Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (14 October 1519 – 31 October 1567) was a Princess of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and by marriage Electress Palatine.

Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Electress Palatine
Tenure	12 February 1559 – 31 October 1567
Born	(1519-10-14)14 October 1519 Ansbach
Died	31 October 1567(1567-10-31) (aged 48) Heidelberg
Burial	Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg
Spouse	Frederick III, Elector Palatine ​ ​ (m. 1537)​
Issue Detail	Alberta of Palatinate Louis VI, Elector Palatine Elizabeth, Duchess of Saxony Hermann Louis of Palatinate John Casimir, Count of Palatinate-Simmern Dorothea Susanne, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar Christof of Palatinate Kunigunde, Countess of Nassau-Dillenburg
House	Hohenzollern
Father	Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Mother	Susanna of Bavaria

Biography

Marie was the oldest child of the Margrave Casimir of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1481–1527) from his marriage with Susanna of Bavaria (1502–1543),^[1] daughter of Duke Albert IV of Bavaria. After her father's death Marie was raised in the Lutheran faith by her uncle George Frederick.

On 21 October 1537, in Kreuznach, Marie married Frederick of Simmern (b. 1515), later Elector Palatine (1559–1576).^[1] The marriage was happy. Marie, who is described as intelligent and religious, influenced her Catholic husband toward Protestantism. In 1546, Frederick finally adopted Lutheranism and assumed the administration of the Franconian territories from his brother-in-law Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Since their family was living in reduced circumstances, Marie repeatedly turned to her uncle Albert of Prussia for financial assistance.

After the death of Marie's stepfather Otto-Henry in 1559, her consort Frederick became Elector Palatine. As Electress, she was closely involved in governmental affairs, though Frederick tolerated no direct interference. She had influence in religious questions, and as a strong Lutheran she was a determined opponent of the Zwinglians.

The Electress spent the last year of her life suffering from gout and was mostly confined to her bed.

She was buried in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg.

Descendants

By her marriage, Marie had ten children:

• Alberta (1538–1553)
• Louis VI, Elector Palatine (1539–1583)^[1] m. (1) 1560 Princess Elizabeth of Hesse (1539–1582), m. (2) 1583 Princess Anne of Ostfriesland (1562–1621)
• Elizabeth (1540–1594) m. 1558 Duke John Frederick II of Saxony (1529–1595)
• Hermann Louis (1541–1556)
• John Casimir (1543–1592), Count Palatine of Simmern^[1] m. 1570 Princess Elizabeth of Saxony (1552–1590)
• Dorothea Susanne (1544–1592) m. 1560 Duke John William I of Saxe-Weimar (1530–1573)
• Albert (1546–1547)
• Anne Elizabeth (1549–1609) m. (1) 1569 Landgrave Philip II of Hesse-Rheinfels (1541–1583), m. (2) 1599 Count Palatine John Augustus of Veldenz-Lützelstein (1575–1611)
• Christopher, killed
• Charles (1552–1555)
• Cunigunde Jacobæa (1556–1586) m. 1580 Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (1536–1606)

Ancestors

Marie's ancestors in three generations

Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach	Father: Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth	Paternal Grandfather: Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach	Paternal Great-grandfather: Albrecht III, Elector of Brandenburg
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Saxony
		Paternal Grandmother: Sophia of Poland	Paternal Great-grandfather: Casimir IV Jagiellon
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Elisabeth of Austria
	Mother: Susanna of Bavaria	Maternal Grandfather: Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria	Maternal Great-grandfather: Albert III, Duke of Bavaria
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck
		Maternal Grandmother: Kunigunde of Austria	Maternal Great-grandfather: Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Eleanor of Portugal