Elisabeth of Denmark (25 August 1573 – 19 July 1625) was duchess consort of Brunswick-Lüneburg as married to Duke
Henry Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She was regent of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1616–1622.
Life
She was the eldest daughter of King
Frederick II of Denmark and his spouse
Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (''Sophia''; 4 September 1557 – 14 October 1631) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to Frederick II of Denmark. She was the mother of King Christian IV of Denmark and Anne of Denmark. She was Regent of Schl ...
. First raised with her maternal grand parents, she returned to Denmark in 1579.
Scottish ambassadors had at first concentrated their suit on Elisabeth as a prospective wife for King
James VI of Scotland, but King Frederick betrothed Elisabeth to the Duke of Brunswick, promising the Scots instead that "for the second daughter
Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
, if the King did like her, he should have her".
There were also other suitors for the princess. In addition to James VI of Scotland,
Archduke Matthias of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(later
Emperor Matthias
Matthias (24 February 1557 – 20 March 1619) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612 to 1619, Archduke of Austria from 1608 to 1619, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 to 1618, and King of Bohemia from 1611 to 1617. His personal motto was ''Concord ...
) also had plans for a marriage to her, and during a visit to Denmark in February
1587, he had spoken to
Frederick II about this, but nothing came of it, unknown for what reason. Presumably there have been
religious concerns about this.
She was married on 19 April 1590 at
Kronborg Castle
Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UNE ...
to Duke
Henry Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. James VI gave gifts of jewels at the wedding worth 4,000
Danish dalers. When her future spouse first arrived for the wedding in 1590, he disguised himself as a jeweler; he presented her with jewelry, and stated that prize was her body. As a result, he was thrown in jail until he could prove his identity and explain that it had been a joke.
As duchess, she remained in close correspondence with her brother, the Danish monarch. In September 1598 Scottish ambassadors
David Cunningham and
Peter Young came to
Gröningen Priory
Gröningen Priory (german: Kloster Gröningen) was a Benedictine monastery, located west of Gröningen in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The abbey church is part of the Romanesque Road scenic route.
History
The monastery was founded upon the ...
seeking support for James VI's succession to the English throne. Henry Julius gave a cautious reply and in a separate letter Elizabeth replied that she had been ill for several months and had made a moderate recovery.
[Annie I. Cameron, ''Warrender Papers'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1932), pp. 374-7.]
After the death of her husband in 1613, she reigned in her dowry. In 1616, she removed her son, Friederich Ulrich, from the government with the support of her brother,
Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, because of his alcoholism. She resumed the regency, and she remained in charge for the next six years, assisted by
Anton von Streithorst. She received a visit from her brother Christian in 1616.
In 1617, she founded the Retreat for the Poor with a chapel, ''Elisabeth Stift''. During the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
(1618–1648) the castle was raided and was not repaired until 1654.
Issue
#
Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Frederick Ulrich (German Friedrich Ulrich, 5 April 1591 – 11 August 1634), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1613 until his death.
Life
Frederick Ulrich was the son of Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel a ...
(15 April 1591 – 21 August 1634)
#
Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (20 February 1592 – 23 January 1642), married
Ernest Casimir, Prince of Nassau-Dietz
Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe.
Biography
He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Leu ...
#
Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
(23 June 1593 – 25 March 1650), married
Augustus, Duke of Saxony, and
John Philip, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Johann Philipp (25 January 1597 – 1 April 1639), was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
He was born in Torgau, the eldest (but fourth in order of birth) surviving son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Anna Maria of the Palatinate-Neu ...
#
Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (19 February 1595 – 26 June 1650), married
Ulrich, Duke of Pomerania
Duke Ulrich of Pomerania (12 August 1589, in Barth – 31 October 1622, in Przybiernów), was a Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin and non-reigning Duke of Pomerania.
Life
Ulrich was the youngest son of Duke Bogislaw XIII ...
# Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (8 July 1596 – 1 September 1643), married
Christian William of Brandenburg, son of
Joachim III 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 Bran ...
# Heinrich Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (7 October 1597 – 11 July 1606)
#
Christian the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (20 September 1599 – 16 July 1626)
# Rudolph of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (15 June 1602 – 13 June 1616)
# Heinrich Karl of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (4 September 1609 – 11 June 1615)
# Anna Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (19 May 1612 – 17 February 1673), married
George Louis,
Count of Nassau-Dillenburg
Ancestry
References
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Bind. Clemens - Eynden(in Danish)
{{Authority control
Middle House of Brunswick
Danish princesses
Norwegian princesses
Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg
1573 births
1626 deaths
17th-century women rulers
Children of Frederick II of Denmark
Daughters of kings