. Anna was described as intellectually superior to her spouse, temperamental and strong-willed. She is reported to have thrown plates and glasses at her spouse during arguments. She fought on her own to secure her succession rights to various fiefs and handled negotiations with her competitors. In 1612, she placed her demands before the Emperor. After the conversion of her spouse to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

, Anna became the protector and spokesperson of the

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

. She continued to play an important role during the reign of her son. She opposed the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and secured the marriage of her daughter Maria Eleonora to King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

against her son's will in 1620.

Issue

* George William (13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640); successor of John Sigismund. * Anne Sophia of Brandenburg (15 March 1598 – 19 December 1659); married

Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Frederick Ulrich (German Friedrich Ulrich, 5 April 1591 – 11 August 1634), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1613 until his death. Life Frederick Ulrich was the son of Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel a ...

. *

Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (11 November 1599 – 28 March 1655) was a German princess and Queen of Sweden as the consort of King Gustav II Adolph (''Gustavus Adolphus''). She was a daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Anna ...

(11 November 1599 – 28 March 1655); married

. They were parents of

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

. *

Catherine of Brandenburg Catherine of Brandenburg (Königsberg, 28 May 1602 – 27 August 1649, Schöningen) was an elected Princess of Transylvania between 1629 and 1630. She was the daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Anna of Prussia Life Catherine ...

(28 May 1602 – 27 August 1644); married first

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania ( hu, erdélyi fejedelem, german: Fürst von Siebenbürgen, la, princeps Transsylvaniae, ro, principele TransilvanieiFallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the last d ...

and secondly Franz Karl of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a '' reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme so ...

. * Joachim Sigismund of Brandenburg (25 July 1603 – 22 February 1625). * Agnes of Brandenburg (31 August 1606 – 12 March 1607). * John Frederick of Brandenburg (18 August 1607 – 1 March 1608). * Albrecht Christian of Brandenburg (7–14 March 1609).

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anna of Prussia, Duchess 1576 births 1625 deaths House of Hohenzollern Consorts of Brandenburg Prussian royal consorts Electresses of Brandenburg 17th-century Prussian people 17th-century Prussian women