Elisabeth of Austria (1526–1545)

For other women named Elisabeth of Austria, please see Elisabeth of Austria (disambiguation).

Elisabeth of Austria
Queen of Poland Grand Duchess of Lithuania
Tenure	5 May 1543 – 15 June 1545
Coronation	8 May 1543
Spouse	Sigismund II Augustus
House	House of Habsburg (by birth) Jagiellon dynasty (by marriage)
Father	Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
Born	9 July 1526
Died	15 June 1545

Elisabeth of Austria (Polish: Elżbieta Habsburżanka) (9 July 1526 – 15 June 1545) was the eldest child of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. Elisabeth was a member of the House of Habsburg.

Life

From an early age Elisabeth was being prepared for her marriage to Sigismund II Augustus. Elisabeth's father had attempted to marry his daughter off to the Polish prince when she was only one year old. Even though Elisabeth knew of her future marriage she was not taught Polish. Probably it was a deliberate so the queen would need a translator, her family wanted to place a spy for the Habsburgs in the Polish court.

In view of the fact that Elisabeth was the granddaughter of Vladislas II of Hungary, uncle of Sigismund, Pope Clement VII had to give a papal dispensation so the wedding could take place. So 16 year old Elisabeth married 22 year old Sigismund, they married on May 6, 1543 in Wawel. Elisabeth's mother-in-law Bona Sforza did not want the wedding to take place because she hated the Habsburgs.

The marriage was not happy. Young, inexperienced and shy Elisabeth was not attracted to her husband. The situation deteriorated when Elisabeth was diagnosed with an incurable disease, epilepsy. Throughout the duration of marriage Sigismund betrayed his wife by taking a mistress Barbara Radziwill. At the same time Bona openly showed dislike to Elisabeth. The only person showing sympathy to Elisabeth was her father-in-law Sigismund I the Old. In Autumn 1544 the couple went to Lithuania. The couple lived in Vilnius. Her husband was heavily involved in an affair with Radziwill.

In the spring 1545 Elisabeth's health deteriorated, tormented by her increasingly frequent seizures of epilepsy. At the beginning of June 1545 Sigismund went to Krakow to received the dowry of Elisabeth, he left his wife alone in Vilnius. On June 15 the young queen died exhausted by many seizures of epilepsy, she was just 19 years old. She was buried on August 24, 1545 in Vilnius Cathedral next to her husband's uncle, a brother of her grandfather, Alexander the Jagiellonian.

Her quarrel with Queen Bona Sforza over the Parmesan cheese is commonly known in Poland.

After Elisabeth's death Sigismund remarried to Radziwiłł and after her death he married Elisabeth's younger sister Catherine of Austria. Sigismund had no legitimate children from his three wives.

External links

Elisabeth of Austria (1526–1545) Born: 1526 Died: 1545
Royal titles
Preceded by Bona Sforza	Queen consort of Poland Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania 1543–1545	Succeeded by Barbara Radziwiłł