Albrecht VII, the Handsome,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

in Güstrow (25 July 1486 – 5 January 1547), was a minor ruler in North

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

of the 16th century. He also asserted claims to Scandinavian thrones based on the royal lineage of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

. In the course of the so-called

Count's Feud The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of relig ...

, the

Free City of Lübeck The Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Freie und Hansestadt Lübeck) was a city-state from 1226 to 1937, in what is now the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. History Imperial Free City and the Hanseatic ...

involved Duke Albrecht in its alliance with various parties and offered him the Danish crown. King

Christian III of Denmark Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

, however, managed to keep his kingdom:

Christopher, Count of Oldenburg Christopher, Count of Oldenburg (German: ''Christoph, Graf von Oldenburg'') (c. 1504 – 4 August 1566) was German count and regent in eastern Denmark between 1534–36 during the Count's Feud (Danish: ''Grevens Fejde'') which was named after ...

, and Duke Albert were besieged in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

in 1535–1536 until they capitulated.

Marriage and children

On 17 January 1524 he married

Anna of Brandenburg Margravine Anna of Brandenburg (27 August 1487 – 3 May 1514) was a German noblewoman. Margravine Anna was the daughter of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and Margaret of Thuringia. She was born in Berlin, Brandenburg, and died in Kiel ...

, a daughter of

Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography The ...

. They had the following children: *Magnus of Mecklenburg (born and died 19 November 1524) * John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (23 December 1525 – 12 February 1576) * Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Schwerin (21 April 1528 – 14 March 1603) * George of Mecklenburg (22 February 1529 – 20 July 1552), *

Anna of Mecklenburg Anna of Mecklenburg (14 October 15334 July 1602), was a Duchess consort of Courland by marriage to the Duke of Courland, Gotthard Kettler. She was the daughter of Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg and Anna of Brandenburg. Anna is the first woman ...

(14 October 1533 – 4 July 1602); married

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia. Biography K ...

, Duke of

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

, and had issue. *Louis of Mecklenburg (1535–1535) *John of Mecklenburg (1536–1536) * Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch (30 June 1537 – 4 March 1592); married in 1573 to

Dorothea Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cr ...

(1528 – 11 November 1575), daughter of

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I (Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Re ...

and on 14 May 1581 to

Princess Elizabeth of Sweden Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (also known as ''Elisabet Gustavsdotter Vasa''; 5 April 1549 – 20 November 1597), was a Swedish princess, and a duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch by marriage to Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch. She ...

(5 April 1549 – 20 November 1597) *Sophie of Mecklenburg (10 April 1538 – 1538) *

Charles I, Duke of Mecklenburg Charles I, Duke of MecklenburgGüstrow(28 December 1540 in Neustadt – 22 July 1610 in Güstrow), was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg in the Mecklenburg-Güstrow part of the country. He was the youngest son of the Duke Albert VII and his wife, ...

-Güstrow and Schwerin (28 September 1540 – 22 July 1610)

Literature

* Lutz Sellmer, ''Albrecht VII. von Mecklenburg und die Grafenfehde (1534-1536),'' Frankfurt am Main 1999. * Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Dukes of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 1486 births 1547 deaths House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin People of the Count's Feud {{Germany-duke-stub