Dorothea of Lorraine

Dorothea of Lorraine or Dorothée de Lorraine (24 May 1545 – 2 June 1621), was by birth a member of the House of Lorraine and by marriage to Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenburg. Born at the Château de Deneuvre, she was the third child and second daughter of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine and Christina of Denmark. Her paternal grandparents were Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and Renée of Bourbon-Montpensier and her maternal grandparents were Christian II of Denmark and Isabella of Austria. Life Dorothea was named after her maternal aunt and she was born crippled or lame, which was attributed to the stress of her mother during the pregnancy (her father died one month after her birth, on 12 June 1545). During the visit of her maternal aunt and uncle in 1551, she and her sister were described: