Catherine Jagellon

Catherine Jagellon

Catherine the Jagiellonian of Poland (Polish: Katarzyna Jagiellonka; Lithuanian: Kotryna Jogailaitė; Finnish: Katariina Jagellonica; Swedish: Katarina Jagellonica av Polen; 1 November 1526 – 16 September 1583) was Duchess of Finland (1562–83), Queen Consort of Sweden (1569–83), Grand Princess of Finland (1581–83) and heir to her mother's claim to the title of King of Jerusalem.

She was born the youngest daughter of King Zygmunt I the Old of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Bona Sforza. Catherine became the wife of King John III of Sweden and mother of the future King Sigismund III Vasa of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Tsar Ivan IV of Russia was among her suitors.