Elisabeth of Saxony

Elisabeth of Saxony

Spouse(s)	John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern
Noble family	House of Wettin
Father	August, Elector of Saxony
Mother	Anna of Denmark
Born	(1552-10-18)18 October 1552 Wolkenstein Castle in Wolkenstein
Died	2 April 1590(1590-04-02) (aged 37) Heidelberg

Elisabeth of Saxony (born: 18 October 1552 at Wolkenstein Castle in Wolkenstein – died: 2 April 1590 in Heidelberg) was an Saxon princess from the House of Wettin by birth and by marriage Countess Palatine of Simmern.

Life

Elisabeth was a daughter of the Elector August of Saxony (1526–1586) from his marriage to Anna (1532–1585), daughter King of the Christian III of Denmark.

She married on 4 June 1570 in Heidelberg during the Diet of Speyer with Count Palatine John Casimir of Simmern (1543–1592). August opposed the policies of John Casimir, who was a Calvinist and friendly to France. With this marriage, August hoped to woe John Casimir over to the Lutheran side. However, he did not succeed. The Catholics in Germany regarded the marriage as a provocation against the Habsburg dynasty and an attempt to form a united Protestant front.

The Calvinist Johann Casimir tried to break the religious opposition of his Lutheran wife. In October 1585, she was arrested and accused of adultery and a murder plot against her husband. Even her brother, Elector Christian I, was convinced of her guilt. She converted to Calvinism while in captivity, and died shortly afterwards.

Marriage and issue

From her marriage with John Casimir, Elizabeth had the following children:

Unnamed son (1573)
Marie (1576–1577)
Elisabeth (1578–1580)
Dorothea (1581–1631), married in 1595 Prince John George I of Anhalt-Dessau (1598–1618)
Unnamed daughter (1584)
Unnamed daughter (1585)

Ancestors

Ancestors of Elisabeth of Saxony

16. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony (1412–1464)

8. Albert III, Duke of Saxony (1443–1500)

17. Margaret of Austria, Electress of Saxony (1416–1486)

4. Henry IV, Duke of Saxony (1473–1541)

18. George of Poděbrady (1420–1471)

9. Sidonie of Poděbrady (1449–1510)

19. Kunigunde of Sternberg (1425–1449)

2. August, Elector of Saxony (1526–1586)

20. Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (1417–1477)

10. Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg (1441–1503)

21. Dorothea of Brandenburg, Duchess of Mecklenburg (1420–1491)

5. Catherine of Mecklenburg (1487–1561)

22. Eric II, Duke of Pomerania (1425–1474)

11. Sophie of Pomerania, Duchess of Mecklenburg (1460–1504)

23. Sophie of Pomerania, Duchess of Pomerania (1435–1497)

1. Elisabeth of Saxony

24. King Christian I of Denmark (1426–1481)

12. King Frederick I of Denmark (1471–1533)

25. Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430–1495)

6. King Christian III of Denmark (1503–1559)

26. John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)

13. Anna of Brandenburg (1487–1514)

27. Margaret of Thuringia (1449–1501)

3. Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony (1532–1585)

28. John IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1439–1507)

14. Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1470–1543)

29. Dorothea of Brandenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (1446–1519)

7. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (1511–1571)

30. Henry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1463–1514)

15. Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (1488–1563)

31. Catherine of Pomerania (d. 1526)

Royal descendants

The current reigning monarchs Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, King Harald V of Norway, Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, King Albert II of Belgium and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are all her direct-line descendants.

References

August von Kluckhohn (1877), "Elisabeth (Pfalzgräfin bei Rhein)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German) 6, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 7–8
Friedrich von Bezold (1881), "Johann Casimir, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German) 14, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 307–314
Karl von Weber: Archiv für die sächsische Geschichte, p. 215
Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften: Die letzten Jahre der Pfalzgräfin Elisabeth, Proceedings of the III Cl., 1873, 1879

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