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Duchess consort of Prussia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Duchess Marie Eleonore | |
|---|---|
,_Herzogin_von_Preußen_c.1600.jpg) | |
| Duchess consort of Prussia | |
| Tenure | 14 October 1573 - 1 June 1608 |
| Born | 16 June 1550 Cleves |
| Died | 1 June 1608 (aged 57) Königsberg |
| Spouse | |
| 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 |
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. Her maternal aunt Anne of Cleves was, for six months, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England.
While her father was a Roman Catholic, Marie Eleonore displayed firm Lutheran sympathies early on in wich she were supported by her paternal aunt Amalia who had also helped raising her and her sisters. Marie Eleonores 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.
Her new husband who had displayed sign of mental illness since 1572, had twice tried to commit suicide and was prone to violent outbursts and also held great fear of " Turks and Muscovites " overrunning Germany.
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]
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