Elena Ivanovna of Moscow (1476-1513)

Elena Ivanovna of Moscow
Birth:	19 May 1476 Moscow, Russia (Moscow Kremlin)
Death:	20 January 1513 Vilnius, Lithuania
Remains:	1513 Vilnius, Lithuania (Cathedral of the Theotokos, Vilnius)
Father:	Ivan III of Russia (1440-1505)
Mother:	Zoe Palaiologina (c1448-1503)
Spouse / partner:	Alexander of Poland (1461-1506)
Sex:
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Elena Ivanovna of Moscow was born 19 May 1476 in Moscow, Russia (Moscow Kremlin) to Ivan III Vasilyevich of Russia (1440-1505) and Zoe Palaiologina (c1448-1503) and died 20 January 1513 Vilnius, Lithuania of unspecified causes.

Helena Ivanovna of Moscow (Russian: Елена Ивановна; Lithuanian: Elena; Polish: Helena Moskiewska) (19 May 1476 – 20 January 1513) was a Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Queen of Poland as a wife of king of Poland Alexander Jagiellon.

Biography

Helena was the daughter of a Grand Prince of Moscow, Ivan III, and Sophia Palaiologina, a niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. Helena was a younger sister of Grand Prince of Moscow Vasili III of Russia. In 1495 the marriage between Alexander Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Helena was held in the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius, in the presence of Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow. She did not convert to Catholicism to become Queen of Poland and remained faithful to her Eastern Orthodox Church beliefs. That is why she was never crowned.

Helena had two pregnancies (in 1497 and 1499), but both ended in miscarriages. The second miscarriage left her severely ill and unable to bear children. According to a rumor, she was poisoned by Mikołaj Radziwiłł. She was buried in the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius.

Ancestry

16. Dmitriy Ivanovich Donskoy

8. Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich of Moscow

17. Eudoxia Dmitriyevna of Suzdal

4. Vasily II Vasiliyevich of Moscow

18. Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania

9. Sophia of Lithuania

19. Anna of Smolensk

2. Ivan III Vasilevich of Moscow

20. Vladimir Andreievich of Sierpukhov

10. Yaroslav Vladimirovich of Maloyaroslavets

21. Elena of Lithuania

5. Maria Yaroslavna of Borovsk

22. Fyodor Fyodorovich Koshkin-Goldyayev

11. Maria Fyodorovna Koshkina-Goltyayeva

1. Helena of Moscow

24. John V Palaiologos

12. Manuel II Palaiologos

25. Helena Kantakouzene

6. Thomas Palaiologos

26. Constantine Dragaš

13. Jelena Dragaš

3. Zoe Palaiologina

28. Andronico Asano Zaccaria

14. Centurione II Zaccaria

29. Mavros of Arcadia

7. Katharina Zaccaria of Achaea

30. Leonardo II Tocco

15. Creusa Tocco

Trivia

Marie Louse Gonzaga de Nevers was the second Polish Queen after Helena whose family tree lead to the Byzantine emperor (Andronikos II Palaiologos).

References

Elena Ivanovna of Moscow (1476-1513) Rurik Dynasty Born: 19 May 1476 Died: 20 January 1513
Royal titles
Preceded by Elisabeth of Austria	Queen consort of Poland Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania 1501–1506	Succeeded by Barbara Zápolya