Barbara Radziwiłł (Lithuanian: Barbora Radvilaitė, Polish: Barbara Radziwiłłówna, Belarusian: Барбара Радзівіл; 6 December 1520 – 8 May 1551) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, and consort to King Sigismund II Augustus.
Barbara was the daughter of a powerful magnate of the Radziwiłł family, castellan, voivode and hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Jerzy Radziwiłł, and Barbara Koła.
According to the writings of her contemporar...
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Barbara Radziwiłł (Lithuanian: Barbora Radvilaitė, Polish: Barbara Radziwiłłówna, Belarusian: Барбара Радзівіл; 6 December 1520 – 8 May 1551) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, and consort to King Sigismund II Augustus.
Barbara was the daughter of a powerful magnate of the Radziwiłł family, castellan, voivode and hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Jerzy Radziwiłł, and Barbara Koła.
According to the writings of her contemporaries, Barbara was one of the most beautiful women in Europe. She was tall for her times (162 cm, or 5' 4"), with a slim, shapely body, blonde hair and even white teeth. Moreover, Barbara had an interest in fashion and cosmetics; she used perfumes and face powder. She had been well educated by her parents and spoke Lithuanian, Ruthenian (Old Belarusian), and Polish and could write in these languages. She was married on May 18, 1537, to Stanislovas Goštautas, Voivode of Nowogrodek and later Voivode of Trakai, who died on December 18, 1542.
Her...
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