Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg - Life

Life

She was married to Christian on 29 October 1525 at Lauenburg Castle, against her wishes. The couple did not have a good relationship with the king due to Christian's Lutheran views. They lived at their own courts in Haderslev and Törning. She became queen in 1533, though due to the Civil War (Count's Feud) that immediately followed her husband's accession to the throne, her coronation did not take place until 1537. In 1548, she accompanied her daughter Anna to her wedding in Saxony.

Queen Dorothea was interested in politics, and although it is unclear exactly how much influence she had, she is thought to have participated in appointing and dismissing officials. She was, however, prevented from taking a formal seat in the council. She never learned to speak Danish. Her control over her ladies-in-waiting was strict. In 1540, Birgitte Gøye was freed from her engagement with her assistance, which lead to a law banning arranged engagements of minors. She was widowed in 1559.

As a widow, she lived in Kolding, and she visited her children in Germany regularly once a year. She exerted a stern discipline over her children even after they had become adults, and her acts as a guardian to them were described as strict and intense. She often protected the younger children from their reigning brother, and favoured her younger son. She is thought to have been behind the fact that her oldest son married late in his reign. She opposed the match between the king and Anne of Hardenberg.

Queen dowager Dorothea fell in love with her brother-in-law and neighbor, Duke John II of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev (1521–1580), during her marriage, and wished to marry him after her husband's death, in 1559. This was opposed by her son and by various theologists and ultimately prevented, but she worked hard to accomplish it. This began the breakdown of her relationship with her son, King Frederick, which had never been particularly close. Her relationship to her reigning son grew worse during the war of 1563–70, in which she disagreed, and when the King discovered, in 1567, that she had issued negotiations to arrange a marriage between her son Magnus, and a Swedish princess. This last made the king regard her almost a traitor, and he exiled her to Sønderborg Castle, where she spent the remainder of her life.