Marie Louise Gonzaga

Marie Louise Gonzaga (; 18 August 1611 – 10 May 1667) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to two kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania, brothers Władysław IV and John II Casimir. Together with Bona Sforza (1494–1557), she is regarded as one of the most influential and powerful queen consorts of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Born in Nevers to Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Catherine of Guise, Marie was brought up at the French court as the future bride of Duke Gaston of Orléans. In 1645, she married Władysław IV of Poland with whom she did not have a harmonious relationship. After his death in 1648, the widowed queen married his half-brother and successor, John II Casimir. Marie Louise exuded considerable influence over her second husband and dictated the political course in the country. An ambitious and energetic woman, she was a strong supporter of an absolute monarchy for which she was reviled by certain spheres of the Polish nobility. She, nevertheless, remained active in the Commonwealth's politics and co-sponsored the foundation of the first Polish newspaper, Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny (Polish Mercury Ordinary), in 1661 as well as other public institutions. While her role is regarded as crucial in repulsing the foreign forces out of Poland-Lithuania during the Swedish Deluge (1655–1660), she became increasingly unpopular for her absolutist policies and her intention of nominating her niece's husband, Henri Jules, the future Prince of Condé, the heir apparent to the Polish throne. That resulted in a military conflict with the internal opposition, which ended with the defeat of the royal army in 1666, during the Lubomirski rebellion. After Marie Louise's death, John Casimir hesitatingly position renounced the crown, and the Commonwealth government officially curtailed the prerogatives of the royal consort. Early life and marriage proposal Marie Louise Gonzaga was born on 18 August 1611 in the town of Nevers, France to Charles I, Duke of Mantua, and Catherine of Guise, who died in 1618. Marie Louise was supposed to marry Gaston, Duke of Orléans in 1627, but King Louis XIII of France strongly opposed the marriage and subsequently imprisoned her in the Château de Vincennes and later in a small convent.