Anne of Austria (16 August 1573 – 10 February 1598) was

Queen of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

and Sweden as the first

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

of King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

Biography

Anne was a daughter of

Charles II of Austria Charles II Francis of Austria (german: Karl II. Franz von Innerösterreich) (3 June 1540 – 10 July 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola, Carinthia and Gorizia) from 1564. He was a member of the House o ...

and Maria Anna of Bavaria. She was the grandchild 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, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabor ...

and

Anne 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). Ea ...

(1503–1547). Her mother was an important supporter of the Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria, who gave her children an upbringing focused on Catholicism. The siblings were made to attend church from the age of one, their first words were to be Jesus and Mary, they were tutored by Catholic priests, and Latin was to be a priority before their native German language. As a child, Anna was called "Andle", and she was taught to translate Ribadeneyra's ''Vita Ignatii Loyolæ'' from Latin to German. Outside of Latin and Catholicism, she was mainly tutored in household tasks such as sewing and cooking."Anna", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' (urn:sbl:18720, art av Hj. Bergstrand.) retrieved 1 October 2020.

Marriage

In 1577, the Papal envoy to Sweden, Possevino, suggested that the children of King John III of Sweden be married to children of the Habsburg dynasty. This was in a period when Sweden was close to a Counter-Reformation under John III and his Polish queen

Catherine Jagiellon Catherine Jagiellon ( pl, Katarzyna Jagiellonka; sv, Katarina Jagellonica, Lithuanian: ''Kotryna Jogailatė''; 1 November 1526 – 16 September 1583) was a Polish princess and Queen of Sweden as the first wife of King John III. As such, she ...

. The Pope gave his approval to the idea of a marriage alliance between Habsburg and Sweden in the persons of Anna and Sigismund, as did the Polish king and queen, and when visiting Graz in 1578, Possevino acquired a portrait of Anna to bring with him on his next visit to the Swedish court. Soon after, however, a new proposal was made to arrange a marriage between Anna and Henry of Lorraine to prevent French expansion in Lorraine, and for a while, these plans were given priority. In 1585, Anna accompanied her parents to the Imperial court in Vienna and Prague, unofficially to investigate a possible marriage to her cousin the Emperor, but those plans did not come to fruition either. In 1586-1587, when Prince Sigismund of Sweden was elected king of Poland, his maternal aunt, Queen

Anna Jagiellon Anna Jagiellon ( pl, Anna Jagiellonka, lt, Ona Jogailaitė; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and Italian duchess Bon ...

, resummed the old plans of a marriage between Sigismund and Anna. Anna's parents, however, still preferred the match with Henry of Lorraine, especially because of the political instability in Poland, the opposition of chancellor Jan Zamoisky and Archbishop Maximilian's desire for the Polish crown. In 1589, the Polish court opted for Maria Anna of Bavaria instead. In 1591, however, the Emperor finally decided that a marriage to Sigismund would be the match for Anna which would best benefit the Habsburg dynasty. Count

Gustaf Brahe Gustaf Brahe (8 March 1558 – 10 January 1615) was a Swedish ''riksråd'' and a Polish Field marshal. Gustaf Brahe was the son of Per Brahe the Elder and Beata Stenbock, and related to the royal family. He was the paternal grandson of Margareta ...

was sent as an envoy to Graz, other formalities were negotiated by Sigismund's favorite cardinal Georg Radziwil, and Anna, who was personally unwilling, was told to obey the Emperor's command. In April 1592, the betrothal was formally celebrated in the Imperial Court in Vienna; on 4 May, a proxy wedding was celebrated, after which Anna and her mother departed for the wedding in Krakow. Anne became the first wife of Sigismund of Poland on 31 May 1592. This marriage was opposed by many '' szlachta'' (nobles) of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, who were opposed to the alliance with the Austrian Habsburgs that Sigismund pursued. When Sigismund sent Cardinal Radziwill to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

for his bride, the anti-Habsburg party with chancellor

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski ( la, Ioannes Zamoyski de Zamoscie; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Cha ...

guarded the borders to prevent the Archduchess from entering the country. Anne evaded the guards, arrived in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, and was crowned in May 1592 by Primas Karnkowski as the Queen of Poland. Later, during her lifetime, the capital of the Commonwealth was moved from Kraków to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Queen

Anna was described as attractive and intelligent. She acquired the confidence and love of the introvert Sigismund, and their relationship was described as a happy one, with her functioning as his support during the many trials of the politically unstable 1590s. Sigismund became king of Sweden as well in 1592, and the king and queen were required to go to Sweden to be crowned. The Poles did not want Sigismund to leave Poland, and demanded that Anna remain in Poland as a hostage. Sigismund rejected this condition, and they departed for Sweden in 1593. The voyage to Sweden was difficult, and Anne was pregnant. Anne did not like Sweden, nor did she make a good impression on the Swedes: raised as a fervent Catholic, she strongly disapproved of the Protestant Swedes, whom she regarded as heretics, and could not tolerate the Lutheran clergy. She became involved in a conflict with the Protestant Dowager Queen

Gunilla Bielke Gunilla Bielke; Swedish: ''Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke af Åkerö'' (25 June 1568 – 19 July 1597) was Queen of Sweden as the second wife of King John III. Queen Gunilla is acknowledged to have acted as the political adviser to John III and to h ...

, whom she accused of having stolen valuables from the Royal Palace. She felt a strong mistrust toward her husband's Swedish Protestant uncle, Duke Charles. She was crowned as the Queen of Sweden in

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran t ...

on 19 February 1594, but because the ceremony was a Protestant one, she viewed it as an empty ceremony of no consequence. Her political influence as the confidant of Sigismund was noted, and Anne and her Jesuit confessor Sigismund Ehrenhöffer acted as a channel between the king and the Papal envoy Germanico Malaspina, to whom they gave information about the king's policy. In April 1594 in Stockholm, she gave birth to daughter, Catherine, whose baptism was elaborately celebrated at the Swedish court, but the child died soon after. The Poles had demanded that she leave her daughter Anna Maria behind her as hostage in Poland during their stay in Sweden. She had also been afraid that the Swedes would demand to keep her daughter Catherine (born in Sweden) when she returned to Poland. On her departure from Sweden in July 1594, she was granted the towns of

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

Söderköping Söderköping is a locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''town''. ...

, and Stegeborg as personal domains on the condition that she respect the Protestant belief within these fiefs. Upon their return to Poland, Anne acted as the confidant of Sigismund. She advised him on navigating between the Polish noble factions, on the League against the Ottoman Empire, and especially on the relationship between Poland and the Habsburg dynasty. She had however no interest in maintaining the personal union between Catholic Poland and Protestant Sweden, and used her influence to oppose the plan to have her son Wladislaus succeed Sweden by sending him there to be brought up a Protestant. Anne died on 10 February 1598 in Warsaw as a result of haemorrhage during the birth of her last child, who also died then. Sigismund III then married her sister Constance Renate of Habsburg.

Issue

Anna had five children, but only Władysław lived to become an adult: #Anna Maria (23 May 1593 – 9 February 1600) #Catherine (19 April 1594 – 16 May 1594) # Władysław (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648), (reigned 1632-1648 as Władysław IV of Poland) #Catherine (27 September 1596 – 2 June 1597) #Christopher (10 February 1598 – 10 February 1598)

Ancestors

Gallery

File:Szwankowski Anna of Austria.jpg, Early portrait of Anne attributed to Jan Szwankowski File:01144Kraków.JPG, Vasa Gate at the

Wawel The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

built in 1595 by king Sigismund III to commemorate the birth of his heir. File:RoyalGraves.JPG, Her coffin in the Sigismund's Crypt under the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

(second from the left).

References

Citations

Sources

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
(Swedish) * ''Europe in the sixteenth-century'',

Andrew Pettegree Andrew D. M. Pettegree is a British historian and an expert on the European Reformation, the history of the book and media transformations. he holds a professorship at St Andrews University, where he is the director of the Universal Short Title ...

, 2002, * ''Den svenska historien. 4. Gustav Vasa. Riket formas (The History of Sweden. 4. Gustav Vasa. The empire is formed)'', Gunvor Grenholm, Jan Cornell, Jerker Rosén, Sten Carlsson and Svenolov Ehrén, 1978,