Christine of Hesse (29 June 1543 – 13 May 1604) was Duchess consort of

Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...

as the spouse of Duke

Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp Adolf of Denmark or Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (25 January 1526 –1 October 1586) was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg. He was the third son of King Frederick I of Denmark and hi ...

. She exerted some political influence as a widow after 1586.

Biography

Christine was born in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

as a daughter of Landgrave

Philip I of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protesta ...

and his spouse

Christine of Saxony Christine of Saxony (25 December 1505 – 15 April 1549) was a German noble, landgravine consort of Hesse by marriage to Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.Eckhart G. Franz (Hrsg.): Haus Hessen. Biografisches Lexikon. (= Arbeiten der Hessischen Hi ...

. She was given a strict Protestant upbringing by her aunt Elizabeth, Dowager Duchess of Saxony. Christine received a proposal from King

Eric XIV of Sweden Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Es ...

, but this did not come about. Her wedding celebration resulted in a

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

, when the guests at the wedding reception consumed too much alcohol. In 1565, the

Gottorf Castle Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...

was destroyed by fire, which cost her her personal possessions. As duchess, Christine supported churches and schools and scholarships to poor students in theology. She was interested in medicine, and also manufactured her own medicines. As a widow after 1586, Christine defended the rights of her son Philip against the council. Christine composed the psalm-book ''Geistliche Psalmen und Lieder'' (1590).

Family and children

On 17 December 1564 Christine was married to Duke

and had the following children: # Frederick II (21 April 1568 – 15 June 1587). #

Sophia Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) *Sophia (given name) Places *Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu *Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana *Sophia, North Carolina, an unincorpor ...

(1 June 1569 – 14 November 1634), married on 17 February 1588 to

John VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Johann VII of Mecklenburg (7 March 1558 – 22 March 1592) (sometimes called Johann V, and usually translated to John VII or John V) was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Biography Johann was the son of John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow a ...

. #

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

(10 August 1570 – 18 October 1590). # Christina (13 April 1573 – 8 December 1625), married on 27 August 1592 to King

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric X ...

. # John Adolph (27 February 1575 – 31 March 1616). #

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

(27 February 1575 – 24 April 1625), married 28 January 1598 to Count

Enno III of Ostfriesland Enno III of Ostfriesland or Enno III of East Frisia (30 September 1563, Aurich – 19 August 1625) was a Count of Ostfriesland from 1599 to 1625 from the Cirksena family. He was the elder son of Count Edzard II of Ostfriesland and his wife P ...

. # Christian, died young in 1577. # Agnes (20 December 1578 – 1627). # John Frederick, prince-bishop of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

and Verden, (1 September 1579 – 3 September 1634). Through her daughters Sophia and Anna, she is an ancestor of British Monarch

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Ancestors

External links

* *
Article in the ABD
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Christine of Hesse 1543 births 1604 deaths 16th-century German women writers 16th-century German writers 17th-century German people 17th-century philanthropists 17th-century German women Duchesses of Holstein-Gottorp German Protestant hymnwriters German philanthropists German women philanthropists House of Holstein-Gottorp Patrons of schools German women writers Women hymnwriters