Duchess Marie Eleonore of Cleves (16 June 1550 – 1 June 1608) was the Duchess of Prussia by marriage to

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 ...

. She was the eldest child of

William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg William of Jülich-Cleves-Berge (William I of Cleves, William V of Jülich-Berg) (german: Wilhelm der Reiche; 28 July 1516 – 5 January 1592) was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1539–1592). William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was th ...

and Maria of Austria.

Life

She was the maternal 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 ...

and

Anna of Bohemia and Hungary Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (23 July 1503 – 27 January 1547), sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica, was Queen of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary and Archduchess of Austria as the wife of King Ferdinand I (later Holy Roman Emperor). Early ...

, and sister of

John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Johann Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (german: Johann Wilhelm, Herzog zu Kleve, Jülich und Berg, links=no) (28 May 1562 – 25 March 1609) was the last Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Biography His parents were William ''the Rich'', Duke of Jü ...

While her father was a Roman Catholic, Marie Eleonore, displayed firm Lutheran sympathies early on. Her father was afraid that she would influence her younger sisters with her religious views, and therefore wished to have her married to someone of her own religious convictions as soon as possible in order to remove her from his domains, and thus considered grooms for his daughter that he would not otherwise have considered.

, the son of

Albert of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secu ...

, was thus accepted as a suitor, despite showing mental disorders. The wedding was conducted in 1573, and Marie Eleonore departed to Lutheran Prussia. In 1577, her mentally ill spouse was placed under the regency of his cousin

George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach George Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach (german: Georg Friedrich der Ältere; 5 April 1539 in Ansbach – 25 April 1603) was Margrave of Ansbach and Bayreuth, as well as Regent of Prussia. He was the son of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach a ...

, which made the position of Marie Eleonore more difficult at the Ducal court of Köningsberg. In 1591, she returned with her daughters to Jülich, where she remained until 1592. She arranged the marriage of her daughters to German princes to avoid them being married by the Regency Council to Polish suitors, and by the marriage alliances she arranged, she ensured that the Duchy of Jülich would pass to Brandenburg after the death of her brother.R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).

Issue

Anna of Prussia 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. She was the daughter of Albert Frederic ...

(3 July 1576 – 30 August 1625); married

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 ...

. * Duchess Marie of Prussia (23 January 1579 – 21 February 1649); married

Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (30 January 1581 in Cölln – 30 May 1655 in Bayreuth) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (later renamed ''Brandenburg-Bayreuth''). He was the eldest ...

. * Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia (1 June 1580 – 8 October 1580). * Duchess Sofie of Prussia (31 March 1582 – 4 December 1610); married

Wilhelm Kettler Wilhelm Kettler (20 June 1574 – 7 April 1640) was the Duke of Courland, a Baltic German region in today's Latvia. Wilhelm ruled the western Courland portion of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, while his brother Friedrich Kettler, Frie ...

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

. * Duchess Eleonore of Prussia (22 August 1583 – 31 March/9 April 1607); married

Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim Frederick (27 January 1546 – 18 July 1608), of the House of Hohenzollern, was Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1598 until his death. Biography Joachim Frederick was born in Cölln to John George, Elector of Branden ...

. * Duke Wilhelm Frederick of Prussia (23 June 1585 – 18 January 1586). *

Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony. She is a 6th times matrilineal great grandmother to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Life ...

(31 December 1586 – 22 February 1659); married

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 ...

Ancestors

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Eleonore of Cleves 1550 births 1608 deaths People from the Duchy of Cleves Nobility from Düsseldorf Prussian royal consorts Duchesses of Prussia House of La Marck