Christina of Denmark (, ; November 1521 – 10 December 1590) was a Danish princess, the younger surviving daughter of King Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. By her two marriages, she became Duchess of Milan, then Duchess of Lorraine. She served as the regent of Lorraine from 1545 to 1552 during the minority of her son. She was also a claimant to the thrones of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in 1561–1590 and was sovereign Lady of Tortona from 1578 to 1584.
Early life Christina was born in Nyborg on Funen, Denmark in 1521 to King Christian II of Denmark and his wife Isabella of Austria, the third child of Duke Philip of Burgundy and Queen Joanna of Castile. In January 1523, nobles rebelled against her father and offered the throne to his uncle, Duke Frederick of Holstein. Christina and her sister and brother followed their parents into exile in April of the same year, to Veere in Zeeland, the Netherlands, and were raised by the Dutch regents, their grandaunt and aunt, Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary. In 1532, her father Christian II of Denmark was imprisoned in Denmark after an attempt to retake his throne. The same year, her brother died, and she became second in line to her father's claim to the Danish throne after her elder sister Dorothea.
Christina was given a good education by her aunt, the regent of the Netherlands, under supervision of her governess, Madame de Fiennes. She was described as a great beauty, intelligent and lively, and enjoyed hunting and riding. As a ward of her uncle Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and a member of the Imperial house, she was a valuable pawn on the political marriage market. In 1527, Thomas Wolsey, Primate of England, suggested that Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII be married to Christina or Dorothea, but the Habsburgs did not wish for them to marry someone born out of wedlock. In 1532, Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan, after being denied a match with Dorothea, proposed to marry the 11 year old Christina. Charles consented not only to a proxy marriage but to an immediate consummation once Christina arrived in Milan. Her aunt, believing the princess too young to consummate a marriage, delayed Christina's departure until 11 March 1533 by informing the Milanese envoy that she was ill and taking her to another part of the Netherlands for "serious affairs".Jansen, 100-101Cartwright, 78-84
Duchess of Milan On 23 September 1533 in Brussels, Christina was married by proxy to Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan, through his representative Count Massimiliano Stampa. On 3 May 1534, Christina made her official entry in Milan among great festivities, and on 4 May, the second wedding ceremony was celebrated in the hall of the Rocchetta.
Christina's relationship with Francesco was reportedly good, and she was very popular in Milan, where she was regarded as a symbol of peace and hope for the future after decades of war, and her beauty was much admired. She enjoyed hunting parties, and the palace was redecorated and beautified for her. When she was given her own court, her chief lady in waiting was Francesca Paleologa of Montferrat, spouse of Constantine Arianiti Comnenus, titular Prince of Macedonia, who was to become one of her most intimate lifelong friends.
Francesco II Sforza was at that time very weak, as his health had never recovered after he survived a poison attempt years before, and there was concern that he would never be able to have children, and die without heirs. According to the marriage settlement, the Duchy of Milan was to become a part of the Empire if it did not result in issue. She and Francesco had no children.
Francesco II Sforza died in October 1535, leaving her widowed when she was thirteen. Her rights as a widow to the town of Tortona for life was secured, while the Duchy was incorporated with the Empire. However, Massimiliano Stampa remained in charge as castellan of Milan, and Christina remained in the ducal residence. Charles V supported her wish to stay in Milan, as she was very popular there and her presence was regarded as a protection to Milanese independence and calm. As a way to save Milanese independence, Stampa suggested that she marry the heir to the throne of Savoy, prince Louis of Piedmonte, but the plan failed because of his death shortly thereafter. Pope Paul III suggested that she marry the son of his niece Cecilia Farnese, who, though a few years older than she, was raised as her foster son in the court of Milan after the death of his mother. When the French king repeated his claims to the throne of Milan on behalf of his son, the duke of Orléans, a marriage was suggested to the youngest son of the French monarch, the duke of Angoulême, but Charles V refused the match unless Angoulême, instead of Orléans, was granted the Duchy of Milan, should he recognize the French claims on the Duchy. Christina welcomed duchess Beatrice of SavoyCousin of Christina's mother, as well as step-sister and cousin of the Emperor when Savoy was occupied by the French, and was present on the meeting between Beatrice and the Emperor in Pavia in May 1536. In December of that year, Milan was officially given over to the command of an Imperial official, and Christina was escorted to Pavia. Before she left, she took the title Lady of Tortona, and had a governor named to manage her dower city for her.
In October 1537, Christina went to live at the court of her aunt, the Governor of the Low Countries, Dowager Queen Mary of Hungary, by way of Innsbruck, visiting her sister at the Palatinate before arriving in Brussels in December. Christina was a favorite of Mary.
First widowhood
After Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, died in 1537, Christina was considered as a possible bride for the English king. The German painter Hans Holbein was commissioned to paint portraits of noblewomen eligible to become the English queen. On 10 March 1538, Holbein arrived in Brussels with the diplomat Philip Hoby to meet Christina. Hoby arranged with Benedict, the Master of Christina's household, for a sitting the next day. Christina sat for the portrait for three hours wearing mourning dress. Her rooms in Brussels were hung with black velvet, black damask and a black cloth-of-estate.State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 8, London, (1849), 17-21, 142. Christina, then only sixteen years old, made no secret of her opposition to marrying the English king, who by this time had a reputation around Europe for his mistreatment of wives: Henry had annulled his marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon (Christina's great-aunt), and beheaded his second, Anne Boleyn. She supposedly said, "If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal."Alison Weir in The Lady in the Tower p. 296 It was also obvious that Mary of Hungary was less than enthusiastic about the match, being no admirer of Henry VIII. Mary and Christina's mother were Henry's first wife's nieces. Henry pursued the marriage until January 1539, when the attitude of Mary made it obvious that the match would never take place. Thomas Wriothesley, the English diplomat in Brussels, advised Thomas Cromwell that Henry should; "fyxe his most noble stomacke in some such other place."State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 8, London, (1849), 126-129, 21 January 1539
William, Duke of Cleves, proposed to Christina. William had been made duke of Guelders by will of the last childless duke of Guelders. This was contested by the Emperor, who wished to incorporate Guelders with the Netherlands. It was also contested by the Duchy of Lorraine, who regarded Guelders as their property through Philippa of Guelders, and the purpose of his proposal was to secure the Emperor's support of his succession to Guelders against the claims of Lorraine. The other suitors were Francis, heir to the Duchy of Lorraine, and Antoine, Duke of Vendôme, later Antoine of Navarre. The proposal of William of Cleves was refused by Charles V because of the Guelders question.
Christina herself was, in fact, in love with René of Chalon, Prince of Orange, in 1539–40. It was noted in court that René was in love with Christina and courted her, and that she returned his feelings. An eventual love match was supported by Christina's sister Dorothea and by her brother-in-law Frederick, who stated that he would like his sister-in-law to marry for love if she could. The regent Mary condoned the courtship unofficially, but she gave no official comment because she wished for her brother the emperor to state whether he needed Christina for a political marriage before she allowed her to enter a love match. In October 1540, Charles V forced René of Orange to marry Anne of Lorraine, and then declared Christina engaged to Anne's brother, Francis of Lorraine, to strengthen the alliance between the Empire and Lorraine after it had been damaged in the Guelders affair.
In February 1540, Christina aided her sister Dorothea, who was sent to the Emperor on the commission of her spouse Frederick, to plead her father's cause with the Emperor, and prevent a renewal of the truce between the Netherlands and King Christian III of Denmark. After consulting Archbishop Carondelet, the president of the council, and Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle, Dorothea and Christina sent the following official petition to the Emperor: "My sister and I, your humble and loving children, entreat you, as the fountain of all justice, to have compassion on us. Open the prison doors, which you alone are able to do, release my father, and give me advice as to how I may best obtain the kingdom which belongs to me by the laws of God and man." Their appeal was, however, unsuccessful.
Duchess of Lorraine On 10 July 1541, Christina married Francis, Duke of Bar, in Brussels. Francis had been betrothed to Anne of Cleves, who became the fourth wife of Henry VIII. In August, Christina and Francis reached Pont-à-Mousson, in Lorraine, where they visited the dowager duchess Philippa, and continued to the capital in Nancy escorted by the Guise family. In November 1541, Christina, her spouse, and father-in-law visited the French court in Fontainebleau, where they were forced to cede the fort of Stenay to France. Christina prevented this from creating a rift between Lorraine and the Emperor. During the war between France and the Emperor in 1542, she lived in the French court at several occasions visiting her aunt, Queen Eleanor. Christina gave birth to her son Charles III 18 February 1543. In February 1544, Christina and her sister Dorothea visited the Emperor at Speyer, reportedly to implore him to make peace with France, though without success. Her daughter Renata was born 20 April 1544.
On 19 June 1544, Francis succeeded his father as Duke of Lorraine. In July, he and Christina hosted the Emperor in Lorraine, but failed to convince him to start peace negotiations. In August, the Emperor ordered that the residence of the Guise family in Joinville be spared by the Imperial army on Christina's request, as she had asked him for this favor out of consideration of Anne of Lorraine. The same month, Charles V asked Christina to prevent Francis from visiting the French court, as he would take this as a sign of peace negotiations, but she replied that he had already left. When the war was finally ended later the same year, Christina was present at the peace celebrations in Brussels. Christina acted as the political adviser of Francis.Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon. KVinfo.dk This was noted during the Diet of Speyer. Their relationship was described as happy: they shared a common interest in music and architecture, and planned to redecorate the palace in Nancy. At one occasion during the marriage, Christina referred to herself as the happiest woman in the world.
Regent of Lorraine