Maria of Jülich-Berg

Maria of Jülich-Berg
Arms of Jülich-Berg-Ravensburg
Spouse(s)	John III, Duke of Cleves
Noble family	House of Jülich-Heimbach
Father	William IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg
Mother	Sibylle of Brandenburg
Born	(1491-08-03)3 August 1491
Died

Maria of Jülich-Berg (3 August 1491 – 29 August 1543) was born in Jülich, the daughter of Wilhelm IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg and Sibylle of Brandenburg.

Maria came from the line of German princesses that stretched back to Sybille of Brandenberg, Sophia of Saxony, and Adelaide of Teck.

Maria became heiress to her father's estates of Jülich, Berg and Ravensberg after his death in 1511. In her marriage to John III, Duke of Cleves in 1509, Maria's estates and titles were eventually merged with the Duchy of Cleves. John, who inherited the Duchy of Cleves-Mark in 1521, then became the first ruler of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, which would exist until 1666.

She married John III, Duke of Cleves in 1509, by whom she had three daughters and a son. Sybille (1512–1554), William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (Wilhelm) (1516–1592), Amalia (1517–1586), and Anne (1515–1557) who was Queen consort of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540 to King Henry VIII.

Maria was a strict, traditional Catholic and not a proponent of educating princesses and noble women, which by this point was the norm for the English nobility and gentry. In The Wives of Henry VIII, Antonia Fraser suggests that, following their marriage, one reason Henry VIII disliked her daughter Anne so much was that, unlike his first two wives and many of the court ladies around him, Anne did not possess educational and musical accomplishments and was ill-equipped to function in the contentious English court. Duchess Maria herself appears not to have favored sending her daughter to England. She wrote in a later correspondence she loved her daughter so much that she was 'loath to suffer her to depart her'.

Ancestry

Family of Maria of Jülich-Berg

16. William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg (c.1348-1408)               8. William VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg (c.1382-1428)                       17. Anna of the Palatinate (1346-1415)               4. Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg (c.1416-1475)                             18. Nicholas II, Count of Tecklenburg (?-1426)               9. Adelheid of Tecklenburg (c.1390-?)                       19. Anna Elisabeth of Moers (?-1430)               2. William IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg (1455-1511)                                   20. Eric IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1354-1411)               10. Bernard II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (c.1390-1463)                       21. Sophia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (c.1358-c.1416)               5. Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg (c.1430-1473)                             22. Bogislaw VIII, Duke of Pomerania (c.1364-1418)               11. Adelheid of Pomerania (c.1410-aft 1445)                       23. Sophia of Holstein-Rendsburg               1. Maria of Jülich-Berg                                         24. Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c.1333-1398)               12. Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg (1371-1440)                       25. Elisabeth of Meissen (1329-1375)               6. Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (1414-1486)                             26. Frederick, Duke of Bavaria (1339-1393)               13. Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (c.1383-1442)                       27. Maddalena Visconti (1366-1404)               3. Sibylle of Brandenburg (1467-1524)                                   28. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (1370-1428)               14. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony (1412-1464)                       29. Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (c.1389-1442)               7. Anna of Saxony (1437-1512)                             30. Ernest, Duke of Austria (1377-1424)               15. Margarete of Austria (1416-1486)                       31. Cymburgis of Masovia (1394-1429)