The Orphaned Queen Widowed Twice At Eighteen

Ryksa Elzbieta

Born in 1288 in Poznań, she was the only child of King Przemysł II of Poland and Richeza of Sweden. Ryksa Elzbieta's royal lineage placed her at the center of Central European dynastic power struggles. Following the assassination of her father in 1296, the orphaned Piast princess became a vital dynastic prize whose bloodline carried legitimate claims to the contested Polish throne.

In 1300, the widowed King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia invaded Poland and sought to solidify his legitimacy by betrothing the young princess. In May 1303, upon arriving in Prague, she was crowned Queen of Bohemia and Poland, adopting the name Elizabeth (Eliška) because Richeza was unfamiliar to Bohemian courtiers. The union was brief; Wenceslaus died in 1305, leaving Elizabeth a widow at age sixteen with an infant daughter.

Her position as queen dowager was immediately targeted by rival claimants. In 1306, Rudolf of Habsburg claimed the Bohemian throne and married Elizabeth to reinforce his disputed authority. Rudolf died of dysentery less than a year later during a military siege. Twice crowned Queen of Bohemia and twice widowed before turning twenty, Elizabeth secured extensive dower estates, including the wealthy city of Hradec Králové, rather than surrendering her political leverage.

She formed a formidable political and romantic alliance with the powerful nobleman Henry of Lipá. Together, they established an aristocratic faction that directly rivaled the new sovereign, King John of Luxembourg, and Elizabeth's stepdaughter, Queen Eliška Přemyslovna. When King John arrested Henry in 1315, Elizabeth mobilized noble support across the realm, compelling the crown to release him to prevent civil war.

By 1318, Elizabeth and Henry settled in Brno, establishing a culturally influential court that rivaled the royal court in Prague. Elizabeth emerged as a prominent patron of the arts, commissioning eight illuminated liturgical manuscripts and founding the Cistercian convent of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Old Brno. Following Henry's death in 1329, she took religious vows and lived in her foundation until her death in October 1335, where she was laid to rest beside him.