Catherine of Saxony, Electress of Brandenburg


Catherine of Saxony was a princess of Saxony by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.

Life

Catherine was a daughter of the Elector Frederick I of Saxony from his marriage to Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of Duke Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
On 11 June 1441 Catherine married Elector Frederick II of Brandenburg in Wittenberg. Frederick had earlier asked for Catherine's hand unsuccessfully. The promise of marriage was finally made as part of a contract that settled the conflict between Brandenburg and Saxony over the ownership of Lusatia and sealed an alliance between the two countries. The marriage turned out to be an unhappy one. Frederick had numerous affairs, and his son Erasmus was born out of wedlock.
The last years of their marriage the couple spent entirely separate, with Frederick living in Franconia and Catherine living in the Mark Brandenburg.

Issue

Catherine had three children with Frederick: