Anna Catherine Constance Vasa

Hereditary Countess Palatine of Neuburg

Philip William, Hereditary Count Palatine of Neuburg

(m. 1642)

HouseVasaFatherSigismund III VasaMotherConstance of Austria

Anna Catherine Constance Vasa (Polish: Anna Katarzyna Konstancja Waza; 7 August 1619 in Warsaw – 8 October 1651 in Cologne) was a Polish princess, daughter of Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Sweden and his second wife Constance of Austria.

Life

After the successive deaths of her mother (1631) and father (1632), and in order to secure her upkeeping according to her rank, in 1632 the parliament bestowed her with the counties of Brodnickie, Gołubskie and Tucholskie, which previously had belonged to her mother; however, she only came into possession of them when she came of age in 1638.^[1]

Since 1637, a marriage was suggested between Anne Catherine Constance and Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria, heir of Tyrol and nephew of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. Despite arrangements in 1639 and 1642, the marriage never actually took place, because of the age of Ferdinand Charles and because of disagreement about the amount of dowry.

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, and Gaston, Duke of Orléans (brother of King Louis XIII of France), were also candidates for her hand.^[1] However, Anne Catherine Constance finally married Philip William, heir of the Count Palatine of Neuburg and later Elector Palatine, in Warsaw on 8 June 1642.^[2] She brought a considerable dowry in jewels and cash, calculated at a total of 2 million thalers.^[1] On 18 July 1645 she gave birth her only child, a son, who died the same day.^[3]

She died childless^[2] in Cologne and was buried in the church of the Jesuits in Düsseldorf.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Anna Catherine Constance Vasa

16. Erik Johansson Vasa

8. Gustav I of Sweden

17. Cecilia Månsdotter

4. John III of Sweden

18. Erik Abrahamsson Leijonhufvud

9. Margaret Leijonhufvud

19. Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa

2. Sigismund III Vasa

20. Casimir IV Jagiellon

10. Sigismund I the Old

21. Elisabeth of Austria

5. Catherine Jagiellon

22. Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan

11. Bona Sforza

23. Isabella of Naples

1. Anna Catherine Constance Vasa

24. Philip I of Castile

12. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

25. Joanna of Castile

6. Charles II, Archduke of Austria

26. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary

13. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary

27. Anne of Foix-Candale

3. Constance of Austria

28. William IV, Duke of Bavaria

14. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria

29. Margravine Marie of Baden-Sponheim

7. Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria

30. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor =12

15. Archduchess Anna of Austria

31. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary =13

Gallery

Diamond double-headed eagle of the House of Austria, most probably from dowry of Anna Catherine Constance Vasa^[4]
Portrait of Anne Catherine Constance Vasa with a dog, ca. 1638^[5]
Tapestry with the coat of arms of Anna Catherine Constance Vasa, before 1642

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c S. Ochmann-Staniszewska: Dynastia Wazów w Polsce (The Vasa dynasty in Poland), PWN, Warsaw 2007, pp. 165-167.
^ ^a ^b Zygmunt Wdowiszewski: Genealogia Jagiellonów i Domu Wazów w Polsce (Genealogy of the Jagiellonian dynasty and the House of Vasa in Poland), Kraków 2005, p. 236.
^ Complete Genealogy of the House of Wittelsbach (Retrieved 17 June 2014).
^ Marcin Latka. "Diamond double-headed eagle of the House of Austria". artinpl. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ Marcin Latka. "Portrait of Anne Catherine Constance Vasa with a dog". artinpl. Retrieved 27 July 2019.

Swedish princesses by birth

The generations indicate descent from Gustav I, from the House of Vasa, and continues through the Houses of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, Holstein-Gottorp; and the Bernadotte, the adoptive heirs of the House of Holstein-Gottorp, who were adoptive heir of the Palatinate-Zweibrückens.

1st generation