Rikissa Birgersdotter, also known as Rixa, Richeza, Richilda and Regitze, (c. 1237 – after 1288) was Queen of Norway as the wife of the co-king Haakon Haakonson, and later Princess of Werle as wife of Henry I, Prince of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.
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Biography
Rikissa Birgersdotter was born as one of the eldest children in the marriage of Lord Birger Magnusson (better known as Birger Jarl), later riksjarl and regent of Sweden, and Princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter, eldest sibling of King Erik Eriksson of Sweden.
Rikissa's parentage is historically well attested, contrary to that of her supposed younger sisters. Rikissa received her name in honor of her maternal grandmother, the late Rikissa of Denmark, queen of Sweden – the Scandinavian custom was to give names of deceased grandmothers to daughters of a family, and a first-born daughter was usually christened as namesake of maternal grandmother, if she was no longer alive.
In 1250, her uncle, King Erik, died without heirs and her underage brother Valdemar was elected king, with his father Birger as the regent. Birger's policy included efforts to keep the peace between Scandinavia's three kingdoms and to strengthen his own already powerful family's influence. Thus his legitimate children were all considered de facto Swedish princes and princesses through their mother and through Birger's own royal ancestry.
In 1251, Rikissa was married to the heir of Norway, Haakon Haakonsson the Young (1232–1257), titular king of Norway and co-ruler along his father king Haakon IV of Norway. Haakon and Rikissa had one son, Sverre Håkonsson who died young (1252–1261). Her husband King Haakon died in 1257 prior to his father's death in 1263, leaving his younger brother, Magnus VI of Norway (Magnus Lagabøte) as the heir-apparent to the kingdom.