Elizabeth Richeza of Poland

Early years

Born in Poznań, Ryksa was the only child born from her parents' marriage. She was born on September 1, 1288; she is the first known female Polish to have her birthdate recorded. Ryksa was named after her mother, who died between the birth of his daughter and 19 April 1293, when Przemysł expressed a wish to have a memorial candle continuously lighted on his second wife's tomb.

During her first years of life, she was raised by her paternal aunt Anna of Greater Poland in the Cistercian monastery in Owińska, where she was the abbess. It was probably there that Ryksa received the news of her father's failed kidnapping and murder on 8 February 1296 in Rogoźno. The death of the Polish King completely changed the geopolitical situation in this part of Europe, and also clearly influenced the fate of the now orphaned young princess, who was now placed under the care of her stepmother Margaret of Brandenburg, member of the House of Ascania.

During the marriage ceremony of Przemysł II and Margaret (bef. 13 April 1293), Ryksa was betrothed to Otto of Brandenburg-Salzwedel (Margaret's brother), so her stepmother was also her future sister-in-law. Although Margaret received parts of Greater Poland as her dower, shortly after her husband's death, and for unknown reasons, she returned to Brandenburg, taking Ryksa with her. Otto's unexpected death on 11 March 1299 ended the betrothal. Despite this, Ryksa remained for next few years with her stepmother's family.

Engagement and marriage with Wenceslaus II

The death of Otto of Brandenburg complicated again Ryksa's situation, because as the only child of the last male member of the Piast Greater Poland line and the first King in almost two centuries, she was the perfect match for every contender to the Polish crown. King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (a widower since 1297) received from the lords of Greater Poland the offer of marriage with the princess and before his coronation as King of Poland on 25 July 1300 in Gniezno, Ryksa was sent to Prague.

Because of her youth, Wenceslaus II decided to delay the wedding until Ryksa was fifteen years old. He had previously been married to Judith of Habsburg and had four surviving children (Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Anna of Bohemia, Elisabeth of Bohemia and Margaret of Bohemia). During this time, Ryksa was placed under the care of Gryfina of Halych, widow of Leszek II the Black and aunt of the Bohemian King.

The marriage between Ryksa and Wenceslaus II took place on 26 May 1303 in Prague Cathedral. During the ceremony, Ryksa was crowned Queen consort of Bohemia and Poland, and at the request of her husband, she adopted the name Elisabeth, because her name was not used in Bohemia and seen as strange. The ceremony was performed with the consent of the Archbishops of Mainz and Gniezno and the Bishop of Wrocław, Henryk z Wierzbnej.

Two years later, on 15 June 1305, Queen Elizabeth gave birth to her only known child, a daughter named Agnes of Bohemia. Only six days later, on 21 June 1305, King Wenceslaus II died in Prague, probably of tuberculosis. The seventeen-year-old Elizabeth, now Queen Dowager, received a pension and 20,000 talents of fine silver and the royal towns in East Bohemia of Hradec Králové, Vysoké Mýto, Chrudim, Polička and Jaroměř.