Catherine Jagellonica of Poland

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Catherine Jagellonica of Poland
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Catherine Jagiellon.
Catherine Jagiellon.

Catherine Jagiellon (Polish: Katarzyna Jagiellonka; Finnish: Katariina Jagellonica; Swedish: Katarina Jagellonica av Polen; November 1, 1526 - September 16, 1583) was Duchess of Finland 1562-83, Queen Consort of Sweden 1569-83 and Grand Duchess of Finland 1581-83 and heir to her mother's claim to the title of King of Jerusalem.

She was born as the youngest daughter of Poland's King Zygmunt I the Old and Bona Sforza. Catherine became the wife of Sweden's King John III and mother to the future King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund III Vasa. Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, was among her suitors.

On October 4, 1562, Catherine was married in Vilnius, Lithuania, to Duke John of Finland, second son of Sweden's late King Gustav I and brother of the then reigning Eric XIV. John had not received his brother's permission for the marriage, there were already tensions between them, since John had an independent foreign policy. The newly-weds set up house in Turku Castle in Turku, Finland. Duke John's dealings in Livonia caused Sweden's King Eric XIV, ultimately to declare war on his brother. Eric sent 10,000 men to besiege the castle. On August 12, 1563, the castle capitulated; Catherine and her husband were taken to Sweden, and imprisoned in Gripsholm Castle.
Catherine Jagiellon in prison, by Józef Simmler
Catherine Jagiellon in prison, by Józef Simmler

Her unsuccessful suitor, Tsar Ivan, was in negotiations with Eric over Catherine, asking her to be separated from John and sent to marry him in Russia. This caused alarm, beside Catherine and her relations, in Swedish "popular" opinion and was one of the reasons for growing dissatisfaction with the increasingly insane Eric. During the incarceration, Catherine gave birth first to her eldest daughter Isabella of Finland in 1564 (died 1566), then to her son Sigismund in 1566, and finally her youngest child Anna of Finland on May 17, 1568.

Catherine and John were released in 1568. In 1569, she was crowned Queen of Sweden, her husband became John III of Sweden, upon deposing Eric.

Catherine raised her son Sigismund as an ardent Catholic. After 1587, he would rule the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for forty-five years as Zygmunt III Vasa. After he ascended to the Swedish throne 1592, his overt Catholicism estranged his Swedish subjects, and led to his deposition in 1599. This was followed by prolonged wars between Poland and Sweden.

Catherine died in Turku Castle on 16 September 1583. She is buried in the Uppsala Cathedral.

[edit] Maternal ancestors

Bianca Maria Visconti, heiress of the Visconti dynasty, Duchess of Milan, Catherine's great-great-grandmother.




Ippolita Maria Sforza, Queen of Naples and Jerusalem, Catherine's great-grandmother.




Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Naples, Duchess of Milan, Duchess of Bari, Princess of Rossano, heir to the title of King of Jerusalem, Catherine's grandmother. Also claimed to be the model for Mona Lisa




Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, heir to the title of King of Jerusalem, Catherine's mother.


[edit] See also

* List of Swedish monarchs

Preceded by
Karin Månsdotter
(Queen consort) Royal Consort of Sweden
(Queen consort)
1568-1583 Succeeded by
Gunilla Bielke
(Queen consort)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Jagellonica_of_Poland"

Categories: Catholics | Swedish queens | Female rulers of Finland | History of Finland | Medieval women | Polish nobility | 1526 births | 1583 deaths
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