Albrecht VII, the Handsome,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

Güstrow Güstrow (; ) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is capital of the Rostock (district), Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the sevent ...

(25 July 1486 – 5 January 1547), was a minor ruler in North

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

of the 16th century. He also asserted claims to Scandinavian thrones based on the royal lineage of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian Slavs, Polabian origin that ruled German revolution, until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana o ...

. In the course of the so-called

Count's Feud The Count's Feud (), sometimes referred to as the Count's War, was a Danish war of succession occurring from 1534 to 1536, which gave rise to the Reformation in Denmark. In the broader international context, it was a part of the European wars of ...

, the

Free City of Lübeck Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (gratis), Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the di ...

involved Duke Albrecht in its alliance with various parties and offered him the Danish crown. King

Christian III of Denmark Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

, however, managed to keep his kingdom: Christopher, Count of Oldenburg, and Duke Albert were besieged in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1535–1536 until they capitulated.

Marriage and children

On 17 January 1524 he married

Anna of Brandenburg Margravine Anna of Brandenburg (27 August 1487 – 3 May 1514) was a noblewoman from the Holy Roman Empire. Margravine Anna was the daughter of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and Margaret of Thuringia. She was born in Berlin, Branden ...

, a daughter of

Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

. They had the following children: *Magnus of Mecklenburg (born and died 19 November 1524) * John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (23 December 1525 – 12 February 1576) * Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Schwerin (21 April 1528 – 14 March 1603) * George of Mecklenburg (22 February 1529 – 20 July 1552), * Anna of Mecklenburg (14 October 1533 – 4 July 1602); married

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler''; ; ; ; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order from 1559 to 1561 and the first Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, Duke of Courland and Semigallia f ...

, Duke of

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

, and had issue. *Louis of Mecklenburg (1535–1535) *John of Mecklenburg (1536–1536) *

Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch (30 July 1537 – 4 March 1592) was a son of Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg. He was Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch, as well as administrator of Ratzeburg and of the Commandery of Mirow. Life Ch ...

(30 June 1537 – 4 March 1592); married in 1573 to Dorothea (1528 – 11 November 1575), daughter of

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I ( Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Reformatio ...

and on 14 May 1581 to

Princess Elizabeth of Sweden Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (also known as ''Elisabet Gustavsdotter Vasa''; 5 April 1549 – 20 November 1597), was a Swedish princess, and a duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch by marriage to Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch. Sh ...

(5 April 1549 – 20 November 1597) *Sophie of Mecklenburg (10 April 1538 – 1538) *

Charles I, Duke of Mecklenburg Charles I (28 December 1540 in Neustadt – 22 July 1610 in Güstrow), was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg in the Mecklenburg-Güstrow part of the country. He was the youngest son of the Duke Albert VII and his wife, Anna of Brandenburg. Betw ...

-Güstrow and Schwerin (28 September 1540 – 22 July 1610)

Literature

* Lutz Sellmer, ''Albrecht VII. von Mecklenburg und die Grafenfehde (1534-1536),'' Frankfurt am Main 1999. * Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Dukes of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 1486 births 1547 deaths House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin People of the Count's Feud {{Germany-duke-stub