Magdalena of Saxony

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Magdalena of Saxony was born 7 March 1507 and died 25 January 1534 and was Margravine of Brandenburg, its "crown princess".

She was the daughter of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony and his wife Barbara. Magdalena's maternal grandparents were Kazimierz IV Jagiellon and his wife queen Elizabeth, daughter of Albrecht II of Hungary.

She was a granddaughter of the Elisabeth aforementioned, queen of Poland, who had claimed the Duchy of Luxembourg in 1460s as being the younger daughter of the last Luxembourg heiress Elisabeth of Luxembourg, Queen of Bohemia. Though by no means a heiress of her grandmother, she was intended to wed the heir of her grandmother's older sister. Joachim (1505-71), the future elector of Brandenburg, was the eldest son and heir of their current claimant of Luxembourg, Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg (1484-1535), the eldest son and heir of the late Margaret of Thuringia (1449-1501), Dowager Electress of Brandenburg, herself the eldest daughter and heiress of Anna, Duchess of Luxembourg and William of Saxony, Landgrave of Thuringia.

Magdalena was thus married, at Dresden, on 6 November 1524, to her second cousin's son Joachim Hector, the future Elector of Brandenburg. Their son was the future John George, the future Elector of Brandenburg. After Magdalena's untimely death which occurred well before Joachim ascended the electorate, Joachim II Hector married Jadviga, daughter of King Sigismund I of Poland.