Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (''Sophia''; 4 September 1557 – 4 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 Schleswig and Holstein from 1590 to 1594.Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon
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The only child of Ulrich III of Mecklenburg and Elizabeth of Denmark, Sophie married her cousin, Frederick II of Denmark, in 1572, and their marriage was remarkably happy. She had little political influence during their marriage, although she maintained her own court and exercised a degree of autonomy over patronages. Sophie developed an interest in astrology, chemistry, alchemy and iatrochemistry, supporting and visiting Tycho Brahe on Ven in 1586 and later. She has later been described as a woman "of great intellectual capacity, noted especially as a patroness of scientists". She became widowed at the age of 31 and in the first few years after Frederick's death, Sophie vigorously endeavoured to consolidate her position of power. However, lacking domestic allies and faced with a power-conscious Danish nobility, this was only partially successful; while she was recognized as regent of Schleswig and Holstein, her efforts to lead the regency council of her underage son came into direct conflict with the Danish Council of the Realm and ultimately proved unsuccessful. In 1594, she retreated to her dower estate, comprising the islands of Lolland and Falster. Despite this setback, Sophie's influence did not diminish throughout her widowhood; on the contrary, she was unwilling to be sidelined from political affairs, and she greatly strengthened her status through enormous and ever-expanding monetary leverage.

Through the skilful management of her vast widowed estate, she amassed an enormous fortune, becoming the richest woman in Northern Europe and the second wealthiest individual in Europe after Maximillian I of Bavaria. From the outset, Sophie displayed exceptional enterprise and determination, implementing wide-scale agrarian reforms to increase the yield and revenue of her estate. Frequently disbursing funds from her "inexhaustible coffers", Sophie financially supported her son, as well as the Council of the Realm, and thereby effectively the entire Danish-Norwegian state. She maintained a large lending business, earning interest, and extending loans to, among others her son Christian IV, her son-in-law King James VI & I, her grandson Duke Frederick Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and several other principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. When she died in 1631, James Howell, secretary to the English Ambassador in Denmark, remarked that she was the "richest Queen in Christendom".

Queen Sophie exerted significant political influence both domestically and internationally during her widowhood. She strengthened the Protestant alliances of Denmark through the arrangement of influential marriages for her daughters, often contributing substantial funds for the dowry and jewellery herself. She also conducted extensive correspondence with rulers and nobles across northern Europe, and through her strategic economic dealings, she " inanceddiplomacy and war", as described by historian Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks. Sophie played a crucial role in shaping the foreign relations of Denmark, notably during the Thirty Years' War, influencing peace negotiations and ultimately contributing to the Treaty of Lübeck in 1629.

Some historians, especially earlier ones, have either disregarded Sophie or dismissed her as power-hungry and rapacious. However, 19th-century writers including Ellen Jørgensen considered her a woman of "unparalleled skill" and "indomitable resourcefulness". Recent reassessments recognize her remarkable entrepreneurship as a dowager, and in particular her ability to entrench herself as a pervasive power in the political landscape of late Reformation Denmark and Europe.

Early life

Born in Wismar, she was the daughter of Duke Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Princess Elizabeth of Denmark (a daughter of Frederick I and Sophie of Pomerania). Through her father, a grandson of Elizabeth of Denmark, she descended from King John of Denmark, the brother of Frederick I. Like Ulrich, she had a great love of knowledge. Later, she would be known as one of the most learned Queens of the time.

Queen

At the age of fourteen Sophie, on 20 July 1572, married Frederick II of Denmark in Copenhagen; he was thirty-eight. She was crowned the following day. They were first half-cousins, through their grandfather, Frederick I, King of Denmark and Norway. They met at Nykøbing Castle, when it had been arranged for the king to meet with Margaret of Pomerania, daughter of Philip I of Pomerania. She was brought to Denmark by Sophie's parents, who decided to also bring their own daughter. Sophie found favour with the king, who betrothed himself to her, and married her six months later. King Frederick had been in love with the noblewoman Anne Corfitzdatter Hardenberg for many years, but was unable to marry her due to her being a noblewoman, not a princess, the opposition of the Danish Privy Council as well as eventually Anne herself.

Despite the age difference between Sophie and Frederick, the marriage was a happy one. Queen Sophie was a loving mother, nursing her children personally during their illnesses. When Frederick was sick with malaria in 1575, she personally nursed him and wrote many worried letters to her father about his progress. King Frederick was well known for being fond of drinking and hunting, but he was a loving spouse to Sophie, writing of her with great fondness in his personal diary (where he kept careful track of where she and their children were in the country) and there is no evidence of extramarital affairs on the part of either spouse. Their marriage is described as having been harmonious. All of their children were sent to live with her parents in Mecklenburg for the first years of their lives, with the possible exception of the last son, Hans, as it was the belief at the time that the parents would indulge their children too much. She showed a keen interest in science and visited the astronomer Tycho Brahe. She was also interested in the old songs of folklore.

Matchmaker

Around the time of Frederick's death, Sophie's most important function was as a matchmaker for her children. Her daughter, Anne of Denmark, married James VI of Scotland and became queen consort in 1589. She arranged the marriage against the will of the council. When James VI came to Denmark, she gave him a present of 10,000 dalers. She was also deeply involved in the negotiations that led to the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She oversaw the levying of 150,000 dalers for the two weddings and other expenses, and spent herself 50,000 on jewellery.

In 1596, she arranged the marriage of her daughter Princess Augusta to John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, which improved Denmark's connections to the north German Lutheran states. Finally, in 1602, she negotiated the marriage of Hedwig to Christian II, Elector of Saxony. She also played a key role in finding appropriate spouses for her younger sons. She was the main negotiator in the marriage arrangements between her son Christian, heir to the throne, and Princess Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, whom Sophie called a "pure pearl".

Widowhood and queen-dowager

Aftermath of Frederick's death

Frederick II died on 4 April 1588, at Antvorskov Castle. Their son, now king Christian IV, was just 10 years old, and a regency council () was therefore to be set up to serve as the trustees of the royal authority. Already on 15 April, the Council of the Realm had hastily assembled at Antvorskov and appointed a regency. It was to be led by Chancellor Niels Kaas (1535–1594) and consisted of the council members Peder Munk (1534–1623), Jørgen Ottesen Rosenkrantz (1523–1596) and Christoffer Valkendorff (1525–1601).

Although it was common in Europe for a dowager queen to act as regent for her minor children, the Council of the Realm pointedly excluded Sophie from the regency. She was given a ceremonial role, allowing her to maintain her royal court. During Frederick II’s funeral in June 1588, she asserted her influence by insisting on a more lavish and expensive ceremony and procession than the one planned by the council, arguing that a modest funeral would harm the Crown’s international reputation. She also arranged for the dowries for her daughters and secured her own allowance, all independently and in defiance of the council.Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon
/ref> During the first two years of her widowhood, she resided mainly at Kronborg Castle and Frederiksborg Castle.

Regency of the duchies and conflicts with the council

While sidelined in Denmark, Sophie concentrated on the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, where — as the children’s mother — she laid claim to a regency () on behalf of Christian, Ulrik, and Hans. These duchies were governed under a dual framework: Schleswig was a Danish fief, whereas Holstein belonged to the Holy Roman Empire.

At first, there was talk of German princes acting as guardians, yet the Danish governor () in the royal part of the duchies, Heinrich Rantzau, and the regional nobility deemed it unnecessary, citing Sophie as the more appropriate figure, given her status as both dowager queen and ''"mother of the country"'' (). Following negotiations, Sophie formally accepted in September 1590 at Haderslev