| Philippa of England | |
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Sweden and Norway |
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| Tenure | 1406–1430 |
| Spouse | Eric, King of Denmark, Sweden and Norway |
| Father | Henry IV, King of England |
| Mother | Mary de Bohun |
| Born | 4 June 1394 Peterborough Castle, Northamptonshire |
| Died | 5 January 1430 (aged 35) |
| Burial | Cloister Church at Vadstena, Linköping |
Philippa of England (4 June 1394 – 5 January 1430), also known as Philippa of Lancaster and anachronistically as Philippa Plantagenet, was the Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway from 1406 to 1430. She was the consort to Eric of Pomerania, who ruled the three kingdoms. Queen Philippa served as the de facto regent of Sweden in 1420 and the regent of Denmark and Norway from 1423 to 1425.[1]
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Early life and marriage [edit]
Philippa was born to Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, King of England and Mary de Bohun at Peterborough Castle, Peterborough. In 1401, king Henry suggested to Queen Margaret I of Denmark that an alliance be formed between England and the Kalmar Union, with a marriage between the heir to the English throne and Catherine, sister to the heir of the Nordic thrones. Margaret could not agree to the English conditions for this marriage; instead, Philippa was engaged to Eric, and formally proclaimed queen in 1405.
She was married on 26 October 1406 to Eric of Pomerania in Lund Cathedral. Philippa was actually the first documented princess in history to wear a white wedding dress during a royal wedding ceremony: she wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine.[2] Philippa was given large parts of Sweden as her dowry. During the first years of their marriage the couple lived in Kalmar in Sweden, and Philippa was to spend much of her queenhood living in Sweden. It had been decided that she would be granted personal fiefs in only one of the three kingdoms, and that was to be Sweden. Her head lady-in-waiting was the Swedish noblewoman Lady Katarina Knutsdotter, granddaughter of Saint Bridget and former lady-in-waiting of Queen Margaret I of Denmark herself. She was a benefactor of Vadstena Abbey, where she was a frequent guest.
Regencies [edit]
During King Eric's periods of absence abroad, Philippa was effectively Regent. In Sweden, where she spent a lot of her time, she appears to have been de facto ruler even when the King was in residence. Eric evidently had great trust in Philippa. Both ancient and modern authors give a favourable account of her rule. It is even said that in certain matters she was more efficient than her husband. However, scholars have largely accepted this judgment of the Queen without going into detail.[3]
In 1422, Philippa presided over the Swedish council in order to solve a dispute between Swedish noble factions. During her husband's stay abroad from 1423 to 1425, she was Regent of the three Kalmar Union kingdoms. Among other acts, she made a treaty with some members of the Hansa states within the North-German Confederation concerning the validity of the coin-system. In 1426, she gathered support in Sweden for the war against Holstein; in the same year, she acquired Swedish support for the protection of Copenhagen against the Hanseatic League. In 1428, Philippa successfully organized the defence of Copenhagen against the Hanseatic League, a heroic feat later recounted by Hans Christian Andersen in Godfather's Picture Book (1868).[4] At the time of her death in 1430, she was in Sweden on a diplomatic mission. She is described as one of few royals of the Kalmar Union who was actually popular outside Denmark.
Death [edit]
The queen bore a stillborn boy in 1429. She died on 5 January 1430 (possibly murdered by her lady in waiting Cecilia)[according to whom?] and was buried in the Cloister Church at Vadstena, close to Linköping in Östergötland, Sweden. After her death Eric replaced her with Cecilia.
Ancestry [edit]
| Ancestors of Philippa of England |
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References [edit]
Other sources [edit]
- Lars-Olof Larsson (2003), Kalmarunionens tid (2006)Swedish
- Åke Ohlmarks: Alla Sveriges drottningar (AWE/Geber; 1976) Swedish
- Herman Lindvist: Kungar och drottningar, oden och aventyr i Sveriges forflutna (1996) Swedish
- Anne J. Duggan: Queens and queenship in medieval Europe (2008)
Succession [edit]
Media related to Philippa of England at Wikimedia Commons
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Philippa of England
Born: 4 June 1394 Died: 7 January 1430 |
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| Preceded by Helvig of Schleswig |
Queen consort of Denmark 1406–1430 |
Succeeded by Dorothea of Brandenburg |
| Preceded by Margaret I of Denmark |
Queen consort of Norway 1406–1430 |
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| Preceded by Richardis of Schwerin |
Queen consort of Sweden 1406–1430 |
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