Margaretha of Waldeck-Wildungen

Margaretha von Waldeck (1533 – 15 March 1554) was a German noblewoman. She was the daughter of Philip IV, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen (1493–1574) and his first wife, Margaret of East Frisia of the House of Cirksena (1500–1537), daughter of Edzard I, Count of East Frisia. One author theorized in the 1990s that her life influenced the fairy tale of Snow White. It is said she is buried in Brussels where the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein is now located.

Life According to Bad Wildungen city documents she was famous for her beauty. Since 1539 she had a very strict stepmother, Katharina von Hatzfeldt (1487–1546) and perhaps soon after Margaretha was raised at Weilburg at the court of Philip III, Count of Nassau-Weilburg.

In 1545 she traveled through the Siebengebirge ("seven hills") to live with her mother's brother Johann Cirksena (1506–1572) at Valkenburg Castle, in present-day Limburg, Netherlands. In 1549, her father sent her on to the Brussels court of Mary of Hungary, governor of the Habsburg Netherlands and sister of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Margaretha's presence at the court was partially meant to improve the relationship of her father with the emperor and help the release of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, who had been imprisoned in Brussels for his role in the Schmalkaldic War. Three surviving letters from Margaretha to her father show that her health declined steadily over the next few years and she died at the age of 21 in March 1554. In Waldeck chronicles, it was suggested that she had been poisoned. She is likely buried in Brussels where the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein is now located. Professional folklorists and scholars generally view Sander's theory as unlikely and unconvincing.