Marie Eleonore of Cleves

Duchess Marie Eleonore
Duchess Marie Eleonore
Duchess consort of Prussia
Tenure	14 October 1573 - 1 June 1608
Born	16 June 1550; Cleves
Died	1 June 1608 (aged 57); Königsberg
Spouse	Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (m. 1573)
Issue	Anna, Duchess of Prussia, Electress of Brandenburg ; Marie, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth ; Albert Frederick of Prussia ; Sophie, Duchess of Courland and Semigallia ; Eleonore, Electress of Brandenburg ; Wilhelm Frederick of Prussia ; Magdalene Sibylle, Electress of Saxony
House	La Marck
Father	William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
Mother	Archduchess Maria of Austria

Duchess Marie Eleonore of Cleves (16 June 1550 – 1 June 1608) was the Duchess of Prussia by marriage to Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. She was the eldest child of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria.

Life

She was the maternal granddaughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, and sister of John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

While her father was a Roman Catholic, Marie Eleonore displayed firm Lutheran sympathies early on. Her father was afraid that she would influence her younger sisters with her religious views, and therefore wished to have her married to someone of her own religious convictions as soon as possible in order to remove her from his domains, and thus considered grooms for his daughter that he would not otherwise have considered.^[1] Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, the son of Albert of Prussia, was thus accepted as a suitor, despite showing mental disorders.^[2] The wedding was conducted in 1573, and Marie Eleonore departed to Lutheran Prussia.

In 1577, her mentally ill spouse was placed under the regency of his cousin George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, which made the position of Marie Eleonore more difficult at the Ducal court of Königsberg.^[3] In 1591, she returned with her daughters to Jülich, where she remained until 1592. She arranged the marriage of her daughters to German princes to avoid them being married by the Regency Council to Polish suitors, and by the marriage alliances she arranged, she ensured that the Duchy of Jülich would pass to Brandenburg after the death of her brother.^[4]

Issue

Anna of Prussia (3 July 1576 – 30 August 1625); married John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg.
Duchess Marie of Prussia (23 January 1579 – 21 February 1649); married Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia (1 June 1580 – 8 October 1580).
Duchess Sofie of Prussia (31 March 1582 – 4 December 1610); married Wilhelm Kettler of Courland.
Duchess Eleonore of Prussia (22 August 1583 – 31 March/9 April 1607); married Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg.
Duke Wilhelm Frederick of Prussia (23 June 1585 – 18 January 1586).
Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 22 February 1659); married John George I, Elector of Saxony.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Marie Eleonore of Cleves

16. John I, Duke of Cleves (1419–1481)

8. John II, Duke of Cleves (1458–1521)

17. Elizabeth of Nevers (1439–1483)

4. John III, Duke of Cleves (1490–1538/9)

18. Henry III, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (1440–1483)

9. Matilda of Hesse (1473–1524)

19. Anna of Katzenelnbogen (1443–1494)

2. William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1516–1592)

20. Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg (c.1416–1475)

10. William IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg (1455–1511)

21. Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg (before 1428–1473)

5. Maria of Jülich-Berg (1491–1543)

22. Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (1414–1486)

11. Sibylle of Brandenburg (1467–1524)

23. Anna of Saxony (1437–1512)

1. Marie Eleonore of Cleves

24. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459–1519)

12. Philip I of Castile (1478–1506)

25. Mary of Burgundy (1457–1482)

6. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (1503–1564)

26. Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452–1516)

13. Joanna of Castile (1479–1555)

27. Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504)

3. Maria of Austria (1531–1581)

28. Casimir IV Jagiellon (1427–1492)

14. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (1456–1516)

29. Elisabeth of Austria (1436–1505)

7. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547)

30. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale (1448–1500)

15. Anne of Foix-Candale (1484–1506)

31. Catherine of Foix, Countess of Candale (c.1455–bef 1494)

References

^ R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).
^ R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).
^ R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).
^ R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).

Marie Eleonore of Cleves House of La Marck Born: 16 June 1550 Died: 1 June 1608
Vacant Title last held by Anna Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg	Duchess consort of Prussia 1573–1608	Succeeded by Duchess Anna of Prussia

[1] R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).

[2] R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).

[3] R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).

[4] R. Scheller, Die Frau am preuß. Herzogshof (1550–1625), 1966 (L, P); Land im Mittelpunkt d. Mächte, Die Herzogtümer Jülich-Kleve-Berg, 1984 (zugleich Ausst.kat. Kleve 1984, Düsseldorf 1985, dort bes. H. Preuß, Pol. Heiraten in Jülich-Kleve-Berg, S. 133-46, P).

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v t e Prussian royal consorts
Duchesses	Dorothea of Denmark Anna Maria of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen Marie Eleonore of Cleves Anna of Prussia¹ Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate¹ Louise Henriette of Nassau¹ Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg¹ Sophia Charlotte of Hanover¹
Queens	Sophia Charlotte of Hanover¹ Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin¹ Sophia Dorothea of Hanover¹ Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern¹ Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt¹ Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz¹ Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach² Victoria of the United Kingdom² Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein²
¹also Electress of Brandenburg; ²also German Empress

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