Cecilia Renata of Austria | |
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Queen Cecilia Renata
(by Frans Luycx, c. 1640) |
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Queen of Poland | |
Tenure | 12 September 1637 – 24 March 1644 |
Coronation | 12 September 1637 |
Born | 16 July 1611 Graz, Austria |
Died | 24 March 1644 Vilnius, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth |
(aged 32)
Spouse | Władysław IV Vasa |
Issue |
Sigismund Casimir Maria Anna Isabella |
House | House of Habsburg |
Father | Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor |
Mother | Maria Anna of Bavaria |
Archduchess Cecilia Renata of Austria (German: Cäcilia Renata; Polish: Cecylia Renata; 16 July 1611 – 24 March 1644) was Queen of Poland as consort to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's King Władysław IV Vasa.
Cecilia Renata was a daughter of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, of the House of Habsburg, and Maria Anna of Bavaria. Born in 1611 in Graz, she was chosen as bride by the Polish nobility. She married Władysław on 9 August in Vienna by proxy, and then in Warsaw in person on 12 September 1637, and the same day was crowned at St. John's Cathedral. This was the first royal coronation outside of Kraków, the historic, former capital of Poland, and this greatly angered the Polish nobility. A law was instigated to reserve coronations to Kraków in 1638.
Young and energetic, she soon began organising the royal court to her liking. She was popular, especially for her politeness. One noble wrote in his memoirs that she insisted other women sit with her, even though she was queen. Cecilia could not remove her husband's mistress, Hedwig Łuszkowska, by herself, so she arranged a marriage between Hedwig and Starosta Merecki, John Wypyski. In 1638, Cecilia and Władysław visited Vienna.
Cecilia advocated the Habsburg and pro-Catholic point of view and allied herself with the pro-Habsburg faction of chancellor Jerzy Ossoliński and pro-Catholic Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł. Her political opponent at the court was the faction of Adam Kazanowski, whose influence over King Władysław, his childhood friend, diminished after her marriage. Kazanowski was allied with Chancellor Piotr Gembicki, who thus became one of her opponents. Her influence was strong for the first 2–3 years of marriage, and she had much to say about the royal nominations for important official positions. After 1638/1639 when Władysław realised that Habsburgs were prepared to give him little assistance, her power waned, and he started to disregard her advice.