Christine of Saxony

Christine of Saxony (25 December 1505 – 15 April 1549) was a German noble, landgravine of Hesse. She was the regent of Hesse in 1547-1549.

She was the daughter of George, Duke of Saxony "the Bearded", Duke of Saxony and Barbara Jagiellon. Her paternal grandparents were Albert, Duke of Saxony and Sidonie of Bohemia. Her maternal grandparents were Casimir IV Jagiellon, king of Poland and Elisabeth of Austria.

On 11 December 1523 in Kassel, she married Landgrave Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, called "the Magnanimous". They had 10 children. The marriage was arranged to forge an alliance between Hesse and Saxony and was unhappy; Philip claimed to be disgusted by her and only shared her bed by duty.

Whilst married to Christine, Philip practised bigamy and had another nine children with his other (morganatic) wife, Margarethe von der Saale; in 1540, Christine gave her consent to her husband's bigamy with his lover because of her view upon him as her sovereign. Saale, however, was never seen at court. During Philips absence and captivity in 1547-49, Christine was regent jointly with her son. Philip excluded Christine from being regent after his death out of fear that she would harm his other wife and children.

Read more about Christine Of Saxony:  Children With Philip of Hesse, Ancestry