Richeza of Denmark

Richeza of Denmark

Queen consort of Sweden
Tenure	1210–1216

Born	c. 1190/91
Died	1220 Denmark
Spouse	Eric X of Sweden
Issue	Sophia Eriksdotter Martha Eriksdotter Ingeborg Eriksdotter Marianna Eriksdotter Eric XI of Sweden
House	House of Estridsen
Father	Valdemar I of Denmark
Mother	Sophia of Minsk

Richeza on her gravestone (cenotaph)

Richeza of Denmark (Swedish: Rikissa Valdemarsdotter; c. 1180–1220) was a medieval Queen consort of Sweden, spouse of King Eric X and mother of King Eric XI.

Biography

Richeza was a daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophia of Minsk. She received her first name, originally a Lotharingian-Burgundian female name, in honor of her maternal grandmother, the late Richeza of Poland.

In c. 1210 the new king Eric X of Sweden, who had deposed his predecessor Sverker II, desired to build cordial and peaceful relations with Denmark, which had traditionally supported the House of Sverker, against the Norwegian-supported dynasty of Eric. That was why Richeza, sister of the then reigning Valdemar II of Denmark, was married to Eric.

When she arrived at the Swedish coast, the legend says, she expressed her surprise that she was expected to ride and not travel by carriage, as she had been used to in her birth country, and the Swedish noblewomen and ladies-in-waiting had encouraged her to adapt the customs of her new home country instead of trying to establish her own "Jutian" customs.

Queen Richeza bore exclusively daughters as long as her spouse was alive. King Eric died in 1216. Dowager Queen Richeza was pregnant at the time and then gave birth to her only surviving son, the future Eric XI of Sweden, after the death of her spouse. The family of King Eric X, however, was driven to exile from Sweden as the House of Sverker heir, John I of Sweden, was elected king there, to succeed Richeza's husband. It was in Denmark where Richeza herself died, without seeing her son's accession to the throne (in 1222), nor her daughters' marriages.

Children

Sophia Eriksdotter (died 1241), married Henry III of Rostock
Martha Eriksdotter married the Marshal Nils Sixtensson (Sparre)
Ingeborg Eriksdotter (died 1254), married to Birger Jarl, regent of Sweden
Marianna Eriksdotter, who married a duke of Pomerania
Eric XI of Sweden (1216–1250)

References

Åke Ohlmarks: Alla Sveriges drottningar (All the queens of Sweden) (Swedish)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Richeza of Denmark

16. Sweyn II of Denmark

8. Eric I of Denmark

17. One of Sweyn's mistresses

4. Canute Lavard

18. Thrugot Ulfsson Fagerskind

9. Boedil Thurgotsdatter

19. Thorgunna Vagnsdatter

2. Valdemar I of Denmark

20. Vladimir II Monomakh

10. Mstislav I, Grand Prince of Kiev

21. Gytha of Wessex

5. Ingeborg of Kiev

22. Inge I of Sweden

11. Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden

23. Helena

1. Richenza of Denmark

24. Vseslav of Polotsk

12. Gleb Vseslavich, Prince of Minsk and Polotsk

6. Volodar, Prince of Minsk and Hrodno

26. Yaropolk Izyaslavich

13. Anastasia Yaropolkvna of Turov and Lutsk

27. Kunigunde of Meissen

3. Sophia of Minsk

28. Władysław I Herman

14. Bolesław III Wrymouth

29. Judith of Bohemia

7. Richeza of Poland

30. Henry, Count of Berg

15. Salomea of Berg

31. Adelaide of Mochental

Succession

Swedish royalty
Rikissa Valdemarsdotter Born: 1190/1191 Died: 8 May 1220
Preceded by Ingegerd Birgersdotter	Queen consort of Sweden 1210–1216	Succeeded by Helena Pedersdotter

Swedish royal consorts

Sigrid the Haughty/Świętosława^ (late 10th century)* Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade (990s–995) Estrid of the Obotrites (1000–1022) Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir^ (1022–1050) Astrid Njalsdotter (1050–1060) Helena (1079–1084) Blotstulka (1084–1087) Helena (1088–1105) Ingegerd of Norway^ (1105–1118) Ragnhild Halstensdotter (1105–1117) Ulvhild Håkansdotter^ (1117–1125) Richeza of Poland (1127–1130) Ulvhild Håkansdotter^ (1134–1148) Richeza of Poland (1148–1156) Christina Björnsdatter (1156–1160) Brigida Haraldsdotter (1160–1161) Christina Stigsdatter (1163/1164–1167) Cecilia Johansdotter (1167–1190) Benedicta Ebbesdotter (1196–1199/1200) Ingegerd Birgersdotter (1200–1208) Richeza of Denmark (1210–1216) Helena Pedersdatter Strange (1229–1234) Catherine Sunadotter (1243/1244–1250) Sophia Eriksdotter (1260–1275) Hedwig of Holstein (1276–1290) Märta Eriksdotter (1298–1318) Blanche of Namur (1335–1363) Beatrice of Bavaria (1356–1359) Margareta Valdemarsdotter* (1363–1364) Richardis of Schwerin (1365–1377) Philippa of England^ (1406–1430)* Dorothea of Brandenburg^ (1445–1448)* Karin Karlsdotter (1448) Merete Lydekedatter (1448) Catherine Karlsdotter (1448–1450) Dorothea of Brandenburg^ (1457–1464)* Elin Gustavsdotter (1466–1467) Christina Abrahamsdotter (1470) Ingeborg Tott (1470–1497) Christina of Saxony^ (1497–1501)* Ingeborg Tott (1501–1503) Mette Dyre (1504–1512) Christina Gyllenstierna (1512–1520) Isabella of Austria^ (1520–1521)* Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1531–1533) Margaret Leijonhufvud (1536–1551) Catherine Stenbock (1552–1560) Karin Månsdotter (1567–1568) Catherine Jagellon (1568–1583) Gunilla Bielke (1585–1592) Anne of Austria (1592–1598) Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (1599/1604–1611) Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (1620–1632) Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1654–1660) Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (1680–1693) Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (1718/1719–1720) Ulrika Eleonora (1720–1741) Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (1751–1771) Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (1771–1792) Frederica of Baden (1797–1809) Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp* (1809–1818) Désirée Clary* (1818–1844) Josephine of Leuchtenberg* (1844–1859) Louise of the Netherlands* (1859–1871) Sophia of Nassau* (1872–1907) Victoria of Baden (1907–1930) Louise Mountbatten (1950–1965) Silvia Sommerlath (1976–present)

* also Queen of Norway ^ also Queen of Denmark

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