Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken: Difference between revisions
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[[File:EleanorHesseEschwege.jpg|thumb|Eleonora Catherine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken.]] |
[[File:EleanorHesseEschwege.jpg|thumb|Eleonora Catherine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken.]] |
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'''Eleonora Catherine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken''' (17 May 1626 – 3 March 1692) was a cousin and foster sister of Queen [[Christina of Sweden]] and sister of King [[Charles X of Sweden]]. After her brother's accession to the throne (1654), she and her siblings were all considered [[Swedish Royal Family|royal princesses and princes of Sweden]] |
'''Eleonora Catherine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken''' (17 May 1626 – 3 March 1692) was a cousin and foster sister of Queen [[Christina of Sweden]] and sister of King [[Charles X of Sweden]]. After her brother's accession to the throne (1654), she and her siblings were all considered [[Swedish Royal Family|royal princesses and princes of Sweden]].<ref>Ulf Sundberg in ''Kungliga släktband'' ISBN: 91-85057-48-7 p. 281</ref> As the wife of Frederick, Landgrave of [[Hesse-Wanfried|Hesse-Eschwege]] (1617-1655), she was by marriage a German [[landgravine]], and acted as [[regent]] and administrator of her husband's lands. |
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== Biography == |
== Biography == |
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== References == |
== References == |
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* [http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0154.html Eleonora Katarina av Pfalz] på [[Projekt Runeberg]] |
* [http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0154.html Eleonora Katarina av Pfalz] på [[Projekt Runeberg]] |
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* http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1640.htm |
* http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1640.htm |
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Revision as of 14:39, 9 May 2010
Eleonora Catherine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (17 May 1626 – 3 March 1692) was a cousin and foster sister of Queen Christina of Sweden and sister of King Charles X of Sweden. After her brother's accession to the throne (1654), she and her siblings were all considered royal princesses and princes of Sweden.[1] As the wife of Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (1617-1655), she was by marriage a German landgravine, and acted as regent and administrator of her husband's lands.
Biography
Eleonora Catherine was born at Stegeborg Palace, Sweden to Princess Catharina of Sweden and John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg. Her parents, who were second cousins, lived in Sweden from 1622, and Eleonora Catherine and her siblings, which included her sister Maria Eufrosyne, grew up in Sweden as foster siblings of their cousin, queen Christina of Sweden, and had the same teacher, Johannes Matthiæ.
The negotiations concerning her marriage with Frederick started in 1643. The negotiation process was difficult, but finally complete in June 1646. She was granted a fortune of 20,000 gulden by her father. The marriage took place at Tre Kronor in Stockholm on 6 September 1646.
After the wedding, Eleonora Catherine confessed before her husband, "on her knees", that she had an affair with a French lute-player and actor, Beschon, and was pregnant with his child. Frederick decided to act like nothing and hide the matter, but it became a known scandal.
Frederick took part in the war of his brother-in-law in Poland, were he was shot in 1655. Eleonora Catherine never remarried. It is said that she was too embarrassed by the scandal to return to the Swedish court, so she preferred to live in the palace in Eschwege, although she did visit Sweden. She was the administrator and regent of her husband's German lands.
She had five children. Her daughter, Juliana of Hesse-Eschwege, was brought up at the Swedish court as the prospective bride of Charles XI of Sweden. Another daughter, Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Eschwege (1648-1702), married Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (a great-grandson of Princess Elizabeth of Sweden) and was the mother of Duke Ferdinand Albert II.
Eleonora Catharina died in Germany and is buried at the Marktkirche ("Market Church")/Altstädter Kirche ("Old Church") in Eschwege (the town’s old church, built in the 10th century, was on the spot where now stands the “Market Church”).
Some of her notable descendants include Wilhelm II, German Emperor; Nicholas II of Russia; Charles, Prince of Wales; Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands; and the present king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf.
Ancestry
References
- ^ Ulf Sundberg in Kungliga släktband ISBN: 91-85057-48-7 p. 281