John, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

Duke of Holstein

John
Duke of Holstein

Born	(1583-07-09)9 July 1583
Died	28 October 1602(1602-10-28) (aged 19)
House	Oldenburg
Father	Frederick II of Denmark and Norway
Mother	Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Johan of Schleswig-Holstein (9 July 1583 – 28 October 1602) was the youngest son of Frederick II of Denmark and Norway and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He went to Russia in 1602 as the bridegroom of Boris Godunov's daughter Ksenia (Xenia), but fell ill and died before the marriage could take place.^[1] It is possible that Boris Godunov's ministers may have poisoned him. The cancelled marriage between John and Ksenia was an attempt to ally Denmark-Norway with the Russian Empire.

Other notable facts

In Alexander Pushkin's chamber drama Boris Godunov and the Mussorgsky opera based on it, Johan is referred to in Boris's monologue "I have attained the highest power":

I thought to make my daughter happy
By wedlock. Like a tempest Death took off
Her bridegroom—and at once a stealthy rumour
Pronounced me guilty of my daughter's grief--
Me, me, the hapless father!

Ancestry

Ancestors of John, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

16. Christian I of Denmark (=#28)

8. Frederick I of Denmark (=#14)

17. Dorothea of Brandenburg (=#29)

4. Christian III of Denmark

18. John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg

9. Anna of Brandenburg

19. Margaret of Thuringia

2. Frederick II of Denmark

20. John V of Saxe-Lauenburg

10. Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg

21. Dorothea of Brandenburg

5. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg

22. Henry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

11. Catherine of Brunswick

23. Catherine of Pomerania-Wolgast

1. John, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein

24. Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg

12. Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg

25. Sophie of Pomerania-Wolgast

6. Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg

26. Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg

13. Anna of Brandenburg

27. Elizabeth of Denmark

3. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

28. Christian I of Denmark (=#16)

14. Frederick I of Denmark (=#8)

29. Dorothea of Brandenburg (=#17)

7. Elizabeth of Denmark

30. Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania

15. Sophie of Pomerania

31. Anna of Poland

References

^ Carl Frederik Bricka. "Hans, 1583-1602, yngste Søn af Kong Frederik II og Dronning Sophie". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

Other sources

"The Muscovite Embassy of 1599 to Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg," by Isaiah Gruber (1999): page 86 (with footnote 3)
Büsching, Anton Friedrich (1773). Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie, VII Theil: VII Archiv-Nachrichten von alten Unterhandlungen welche zwischen dem russischen und danischen hofe von 1554 bis 1677. Halle: Johann Jacob Curt. pp. 316–317.
Büsching, Anton Friedrich (1773). Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie, VII Theil: Johannis des jüngern, Herzogs von Denmark Reussische Reise und Einzug zu Moskau 1602. Halle: Johann Jacob Curt. pp. 255–298.