Christine of Saxony

Christine of Saxony (25 December 1505 – 15 April 1549) was a German noble, landgravine of Hesse. She was the regent of Hesse in 1547-1549.

She was the daughter of George, Duke of Saxony "the Bearded", Duke of Saxony and Barbara Jagiellon. Her paternal grandparents were Albert, Duke of Saxony and Sidonie of Bohemia. Her maternal grandparents were Casimir IV Jagiellon, king of Poland and Elisabeth of Austria.

On 11 December 1523 in Kassel, she married Landgrave Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, called "the Magnanimous". They had 10 children. The marriage was arranged to forge an alliance between Hesse and Saxony and was unhappy; Philip claimed to be disgusted by her and only shared her bed by duty.

Whilst married to Christine, Philip practised bigamy and had another nine children with his other (morganatic) wife, Margarethe von der Saale; in 1540, Christine gave her consent to her husband's bigamy with his lover because of her view upon him as her sovereign. Saale, however, was never seen at court. During Philips absence and captivity in 1547-49, Christine was regent jointly with her son. Philip excluded Christine from being regent after his death out of fear that she would harm his other wife and children.

Children with Philip of Hesse

1. Agnes (31 May 1527 – 4 November 1555), married:
   1. in Marburg on 9 January 1541 to Maurice, Elector of Saxony;
   2. in Weimar on 26 May 1555 to John Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha.
2. Anna (26 October 1529 – 10 July 1591), married on 24 February 1544 to Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken.
3. William IV of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) (24 June 1532 – 25 August 1592).
4. Philipp Ludwig, died young in 1535.
5. Barbara of Hesse (8 April 1536 – 8 June 1597), married:
   1. in Reichenweier on 10 September 1555 to Duke Georg I of Württemberg;
   2. in Kassel on 11 November 1568 to Count Daniel of Waldeck.
6. Louis IV of Hesse-Marburg (27 May 1537 – 9 October 1604).
7. Elisabeth (13 February 1539 – 14 March 1582), married on 8 July 1560 to Louis VI, Elector Palatine.
8. Philip II of Hesse-Rheinfels (22 April 1541 – 20 November 1583).
9. Christine (29 June 1543 – 13 May 1604), married in Gottorp on 17 December 1564 to Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
10. Georg I of Hesse-Darmstadt, "the Pious" (10 September 1547 – 7 February 1596).

Ancestry

Sources

• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.