Philippa of England

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Philippa of England (June 4, 1394 – January 7, 1430) was the Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway from 1406 to 1430. She was also the consort to King Eric of Pomerania. In fact, Philippa of England was the de-facto regent of Sweden in 1420 and the regent of Denmark and Norway from 1423 to 1425.[1] She also received The Most Noble Order of the Garter in 1408.

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[edit] Biography

Philippa was born to Henry of Bolingbroke, later Henry IV of England and Mary de Bohun at Peterborough Castle, Peterborough. She was married on October 26, 1406 to Eric of Pomerania at Lund in Sweden. Philippa was actually the first documented princess in history to wear a white wedding gown during a royal wedding ceremony: she wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine).[2] She had large parts of Sweden as her dowry.

During King Eric's periods of absence abroad, she practically was the regent, and in Sweden, she was in charge most of the time even when the King was not abroad; she spent a lot of her time in Sweden and was a frequent guest at the convent of Vadstena. He evidently had great trust in her. 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. Scholars have largely accepted this judgement of the Queen without, however, going into details.[3]

During his stay abroad from 1423 she was regent in Denmark and among others made a treaty with some members of the North-German Confederation of so-called Hanse-States about the validity of the coin-system. In 1428 she 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).

Despite her effort, Philippa of England was afterwards beaten by her husband, because her ships were defeated at Stralsund, an indignity which drove her to a monastic life.[1] She had a stillborn boy in 1429. She died on January 7, 1430 and was buried in the Cloister Church at Vadstena, close to Linköping in Östergötland, Sweden.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] References

  1. ^ Norway Heads of State and Territorial Leaders. Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership.
  2. ^ The History of Matrimony.
  3. ^ Flemberg, Marie-Louise.

[edit] Sources

  • Herman Lindqvist, "Historien om Sverige" (In Swedish)
  • Åke Ohlmarks "Alla Sveriges drottningar" (In Swedish)
Preceded by
Helvig of Schleswig
1340-1374		 Queen Consort of Denmark
1406-1430		 Succeeded by
Dorothea of Brandenburg
1445-1481
Preceded by
Margrete Valdemarsdotter
1363-1388		 Queen Consort of Norway
1406-1430		 Succeeded by
Dorothea of Brandenburg
1445-1448
Preceded by
Richardis of Schwerin		 Queen Consort of Sweden
1406-1430		 Succeeded by
Dorothea of Brandenburg