Agnes of Kuenring was an Austrian noblewoman, courtier

Courtier

A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...

woman of Queen Margaret of Austria and mistress of her husband, King Ottokar II of Bohemia

Ottokar II of Bohemia

Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....

. She was the first historically documented mistress of a Bohemian sovereign.

Life

Nothing is known about Agnes' early years. It is supposed that when Duchess Margaret of Austria married with Prince Přemysl Ottokar of Bohemia in 1252, she was part of her retinue as a lady-in-waiting.

Described by the chroniclers as one of the most beautiful women in court, with short cut red hair (she was nicknamed Palcéřík for that), Agnes soon captivated the young Prince and, with around only 16 years old, she became his official mistress. One year later, in 1253, Prince Přemysl Otakar succeeded his father as the King of Bohemia.

Queen Margaret was much older than her husband and already barren. It is believed that she offered young Agnes to King Ottokar II as his mistress. This story was described by the chronicler Přibík Pulkava of Radenín:

At first the (Margaret's) shame of infertility was attributed to her husband. When Prince Přemysl learned about that, he said: Give me one of your ladies and prove my potency or impotence. She agreed and gave him one of the girls she loved more than others, the daughter of the House of Kuenring from Austria. In the first year she bore him a son, Nicholas, who was later made Duke of Opava... In addition, she made him father of three daughters (...). So the infertility, earlier attributed to the husband, was credited to his wife.

The relationship between King Ottokar II and Agnes was well known by contemporary sources, and perhaps she even accompanied the King on festive occasions, instead of the aging Queen Margaret.

Around the first year of the affair (ca. 1254–55), Agnes gave birth her first child, a son, named Nicholas

Nicholas I, Duke of Troppau

Nicholas I of Bohemia was the natural son of Bohemian king Ottokar II Přemysl and his mistress Agnes of Kuenring. In 1269 he became Duke of Troppau and thereby the progenitor of the Silesian cadet branch of the Přemyslid dynasty that lasted until 1521.He was legitimated by his father with the...

, later Duke of Opava. It is known that she bore the King more children, but the exact number is contradictory in sources; it is believed that they had three daughters: Agnes

Agnes, daughter of Ottokar II

Agnes was a natural daughter of Bohemian king Ottokar II with his mistress Agnes of Kuenring.She married Bohemian nobleman Bavor II ze Strakonic. She had three children with him:*Bavor III*Nicholas*Wilhelm....

 (married Bavor III, Lord of Strakonicz), Elisabeth

Elisabeth, daughter of Ottokar II

Elisabeth was a natural daughter of Bohemian king Ottokar II with his mistress Agnes of Kuenring.Shortly before 1274 she married the Bohemian nobleman Oldřich z Drnholce . After his death she married her relative Henry of Kuenring . After his death she married for a third time. Her third husband...

 (married Vikard, Lord of Polna and Burgrave of Brünn) and one unknown daughter (wife of Vok, Lord of Kravař), and another son, Jesek (d. 26 August 1296) (later Priest at Wysehrad).

After the birth of his eldest son, King Ottokar II's main objective was the recognition of this child as his heir. In 1260 he unsuccessfully asked Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...

 for the legitimation of Nicholas and his siblings. The King divorced Margaret in 1261 and remarried. It's not known what happened with Agnes after that, but supposedly she returned to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

with the former Queen.