Isabella of Burgundy
Encyclopedia
Isabella of Austria (18 July 1501 – 19 January 1526), Archduchess of Austria
and Infanta of Castile
and Aragon
, was Queen of Denmark
, Sweden
and Norway
as the wife of King Christian II
. She was the daughter of King Philip I
and Queen Joanna
of Castile
and the sister of Emperor Charles V
. She was born at Brussels
. She served as regent of Denmark in 1520.
under the tutorage of the regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria. Her fortune, her succession rights, and her connections made her a valuable pawn in the royal marriage market. The king of Denmark had first intended to marry Eleanor of Austria, but the Habsburgs considered Eleanor too valuable for the throne of Denmark, and therefore, Isabella was selected for the Danish king.
On 11 July 1514 Isabella was married by proxy to King Christian II of Denmark
with Emperor Maximilian
, her grandfather, standing in for the king. She remained in the Netherlands, but was said to have fallen in love with her spouse at the sight of his painting, and asked to be taken to Denmark. A year after the wedding, the Archbishop of Nidaros was sent to escort her to Copenhagen
. The marriage was ratified on 12 August 1515 (she was 14 years old).
Isabella was crowned Queen of Denmark and Norway and began using another version of her name, Elisabeth, but the relationship between her new family and Christian was quite cool during the first years of the marriage. The King's Dutch mistress, Dyveke Sigbritsdatter
, had been with him since 1507, and he was not about to give her up for a teenager. Dyveke's mother, Sigbrit Willoms
, was also influential at court, and Isabella was given less influence than both of them.
This angered the Emperor, and caused some diplomatic strife between him and King Christian, but the matter was resolved when Dyveke died in 1517, and Isabella's relationship with her husband improved vastly over the next few years; her relationship with Sigrit Willoms improved as well, and both women acted as political advisors to the king. From 1516, Anne Meinstrup
was head lady-in-waiting
of her court.
In 1520, Christian took the throne of Sweden, thereby making Isabella Queen of Sweden. After taking Stockholm, he asked the Swedish representatives to turn over the city of Stockholm and the regency of Sweden to Isabella if he himself should die when his children were minors. She was to be the last Queen of Sweden who was also Queen of Denmark during the Kalmar union
, but she did in fact never visit Sweden: pregnant at the time of her spouse's accession to the throne of Sweden, she did not follow him there. Isabella served as the regent of Denmark during Christian's stay in Sweden. Her husband was deposed as king of Sweden the year after.
When King Christian was deposed in 1523 by disloyal noblemen supporting his uncle Duke
Frederick
, the new king wanted to be on good terms with her family. He wrote her a personal letter in her native German
, offering her a dowager queen's pension and permitting her to stay in Denmark under his protection while King Christian fled to the Netherlands
.
But Isabella wrote back to Duke Frederick in Latin
, stating that : "ubi rex meus, ibi regnum meum", that is "where my king is, there is my kingdom".
in 1523 and Berlin
in 1523–1524. In Berlin, Isabella became interested in the teachings of Luther
, and felt sympathy for Protestantism. She never converted officially however. When she visited Nürnberg in 1524, she received communion on the Protestant way, which so enraged her birth family, the Habsburgs, that Christian decided that she, for political reasons, should hide her Protestant views in the future
In the spring of 1525, Isabella caught some kind of serious illness, which worsened after she travelled through a storm later that year and lasted all summer. Ex-Queen Isabella died at the castle of Zwijnaarde
near Ghent at twenty-four years of age. She received both Protestant and Catholic communion, but the Habsburgs declared that she had died a convinced Catholic. Her religious sympathies and whether she was a Protestant or a Catholic after 1524 has been debated. At her deathbed, she gave the cause of her husband's reinstallment in to the hands of her aunt, the regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria.
(1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559; married in 1514)
Isabella's most famous daughter was Christina, Duchess of Milan made famous in Holbein
's portrait, painted when Henry VIII of England
was looking for his fourth wife. Her other daughter, Dorothea of Denmark and Norway, married Frederick II, Elector Palatine
.
's Crown Prince Frederik
and Crown Princess Mary
, Princess Isabella
, was named after her.
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...
and Infanta of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
and Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
, was Queen of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as the wife of King Christian II
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
. She was the daughter of King Philip I
Philip I of Castile
Philip I , known as Philip the Handsome or the Fair, was the first Habsburg King of Castile...
and Queen Joanna
Joanna of Castile
Joanna , nicknamed Joanna the Mad , was the first queen regnant to reign over both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon , a union which evolved into modern Spain...
of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
and the sister of Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. She was born at Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. She served as regent of Denmark in 1520.
Childhood
Isabella spent her childhood in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
under the tutorage of the regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria. Her fortune, her succession rights, and her connections made her a valuable pawn in the royal marriage market. The king of Denmark had first intended to marry Eleanor of Austria, but the Habsburgs considered Eleanor too valuable for the throne of Denmark, and therefore, Isabella was selected for the Danish king.
On 11 July 1514 Isabella was married by proxy to King Christian II of Denmark
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
with Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, her grandfather, standing in for the king. She remained in the Netherlands, but was said to have fallen in love with her spouse at the sight of his painting, and asked to be taken to Denmark. A year after the wedding, the Archbishop of Nidaros was sent to escort her to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. The marriage was ratified on 12 August 1515 (she was 14 years old).
Queen
Dyveke Sigbritsdatter
Dyveke Sigbritsdatter or Dyveke Willomsdatter, , in Denmark normally known as "Dyveke" ; in modern Dutch "duifje" means "little dove"), was known as the mistress to Christian II of Denmark....
, had been with him since 1507, and he was not about to give her up for a teenager. Dyveke's mother, Sigbrit Willoms
Sigbrit Willoms
Sigbrit Willoms , , was a Danish politician, mother to the mistress of King Christian II of Denmark, Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, and advisor and de facto minister of finance for the king between 1519 and 1523....
, was also influential at court, and Isabella was given less influence than both of them.
This angered the Emperor, and caused some diplomatic strife between him and King Christian, but the matter was resolved when Dyveke died in 1517, and Isabella's relationship with her husband improved vastly over the next few years; her relationship with Sigrit Willoms improved as well, and both women acted as political advisors to the king. From 1516, Anne Meinstrup
Anne Meinstrup
Anne Meinstrup was a politically active Danish noble, lady-in-waiting and county administrator.Daughter of noble riksråd Henrik Meinstrup and Margrethe Christiansdatter Daa , she was married to nobleriksråd Holger Eriksen Rosenkrantz til Boller in 1491 and the noble Jørgen Ahlefeldt til Søgaard...
was head lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
of her court.
In 1520, Christian took the throne of Sweden, thereby making Isabella Queen of Sweden. After taking Stockholm, he asked the Swedish representatives to turn over the city of Stockholm and the regency of Sweden to Isabella if he himself should die when his children were minors. She was to be the last Queen of Sweden who was also Queen of Denmark during the Kalmar union
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
, but she did in fact never visit Sweden: pregnant at the time of her spouse's accession to the throne of Sweden, she did not follow him there. Isabella served as the regent of Denmark during Christian's stay in Sweden. Her husband was deposed as king of Sweden the year after.
When King Christian was deposed in 1523 by disloyal noblemen supporting his uncle Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
Frederick
Frederick I of Denmark
Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the King of Denmark and Norway. The name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish, and Fredrik in Swedish and Norwegian...
, the new king wanted to be on good terms with her family. He wrote her a personal letter in her native German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, offering her a dowager queen's pension and permitting her to stay in Denmark under his protection while King Christian fled to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
But Isabella wrote back to Duke Frederick in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, stating that : "ubi rex meus, ibi regnum meum", that is "where my king is, there is my kingdom".
Exile
Isabella left Denmark with her husband and their children after the deposition of her spouse in 1523 and travelled to the Netherlands. Isabella and Christian travelled around Germany in their efforts to gain help for reinstalling Christian to the throne. Isabella made her own negotiations with her relatives, and also followed her spouse on his travels. They visited SaxonySaxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
in 1523 and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1523–1524. In Berlin, Isabella became interested in the teachings of Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, and felt sympathy for Protestantism. She never converted officially however. When she visited Nürnberg in 1524, she received communion on the Protestant way, which so enraged her birth family, the Habsburgs, that Christian decided that she, for political reasons, should hide her Protestant views in the future
In the spring of 1525, Isabella caught some kind of serious illness, which worsened after she travelled through a storm later that year and lasted all summer. Ex-Queen Isabella died at the castle of Zwijnaarde
Zwijnaarde
Zwijnaarde is a village in the municipality of Ghent, Belgium. It is known for its fair and its Zwijntjes beer. A cluster of biotech companies is located at the Zwijnaarde science park, with biotech companies such as Innogenetics, and DevGen....
near Ghent at twenty-four years of age. She received both Protestant and Catholic communion, but the Habsburgs declared that she had died a convinced Catholic. Her religious sympathies and whether she was a Protestant or a Catholic after 1524 has been debated. At her deathbed, she gave the cause of her husband's reinstallment in to the hands of her aunt, the regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria.
Issue
By Christian II of DenmarkChristian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
(1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559; married in 1514)
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John | 21 February 1518 | 1532 | |
| Philip Ferdinand (twin) | 4 July 1519 | 1520 | |
| Maximilian (twin) | 4 July 1519 | 1519 | |
| Dorothea Dorothea of Denmark, Electress Palatine Dorothea of Denmark and Norway was a Danish, Norwegian and Swedish princess and an Electress of the Palatinate as the wife of Elector Frederick II of the Palatinate... |
10 November 1520 | 31 May 1580 | married in 1535, Frederick II, Elector Palatine Frederick II, Elector Palatine Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine , a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Prince-elector of the Palatinate from 1544 to 1556.- Biography :... and had no issue. |
| Christina | November 1521 | 10 December 1590 | married in 1533, Francesco II Sforza Francesco II Sforza Francesco II Sforza , also known as Francesco Maria Sforza, was the last Duke of Milan from 1521 until his death.He was the son of Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este... and had no issue, married secondly in 1541, Francis I, Duke of Lorraine Francis I, Duke of Lorraine Francis I was a member of the French nobility. He was briefly Duke of Lorraine from 1544–1545.-History:... and had issue. |
| Stillborn son | January 1523 | January 1523 |
Isabella's most famous daughter was Christina, Duchess of Milan made famous in Holbein
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
's portrait, painted when Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
was looking for his fourth wife. Her other daughter, Dorothea of Denmark and Norway, married Frederick II, Elector Palatine
Frederick II, Elector Palatine
Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine , a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Prince-elector of the Palatinate from 1544 to 1556.- Biography :...
.
Trivia
It is said that the daughter of DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
's Crown Prince Frederik
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, is the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark. Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, the Prince Consort.-Name and christening:...
and Crown Princess Mary
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark...
, Princess Isabella
Princess Isabella of Denmark
Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat , is a member of the Danish Royal Family. She is the daughter of Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, the Australian-born Crown Princess Mary....
, was named after her.