Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an

Electress An Electress (, ) was the consort of a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the Empire's greatest princes. The Golden Bull of 1356 established by Emperor Charles IV settled the number of Electors at seven. However, three of these were ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

as the spouse of

John George I, Elector of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Chr ...

. She is a 6th times matrilineal great grandmother to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Life

She was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

, 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 ...

. She married John George on 19 July 1607 in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

. She was a great-granddaughter of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1 ...

. She is also in three ways an ancestor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, mother of

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until Acts of Union 1800, the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was ...

. In that way, she connected the ancestry of the British monarchs to the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

. She was a friend of the Swedish queen

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 ...

, her niece, and was interested in painting, poetry and gardening. She used Swedish

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

to work on the ''Dresdner Festungsbau'' ("Dresden fortress"). As a widow in 1656, she retired to the ''Dresdner Frau Kurfürstin-Haus'' and died in Dresden in 1659.

Children

She had ten children: #

Stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

son (Dresden, 18 July 1608) # Sophie Eleonore (Dresden, 23 November 1609 – Darmstadt, 2 June 1671), married on 1 April 1627 Landgrave Georg II of Hesse-Darmstadt # Marie Elisabeth (Dresden, 22 November 1610 – Husum, 24 October 1684), married on 21 February 1630 Duke

Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frede ...

# Christian Albert (Dresden, 4 March 1612 – Dresden, 9 August 1612) # Johann Georg II (Dresden, 31 May 1613 – Freiberg, 22 August 1680), successor of his father as Elector of Saxony #

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

(Dresden, 13 August 1614 – Halle, 4 August 1680), inherited Weissenfels as Duke. #

Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

(Dresden, 27 October 1615 – Merseburg, 18 October 1691), inherited Merseburg as Duke # Magdalene Sibylle (Dresden, 23 December 1617 – Schloss Altenburg, 6 January 1668), married firstly on 5 October 1634 to Crown Prince

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, eldest son and heir of King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

; and secondly, on 11 October 1652, to Duke Frederick Wilhelm II of Saxe-Altenburg #

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

(Dresden, 28 March 1619 – Moritzburg, 4 December 1681), inherited Zeitz as Duke # Heinrich (Dresden, 27 June 1622 – Dresden, 15 August 1622).

Ancestry

References

* Franz Otto Stichart: ''Galerie der sächsischen Fürstinnen; biogr. Skizzen sämtlicher Ahnfrauen des kgl. Hauses Sachsen.'' Leipzig 1857 * Heinrich Theodor Flathe: Magdalena Sibylla. In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

(ADB). Band 20, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 49.

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia, Duchess 1586 births 1659 deaths Electoral Princesses of Saxony Electresses of Saxony Nobility from Königsberg ⚭Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Burials at Freiberg Cathedral