Christina of Denmark | |
---|---|
Duchess consort of Milan | |
Tenure | 4 May 1534 – 24 October 1535 |
Duchess consort of Upper Lorraine | |
Tenure | 14 June 1544 – 12 June 1545 |
Born | November 1521 Nyborg, Denmark |
Died | 10 December 1590 Tortona, Alessandria, Duchy of Milan |
(aged 69)
Burial | Cordeliers Convent, Nancy, Lorraine |
Spouse |
Francis II, Duke of Milan Francis I, Duke of Lorraine |
Issue |
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine Renata, Duchess of Bavaria Dorothea, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg |
House | Oldenburg |
Father | Christian II of Denmark |
Mother | Isabella of Austria |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Holbein's Christina of Denmark, Smarthistory | |
Humphrey Ocean on Holbein's 'Christina of Denmark', National Gallery (UK) |
Christina of Denmark (Danish: Christine af Danmark; November 1521 – 10 December 1590) was a Danish princess, the younger surviving daughter of King Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. She became the duchess-consort of Milan, then duchess-consort of Lorraine. She served as the regent of Lorraine from 1545 to 1552 during the minority of her son. She was also a claimant to the thrones of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in 1561-1590. Finally, she was sovereign Lady of Tortona in 1578-1584.
Christina was born in Nyborg in central Denmark in 1521. On 20 January 1523, nobles forced her father to abdicate and offered the throne to his uncle, Duke Frederick of Holstein. Christina and her sister and brother followed their exiled parents to Veere in Zeeland, the Netherlands, and were raised by the Dutch regents, their grandaunt and aunt, Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary. Her mother died on 19 January 1526. In 1532, her father Christian II of Denmark was imprisoned in Denmark after an attempt to retake his throne. The same year, her brother died, and she became second in line to her father's claim to the Danish throne after her elder sister Dorothea.