Margaret of Brandenburg

Margaret of Brandenburg-Salzwedel (, ; born ca. 1270 – died 1 May 1315) was a German noblewoman member of the House of Ascania and by her two marriages Duchess of Greater Poland (during 1293–1296), Queen of Poland (during 1295–1296) and Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (during 1302–1308). She was the youngest child and second daughter of Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel and Matilda of Denmark, daughter of King Christopher I. Life After the death of his second wife Rikissa of Sweden around 1292, Duke Przemysł II of Greater Poland wished to marry for a third time. The choice of Margaret was mainly for political reasons, because for being a member of the powerful House of Ascania and her Pomerelian ancestry (her maternal grandmother was Sambiria of Pomerelia, later Queen Margaret of Denmark), this would have given to the Greater Poland ruler additional rights over his expected inheritance of Gdańsk Pomerania. Given the relatively close relationship between Przemysł II and Margaret (both were great-grandchildren of Přemysl Otakar I of Bohemia), they needed a papal dispensation in order to marry. The wedding ceremony took place shortly before 13 April 1293; according to some historians, probably on this occasion the betrothal between Przemysł II's daughter Ryksa and Otto of Brandenburg-Salzwedel, Margaret's brother, was also celebrated.