The First Isabella of Denmark

Attributed to the workshop of Pieter van Coninxloo

via Wikimedia Commons

The ultimate power couple of the 16th Century are remembered as Philip the Handsome and Juana the Mad. Their union would unite the farflung European territories of the Holy Roman Empire with the growing global empire of Spain. When Philip died young and Juana's father declared her insane to gain control of her Kingdom of Castile, their children were torn between powerful grandfathers, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Emperor Maximilian. Born in 1501, their third child, Isabella of Austria, was about six years old. She and some of her five siblings were left to the care of their powerful aunt, Margaret of Austria, at her court as Governor of the Hapsburg Netherlands.

Like her mother and aunts on both sides (including the famous Catherine of Aragon), Isabella was very well-educated for a girl of time. She learned both Greek and Latin and was tutored in the Bible. However, it was her family not her brains that attracted potential suitors. Both her wealth and her connections brought hopeful bridegrooms sniffing around Isabella and her sisters. Not surprisingly all four of them would marry kings. When Christian II of Denmark was selected for Isabella, it was hoped the marriage would push Imperial Hapsburg interest into the northern reaches of the continent, providing more access to trade in the Baltic Sea. At the age of 12, Isabella was married by proxy with her grandfather standing in for her groom. It would be more than a year before she would travel to Denmark along stormy seas. Like so many royal brides before and since, Isabella barely survived the turmoil of the voyage. The convoy of ships was scattered in the maelstrom and the one carrying Isabella nearly shipwrecked.

The barely 14-year-old bride was delighted to meet her 34-year-old husband and the retinue of more than 1,000 people he assembled to greet her. She had fallen in love with his portrait and was likely thrilled by his larger-than-life presence. He showed her the proper respect by having her crowned queen immediately. However, he refused to break from Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, the king's beloved mistress, despite pressure from Isabella's family. It wasn't until after Dyveke's unexpected death in 1517 that Isabella conceived her first child, a boy named John. After that, she delivered new children about every 12-18 months although twin boys born in 1519 both died as babies and her last child was stillborn.

Christian and Isabella, depicted on the altarpiece at Elsinore

from Wikimedia Commons

Her husband's rule over the Kalmar Union (a personal alliance of Denmark, Sweden and Norway under one monarch) was turbulent. He was at almost constant war with Sweden. At one point, he imprisoned several Swedish noblewomen. His determination to starve them to death was halted only by the please for his good wife Isabella, or so the story goes.

Nevertheless, Christian had consolidated his power enough to call a meeting in Stockholm with promises of amnesty for the Swedish leaders in November 1520. Over the course of three days, at least 100 people were executed in an event known as the Stockholm Bloodbath. The massacre earned Christian a new title, "Christain the Tyrant." By 1523, the Swedes finally overthrew their tyrant and ended the Kalmar Union by electing Gustavus Vasa as their new king. 

Things were better but not by much in the joing kingdom of Denmark and Norway. His dictatorial ways won him few friends. When he decided that Dyveke had been poisoned, he had a man re-tried and executed after he had already been found innocent. When Christian then took action to decrease the power of the aristocracy, they rose against him in 1523 and sent him into exile offering Denmark and Norway to his uncle, the new King Frederik I. He had lost centuries of Scandinavian union and the crowns of three nations in just one year.

As for Isabella, also known as Elisabeth of Denmark, the people thought she was the opposite of terrible. Instead, they called her "the mother of the people." The new King Frederik even offered to let her stay behind and promised her the income of Dowager Queen. But, Isabella was loyal to her husband. He had, after all, left Denmark under her authority while he was in Sweden. She responded to Frederik, "Wherever my king is, there is my kingdom." 

Isabella, Christian and their three surviving children traveled around Europe trying to raise money and support for Christian's restoration. They started in Germany, with Isabella appealing directly to her family. They even went to England where Isabella's aunt, Catherine of Aragon, was still married to King Henry VIII. They returned to Germany and then to the Low Countries, where Isabella had grown up. 

Along the way, 24-year-old Isabella became ill. She never fully recovered as their journeys continued. By January of 1526, she declined, dying on January 19 near Ghent, where she was buried at St. Peter's Cathedral. In the late 19th century, she was moved to St. Canute's Cathedral in Odense. Her death caused some controversy as rumors spread that the granddaughter of "The Catholic Kings" of Spain had taken communion in both the Catholic and her husband's new Protestant rituals, an assertion that has not been fully proven.

Isabella's children were taken by her family to ensure they were raised Catholic. Her son John died several years later. Both of her daughters, Dorothea and Christina, grew up and married, but only Christina had children. Through her, Isabella is an ancestress to much of royal Europe including today's Princess Isabella of Denmark, who many believe was named for her.

In 1531, Christian, having returned to Catholicism, finally raised support from Isabella's brother, Emperor Charles V to invade Norway. He failed to capture Oslo and was captured himself. Despite promises of safe passage from his uncle King Frederik, he was imprisoned for 27 years in Denmark. His a gentile confinement, wherein he was allowed to entertain and to hunt to take part in other gentlemanly pursuits. When Frederik died, a small group launched a failed attempt to restore Christian. He remained safely in his captivity and lived until 1559. He had never remarried and was buried with Isabella. He returned with her to Denmark in 1883.

More About Isabella
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Isabella, Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile and Aragon on Unofficial Royalty
Isabella of Austria on The Creative Historian
Isabella of Austria: The Humble & Dutiful Princess Part One on The History of Royal Women
Isabella of Austria: A Queen with Historic Patience Part Two on The History of Royal Women
When Isabella of Austria Became Elisabeth of Denmark on Stolen Moments