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Constance of Austria

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Not to be confused with Constance of Babenberg.
Constance of Austria
Portrait c. 1603 by Frans Pourbus the Younger
Queen consort of Poland
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
Tenure11 December 1605 - 10 July 1631
Coronation11 December 1605
Born24 December 1588
Graz, Duchy of Styria, Holy Roman Empire
Died10 July 1631(1631-07-10) (aged 42)
Warsaw, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Burial
Wawel Castle, Kraków, Poland
Spouse
​
(m. 1605)​
Issue
among others...		John II Casimir Vasa
John Albert Vasa
Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Opole
Alexander Charles Vasa
Anna Catherine Constance Vasa
HouseHabsburg
FatherCharles II, Archduke of Austria
MotherMaria Anna of Bavaria
SignatureConstance of Austria's signature

Constance of Austria (German: Konstanza; Polish: Konstancja; Lithuanian: Konstancija; 24 December 1588 – 10 July 1631) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of King-Grand Duke Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir.[1][2]

Biography

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Constance was a daughter of Charles II of Austria and his niece, Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547). Anne was the only daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anne Habsburg of Austria.

Constance was also a younger sister of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Margaret of Austria, Leopold V of Austria and Anna of Austria.[1]

Her older sister Anna was the first wife of King Sigismund III Vasa. After her death Constance and Sigismund were married on December 11, 1605.[3]

Queen

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Queen Constance was an ambitious politician. Immediately after the wedding, she made efforts to influence policy. She built a strong faction of followers by arranging marriages between her handmaidens and powerful nobles. She represented the interests of the Habsburg family in Poland, and influenced the appointments of positions in the court, government and church. Her closest confidant was Urszula Meyerin.

Constance was proficient in Spanish, Latin and Italian. She learned Polish after the wedding but rarely used it. She was very religious and went to Mass twice a day. She also was a patron of clerics, painters and architects. She financed the buildings of several palaces for her children, but she was also described as an economic person.

In 1623 Constance bought Żywiec from Mikołaj Komorowski, which was forbidden by law to the members of the royal family and caused misunderstandings with the Parliament.[4] Some time later (in 1626) she made it forbidden for Jews to settle in the city (de non tolerandis Judaeis).[5]

Constance wished to secure the succession of her own son to the throne rather than the son of her sister, but she did not succeed. She died of a stroke in 1631.

Issue

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She had seven children:

  1. John Casimir (25 December 1607 – 14 January 1608).
  2. John Casimir (22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672), who reigned during 1648–1668 as John II Casimir.
  3. John Albert (25 June 1612 – 29 December 1634).
  4. Charles Ferdinand (13 October 1613 – 9 May 1655).
  5. Alexander Charles (4 November 1614 – 19 November 1634).
  6. Anna Constance (26 January 1616 – 24 May 1616).
  7. Anna Catherine Constance (7 August 1619 – 8 October 1651).

Ancestors

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  • Entry of the Wedding Procession of Constance of Austria into Kraków in 1605.
    Entry of the Wedding Procession of Constance of Austria into Kraków in 1605.
  • Constance of Austria in Spanish dress (saya), portraited by the court painter in 1610.
    Constance of Austria in Spanish dress (saya), portraited by the court painter in 1610.
  • She enhanced and renovated the Castle in Żywiec, where she resided from 1624.
    She enhanced and renovated the Castle in Żywiec, where she resided from 1624.
  • Constance of Austria as Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania.
    Constance of Austria as Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania.
  • Silver-gilt plate, 1605, from Constance's dinner service
    Silver-gilt plate, 1605, from Constance's dinner service

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Constance of Austria.

References

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  1. ^ a b Storey, Gabrielle (2021-11-22). Memorialising Premodern Monarchs: Medias of Commemoration and Remembrance. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-84130-0.
  2. ^ Kjaer, Lars; Strenga, Gustavs (2022-09-08). Gift-Giving and Materiality in Europe, 1300-1600: Gifts as Objects. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-18370-4.
  3. ^ Skrzypietz, Aleksandra (2021-11-15). Queens within Networks of Family and Court Connections. Böhlau Köln. ISBN 978-3-412-52391-6.
  4. ^ Bunt chłopów Archived 2008-05-01 at the Wayback Machine. Bunt, prześladowania i próby wyzwolenia się chłopów na Zywiecczyźnie w XVII wieku.
  5. ^ Miasto Żywiec Archived 2007-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 352 – via Wikisource.
  7. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7. p. 20 – via Wikisource.
  8. ^ Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  9. ^ a b Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  10. ^ a b Obermayer-Marnach, Eva (1953), "Anna Jagjello", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 299; (full text online)
  11. ^ a b Goetz, Walter (1953), "Albrecht V.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 158–160; (full text online)
  12. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (1528–1587)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 151 – via Wikisource.
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Constance of Austria
Born: 24 December 1588 Died: 10 July 1631
Royal titles
Preceded by Queen consort of Poland
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
1605–1631 		Succeeded by
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