Ingeborg of Denmark () (4 January 1347 – 16 June 1370) was the eldest daughter of

Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag, Valdemar Christoffersen or Waldemar (24 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance wars under previous rul ...

and his wife

Helvig of Schleswig Helvig of Schleswig (also erroneously Hedwig; 1320–1374) was the queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Valdemar IV. She was the mother of Queen Margaret I of Denmark. Life Helvig was the daughter of Eric II, Duke of Schleswig, and Adelaid ...

. By marriage, she was Duchess of Mecklenburg, although she died before her husband succeeded her father-in-law. She was a potential heiress to the Danish throne and was the older sister of

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I (; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was Queen regnant 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 kingdoms together for ...

Biography

Ingeborg was betrothed to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg after the death of Ingeborg's older sister Margaret in 1350, who was betrothed to the Duke. She had two sisters named Margaret. The marriage contract between Henry and Ingeborg was established in

Dornburg Dornburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It sits atop a small hill of 400 ft above the Saale. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg. History Within the German Empire (1871–1918) ...

on 23 October 1350. Ingeborg and Henry then married in 1362. They had the following children: *Euphemia (d. 1400), married to John V, Prince of Mecklenburg-Werle * Albert IV (1362–1388), Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, married to Elisabeth of Holstein *

Maria 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, ...

(1363–1403), wife of Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania *Ingeborg (1368–1408), a nun in

Ribnitz Ribnitz-Damgarten () is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated on Lake Ribnitz (''Ribnitzer See''). Ribnitz-Damgarten is in the west of the district Vorpommern-Rügen. The border between the historical regions of Mecklenburg and P ...

1376, where she was the abbess 1395–1408 Ingeborg was a potential heir to the Danish throne in 1363 upon the death of her only surviving brother,

Christopher, Duke of Lolland Christopher (; 1341 – 11 June 1363), Duke of Lolland, was the son of King Valdemar IV of Denmark and his wife, Helvig of Schleswig. Christopher was appointed duke in 1359 and also was selected to succeed as king. He was first mentioned in 1354 ...

. However, Denmark was an

elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by a monarch who is elected, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, ...

, and Ingeborg too predeceased King Valdemar. Ingeborg's father died without appointing an heir. The succession to the Danish throne was disputed. The Estates of Denmark met at

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

to elect the next king. The nobles were divided between either electing Ingeborg's son Albert IV, put forth by his grandfather

Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg (c. 1318 – 18 February 1379) was a feudal lord in Northern Germany on the shores of the Baltic Sea. He reigned as the head of the House of Mecklenburg. His princely seat was located in Schwerin beginning in t ...

; Margaret's son Olaf II, heir to the Norwegian throne; or choosing a new dynasty. The estates were eventually won over by Queen Margaret's charm and popularity, as the only surviving daughter of the deceased king, and along with the potential of a union with Norway and anti-German sentiments, Olaf II was elected as King of Denmark in 1376 with Queen Margaret as regent.Margaret of Denmark By Mary Hill. Page 52-55
/ref> With

Albert III, Duke of Mecklenburg Albert (, – 1 April 1412), also known as Albert of Mecklenburg (), was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412. Background He was the second son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and Euphemia of ...

, Ingeborg's brother-in-law, on the Swedish throne, the Danish may not want another Mecklenburg ruler in Scandinavia. Ingeborg's grandson

Eric of Pomerania Erik of Pomerania ( 1381/1382 – 24 September 1459) ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret I until her death in 1412. Erik is known as Erik III as King of ...

, inherited the rights of his grandmother and succeeded as King of Denmark in 1396 with Margaret as his regent. He became the first monarch of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Her last surviving descendant was

Christopher of Bavaria Christopher of Bavaria (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Christoffer''; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kristofer''; 26 February 1416 – 5/6 January 1448) was King of Denmark (1440–48, as Christopher III), King of Sw ...

, who succeeded Eric as ruler of the Kalmar Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingeborg Of Denmark, Duchess Of Mecklenburg 1347 births 1370 deaths House of Estridsen Valdemar IV of Denmark Princesses of Denmark Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 14th-century German women 14th-century German nobility 14th-century Danish nobility 14th-century Danish women Daughters of kings Mothers of German monarchs