The beautiful Christina of Norway




Covarrubias - Estatua de la princesa Kristina by Ecelan - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Commons

Christina of Norway was born circa 1234 as the daughter of Haakon IV and Margrete Skulesdatter. Tales differ as to how she became an Infanta of Castile.

Christina was sent to Castile intended for one of the brothers of Alfonso X of Castile, under the condition from her father that she be allowed to pick which one. Either the youngest brother Philip was so taken with her beauty that he left the church he had been intended for, or Christina picked him. Either way, it’s still more romantic than most medieval stories. They married on 31 March 1258 at the Santa Maria la Mayor church. It was to be a short marriage, and Christina died just four years later of unknown causes.

Christina is buried in the abbey church in Covarrubias. Her sarcophagus was opened in 1952 during renovations. They found:

A partially mummified skeleton with a length of 1.72 m (5 ft 6″) – skull is small, and all the teeth are well preserved with no evidence of caries…Everything points to a skeleton of a woman of high stature, young and strong…1

 

Colegiata de Covarrubias - Tumba de la princes Kristina by Ecelan - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Commons
Colegiata de Covarrubias – Tumba de la princes Kristina by Ecelan – Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Commons
  1. http://www-bib.hive.no/tekster/tunsberg/kristina/sarkofag.html






History of Royal Women Shop

About Moniek Bloks 2835 Articles
My name is Moniek and I am from the Netherlands. I began this website in 2013 because I wanted to share these women's amazing stories.

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