Barbara Radziwiłł was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Barbara, a great beauty and already widowed, became a royal mistress most likely in 1543 and they married in secret in July or August 1547. The marriage caused a scandal; it was vehemently opposed by Polish nobles, including Queen mother Bona Sforza. Sigismund Augustus, assisted by Barbara's cousin Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł and brother Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł, worked tirelessly to gain recognition of their marriage and to crown Barbara as Queen of Poland. They succeeded and Barbara's coronation was held on 7 December 1550 at Wawel Cathedral. However, her health was already failing and she died just five months later. Even though it was brief, her reign propelled the Radziwiłł family to new heights of political power and influence.
Portrait of Barbara Radziwiłł by Lucas Cranach the Younger (ca. 1551)
Sigismund II Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłł in Vilnius by Jan Matejko
Barbara Radziwiłł in coronation robes and pearls that became her signature jewelry. 18th-century copy of an original 16th-century portrait.
Death of Barbara Radziwiłł by Józef Simmler
Sigismund II Augustus was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the last male monarch from the Jagiellonian dynasty.
Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1553
A 1568 Lithuanian coin of Sigismund II Augustus with Vytis and the Columns of Gediminas
Queen Elizabeth, by Lucas Cranach the Younger
Child armour of Sigismund II Augustus, which was commissioned by Emperor Ferdinand I for his daughter's Elizabeth of Austria marriage with Sigismund II Augustus