Five royal uncle-niece marriages (Part three)

Read part two here.

Royal uncle-niece marriages happened several times over the years. These marriages often happened for strategic reasons, such as land or power, but also because of rank and status. There simply weren’t enough others of high enough rank for marriage. The offspring of such marriages often suffered from genetic abnormalities, such as the famous Habsburg jaw. Quite often, these children did not survive to adulthood.

Here are five more of those marriages:

11. Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt & Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia

Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt was born on 22 April 1738, the daughter of Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, and Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia. She was the second of five children, although only two other siblings survived to adulthood. On 27 September 1755, she married her maternal uncle, Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, who was eight years older than her. They went on to have seven children together, of which four died young. She was widowed in 1813, and she died on 22 February 1820.

12. Joanna of Castile & King Alfonso V of Portugal

Joanna of Castile, perhaps better known in history as Joanna La Beltraneja, was born on 28 February 1462 as the daughter of King Henry IV of Castile and Joan of Portugal. Her paternity was questioned, and her nickname referred to the supposed father, Beltrán de la Cueva, 1st Duke of Alburquerque. As her father’s only child, she was the heiress to the Castilian throne. Her aunt, the future Queen Isabella I of Castile, became the face of a rebellion, and after King Henry’s death, she claimed the throne. In an attempt to win it back, the then 13-year-old Joanna married her 43-year-old maternal uncle, King Afonso V of Portugal, on 29 May 1475. King Afonso invaded Castile to support Joanna’s claim shortly after their betrothal ceremony on 1 May. Afonso did not consummate the marriage with his 13-year-old niece as he went to war. At this point, there was no papal dispensation, and this only came the following year in February. Ultimately, Joanna was forced to enter a convent, and the papal dispensation was retracted in December 1478.

13. Maria Anna of Bavaria & Charles II, Archduke of Austria

Maria Anna of Bavaria was born on 21 March 1551 as the daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria. On 26 August 1571, the 20-year-old Maria Anna married her 31-year-old maternal uncle, Charles II, Archduke of Austria, the third son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and of Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. They went on to have fifteen children together, of which four did not survive to adulthood. One of her daughters, Maria Christina, was described as having “serious physical and mental problems”, but these claims are not supported with any evidence.¹ Maria Anna was widowed in 1590 and she died on 29 April 1608. Her son went on to marry her name-sake niece, Maria Anna of Bavaria.

14. Sabina Catharina of East Frisia & John III of Rietberg

Sabina Catharina of East Frisia was born on 11 August 1582 as the daughter of Count Enno III of East Frisia and his first wife, Countess Walburgis of Rietberg. Her mother was Countess of Rietberg in her own right, and Sabina was given this inheritance when her father wanted to remarry following her mother’s death. On 3 March 1601, Sabina Catharina married her uncle, John, and she converted to the Catholic faith. The papal dispensation for this marriage had been granted in 1600. They went on to have eleven children together, of which five died young. She died giving birth to their eleventh child on 31 May 1618.

15. Johanna Beatrix von Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg & Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein

Johanna Beatrix von Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg was born in 1625 as the daughter of Maximilian, Prince of Dietrichstein and Princess Anna Maria of Liechtenstein. Her mother was a daughter of Karl I, the first Prince of Liechtenstein. Johanna Beatrix married her mother’s younger brother, Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, in 1644. He was fourteen years older than her. They went on to have 11 children together, of which four survived to adulthood. She died on 26 March 1676.

Read part four here.

1. Early Modern Habsburg Women: Transnational Contexts, Cultural Conflicts, Dynastic Continuities edited by Anne J. Cruz and Maria Galli Stampino p.43