Catherine of Pomerania (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Katharina von Pommern''; c. 1390 - 4 March 1426), was a Pomeranian princess, and a Countess Palatine of Neumarkt as the wife of

John, Count Palatine of Neumarkt John (Johann von Pfalz-Neumarkt; 1383 – 14 March 1443) was the Count Palatine of Neumarkt from 1410 to his death. The son of Rupert III of the Palatinate, he married Catherine of Pomerania in 1407. He is mainly known for his crushing victory ...

, and the mother of Christopher of Bavaria, king of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

Life

Catherine was the daughter of

Wartislaw VII Wartislaw VII ( pl, Warcisław VII) (1363/1365 – 1394/1395) was one of the Duchy of Pomerania, Dukes of Pomerania. His full name was Henry Wartislaw.The King Who Became a Pirate Story by Anja Klemp Vilgaard · Illustrations by Darya Malikova � ...

, Duke of Pomerania in

Pomerania-Stolp The Duchy of Pomerania-Stolp, also known as the Duchy of Stolp, and the Duchy of Słupsk, was a feudal duchy in Farther Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Słupsk. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty. It existed in the High M ...

and

Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Marie of Mecklenburg, born sometime between 1363 and 1367, but probably by 1365, dead after 13 May 1402, was a duchess of Pomerania. She was the daughter of Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg, Duke Henry III of Mecklenburg (death 1383) and Ingeborg o ...

. Maria was the daughter of

Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg ( 1337 – 24 April 1383) was Duke of Mecklenburg from 1379 until his death. Life Henry was the first son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and his wife Euphemia of Sweden, the sister of King Magnus IV of Sweden. ...

and Ingeborg of Denmark, eldest daughter of sonless King Valdemar IV of Denmark and older sister of

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I ( da, Margrete Valdemarsdatter; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was ruler of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian k ...

. Henry III's mother was Euphemia of Sweden, the daughter of Erik Magnusson and the sister of Magnus Eriksson. Catherine's brother was Eric of Pomerania, future king of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The two siblings were adopted by their grandaunt Queen

in 1388 and likely brought to Margaret at the same occasion. Initially, Margaret's plan was for Catherine to enter the Vadstena Abbey Catherine was a candidate for a time for marriage to Prince

Henry of Wales Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succe ...

. This marriage was suggested in 1400–1401, and it was the idea that a double wedding was to be arranged between Catherine and Henry in parallel to the wedding between her brother Eric and Henry's sister Philippa. The marriage between Catherine and Henry never occurred and was broken off in 1404. The English had wished for Catherine's children with Henry to inherit the Nordic thrones in the case of Eric dying without an heir (which was impossible since the Kalmar Union was elective), as well as an alliance against France, which Margaret could not agree to. In 1406, another indirect link to the English royal house was created when the brother-in-law of Philippa suggested a marriage with

. John was the son of Rupert, King of Germany. An alliance with the German king was more valuable for the Nordic Union considering their problem with the Hanseatic League.Flemberg, Marie-Louise, Filippa: engelsk prinsessa och nordisk unionsdrottning, Santérus, Stockholm, 2014 The negotiations were completed in one year, and Margaret gave Catherine a dowry of 4,000 gulden, much less than was expected by her future father-in-law. On 15 August 1407, Catherine married John in Ribe, Denmark. They would have seven children, but only their youngest,

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, would live past infancy. Christopher would succeed his uncle Eric as king of the three Scandinavian kingdoms. Catharine died on 4 March 1426.

References

www.warholm.nu/Kingdan.html
*Edward Rymar. ''Rodowód książąt pomorskich''. Szczecin 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine of Pomerania 1390 births 1426 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Griffins House of Wittelsbach 15th-century Polish nobility House of Palatinate-Neumarkt