Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Queen consort of Denmark and Norway / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (Sophia; 4 September 1557 – 14 October 1631) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to Frederick II of Denmark. She was the mother of King Christian IV of Denmark and Anne of Denmark. She was Regent of Schleswig-Holstein from 1590 to 1594.[1]
Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow | |
---|---|
Queen consort of Denmark and Norway | |
Tenure | 20 July 1572 – 4 April 1588 |
Born | 4 September 1557 Wismar |
Died | 14 October 1631(1631-10-14) (aged 74) Nykøbing Castle, Falster |
Burial | |
Spouse | Frederick II of Denmark |
Issue | |
House | Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Father | Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow |
Mother | Elizabeth of Denmark |
In 1572, she married her cousin, Frederick II of Denmark, and their marriage was remarkably happy.[2][3] She had little political influence during their marriage, although she maintained her own court and exercised a degree of autonomy over patronages.[4] Sophie developed an interest in astrology, chemistry, alchemy and iatrochemistry,[5] supporting and visiting Tycho Brahe on Ven in 1586 and later.[4] She has later been described as a woman "of great intellectual capacity, noted especially as a patroness of scientists".[6] She became widowed at the age of 31.
Through the skilful management of her vast widowed estate, she amassed an enormous fortune, becoming the richest woman in Northern Europe[7] and the second wealthiest individual in Europe after Maximillian I of Bavaria.[8] Through her "inexhaustible coffers", she financially supported her son, and thereby effectively the entire Danish-Norwegian state.[9][10][11] She maintained a large lending business, earning interest, and extending loans to, among others: her son Christian IV, the Danish Council of the Realm, her son-in-law King James VI & I, her grandson Duke Frederick Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg and other German princes.[12] When she died in 1631, James Howell, a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer, remarked that she was the "richest Queen in Christendom".[13]
Queen Sophie exerted significant political influence both domestically and internationally during her widowhood.[14] Through extensive correspondence with Protestant princes and her strategic financial dealings, she played a crucial role in shaping Danish and Northern European politics, notably during the Thirty Years' War, influencing danish peace negotiations and ultimately contributing to the Treaty of Lübeck in 1629.[15][16]