Eleanor Gonzaga (1630–1686)

:"For other women of the same name, see Eleanor Gonzaga"Eleonora Gonzaga (18 November, 1630 – 6 December, 1686) of the Mantua was a daughter of Charles II, Duke of Mantua (1609–1631) and his wife and cousin Maria Gonzaga, heiress to the Duchy of Mantua.

Family

Her father was a son and co-ruler of Charles I, Duke of Mantua but predeceased his father. Her paternal grandmother was Catherine of Mayenne. Her maternal grandparents were Francesco IV Gonzaga and Margaret of Savoy.

Catherine of Mayenne was a daughter of Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne and Henriette of Savoy, Marquise de Villars. Margaret was a daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Catherine Michelle of Spain.

Catherine Michelle was in turn the second and last daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elisabeth of Valois.

Marriage and children

She was born on in Mantua. On 30 April, 1651 in Vienna, she married the Emperor Ferdinand III, thus becoming Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. She died in Vienna, surviving her husband by 29 years.

She bore Ferdinand two children who survived into adulthood:
* Eleonora Maria Josefa, Archduchess of Austria (31 May 1653 – 1697), married first Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland, and then Charles Léopold, Duke of Lorraine.
* Maria Anna Josepha, Archduchess of Austria (30 December 1654 – 1689), who married Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine.

External links

* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p11207.htm#i112063 Her profile in Peerage.com]
** [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/gonzaga/gonzaga3.html#LMC1 A listing of descendants of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua]