Elisabeth of Bavaria (1227–1273)

Elisabeth of Bavaria
Seal of Elisabeth of Bavaria.
Queen consort of Germany Queen consort of Jerusalem
Tenure	1 September 1246 – 21 May 1254
Queen consort of Sicily
Tenure	13 December 1250 – 21 May 1254
Born	c. 1227 Trausnitz Castle, Landshut, Bavaria
Died	9 October 1273 (aged 45–46) Goyen Castle, Schenna, Tyrol
Burial	Stams Abbey
Spouse	Conrad IV of Germany Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia
Issue	Conradin Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Germany Otto III, Duke of Carinthia Henry of Bohemia
House	House of Wittelsbach
Father	Otto II, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Agnes of the Palatinate
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Elisabeth of Bavaria (c. 1227 – 9 October 1273), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Queen consort of Germany from 1246 to 1254 by her marriage to King Conrad IV of Germany.

She was born at Trausnitz Castle in Landshut, the eldest daughter of Otto II Wittelsbach and his wife Agnes of the Palatinate, herself a daughter of the Welf count palatine Henry V and Agnes of Hohenstaufen.

Otto II succeeded his father Louis I as Bavarian duke and as Count palatine in 1231. In the conflict between the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II and the Roman Curia, he initially sided with the pope, but became a supporter of Frederick in 1241. Otto II had initially betrothed Elisabeth to Duke Frederick II of Austria, however, the new political alliance would lead to the marriage of the elder daughter of the Wittelsbach and the elder son of the Hohenstaufen, Conrad IV. The wedding ceremony took place on 1 September 1246, probably at Vohburg in Bavaria, against fierce protests by the papal legate Albert von Behaim.

Conrad IV had inherited the title of a King of Jerusalem from his mother Yolande of Brienne. Appointed Duke of Swabia in 1235, he was elected King of the Romans in 1237 to represent his father in his German dominions. Upon Frederick's death on 13 December 1250, still involved in a war against Pope Innocent IV and his allies, he also succeeded him as King of Sicily. He would continue the war and left for Sicily in 1251, leaving his wife behind, who gave birth to their only child Conradin in March next year. On 21 May 1254 Conrad IV died of malaria at his army camp in Lavello, Basilicata, without ever having seen his son.