Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony

Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp from 1630 to 1659

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Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony

Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp
Tenure| 21 February 1630 - 10 August 1659

Born| (1610-11-22)22 November 1610
Dresden
Died| 24 October 1684(1684-10-24) (aged 73)
Schloss Husum
Spouse| Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Issue| Sofie Auguste, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst
Magdalene Sibylle, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Johann Adolf
Marie Elisabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Friedrich
Hedwig Eleonora, Queen of Sweden
Adolf August
Johann Georg
Anna Dorothea
Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Gustav Ulrich
Christine Sabine
August Friedrich, Prince-Regent of Eutin and Prince-Bishop of Lübeck
Adolf
Elisabeth Sofie
Auguste Marie, Margravine of Baden-Durlach
House| Wettin
Father| John George I, Elector of Saxony
Mother| Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia
Religion| Lutheranism

Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony (22 November 1610 - 24 October 1684) was a duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp. As a widow, she became known as a patron of culture.

## Biography[edit]

She was a daughter of John George I, Elector of Saxony and his spouse, Princess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. She was engaged in 1627 and married in 1630. Her marriage was arranged by the Danish queen dowager Sophie and the dowager duchess of Saxony, Hedwig of Denmark. In her dowry, she brought paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

In 1659, she became a widow; she moved to Wittum Husum Castle in 1660. Her household at Husum became renowned as a culture center, and she herself a noted patron. She produced an interpretation of the Bible in 1664.

## Marriage and issue[edit]

Marie Elisabeth was married on 21 February 1630 to Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp and had sixteen children, ten of whom lived to adulthood:

1. Sofie Auguste (5 December 1630 - 12 December 1680), married on 16 September 1649 to John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. Mother of John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg, grandmother of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and great-grandmother of Catherine II of Russia.
2. Magdalene Sibylle (24 November 1631 - 22 September 1719), married on 28 November 1654 to Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Mother of Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark.
3. Johann Adolf (29 September 1632 - 19 November 1633), died in infancy.
4. Marie Elisabeth (6 June 1634 - 17 June 1665), married on 24 November 1650 to Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.
5. Friedrich (17 July 1635 - 12 August 1654), died unmarried.
6. Hedwig Eleonore (23 October 1636 - 24 November 1715), married on 24 October 1654 to King Charles X of Sweden.
7. Adolf August (1 September 1637 - 20 November 1637), died in infancy.
8. Johann Georg (8 August 1638 - 25 November 1655), died unmarried.
9. Anna Dorothea (13 February 1640 - 13 May 1713), died unmarried.
10. Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (3 February 1641 - 6 January 1695), married on 24 October 1667 to Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark.
11. Gustav Ulrich (16 March 1642 - 23 October 1642), died in infancy.
12. Christine Sabine (11 July 1643 - 20 March 1644), died in infancy.
13. August Friedrich (6 May 1646 - 2 October 1705), Prince-Regent of Eutin and Prince-Bishop of Lübeck; married on 21 June 1676 to Christine of Saxe-Weissenfels (daughter of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and his first wife Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin); no issue.
14. Adolf (24 August 1647 - 27 December 1647), died in infancy.
15. Elisabeth Sofie (24 August 1647 - 16 November 1647), twin of Adolf, died in infancy.
16. Augusta Marie (6 February 1649 - 25 April 1728), married on 15 May 1670 to Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.

Via her daughters Augusta Marie and Magdalene Sibylle, Marie Elisabeth is the most recent common matrilineal ancestor of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Catherine the Great of Russia.

## Ancestry[edit]

Ancestors of Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Augustus, Elector of Saxony

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| 4\. Christian I, Elector of Saxony|

|  |  |
| 9\. Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony

| 2\. John George I, Elector of Saxony|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. John George, Elector of Brandenburg

| 5\. Sophie of Brandenburg|

|  |  |
| 11\. Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach

| 1\. Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Albert, Duke of Prussia

| 6\. Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia|

|  |  |
| 13\. Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

| 3\. Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg

| 7\. Marie Eleonore of Cleves|

|  |  |
| 15\. Archduchess Maria of Austria

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References[edit]

* (in Danish) Article in the Dansk biografisk Lexicon

Royal titles

Preceded by

Augusta of Denmark

|  Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp
1630–1659  | Succeeded by

Frederika Amalia of Denmark

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Saxony by birth

The generations are numbered from the ascension of Frederick I as Elector of Saxony in 1423.

2nd generation|

* Margaret, Electress of Brandenburg

3rd generation|

* Christina, Queen of Denmark and Norway

4th generation|

* Christine, Landgravine of Hesse
* Magdalena, Electoral Princess of Brandeburg

5th generation|

* Anna, Princess of Orange

7th generation|

* Sophia Eleonore, Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt
* Marie Elisabeth, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
* Magdalene Sibylle, Princess Elect of Denmark and Norway

9th generation|

none

10th generation|

none

11th generation|

* Maria Amalia, Queen of Spain1
* Maria Anna Sophia, Electress of Bavaria1
* Maria Josepha, Dauphine of France1
* Maria Christina, Abbess of Remiremont1
* Princess Maria Elisabeth1
* Maria Kunigunde, Abbess of Essen1

12th generation|

* Maria Amalia, Duchess of Zweibrücken
* Maria Christina, Princess of Carignan

13th generation|

* Princess Maria Augusta
* Princess Amalie
* Maria Ferdinanda, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
* Maria Anna, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
* Maria Josepha Amalia, Queen of Spain

14th generation|

* Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Genoa
* Anna, Grand Princess of Tuscany
* Margaretha, Archduchess Karl Ludwig of Austria
* Sophie, Duchess Karl Theodor in Bavaria

15th generation|

* Princess Mathilde
* Maria Josepha, Archduchess Otto of Austria

19th generation|

* none

* 1 królewna of Poland and Lithuania

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* Sweden
* Czech Republic

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* RISM

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