Adelaide of Meissen (Czech:Adléta Míšeňská,German:Adelheid von Meißen;c. 1160 – 2 February 1211), a member of theHouse of Wettin, wasQueen of Bohemia from 1198 to 1199 as the first wife of KingOttokar I.^[1] When her husband declared their marriage null and void, she began a longstanding legal dispute that involved numerous religious and secular dignitaries of her time.

Adelaide was born about 1160 as the daughter of MargraveOtto II of Meissen (1125–1190) and his wifeHedwig of Brandenburg (d. 1203), a daughter of theAscanian margraveAlbert the Bear. She met her future husband in the 1170s, in the time of his exile during internal struggles within the BohemianPřemyslid dynasty. The couple married in 1178 without attendance and consent from their families. It is possible that the marriage was forced on the grounds of her pregnancy. Adelaide gave birth to a son, Vratislaus, soon after.

Shortly after the marriage, the couple could return toBohemia, when Ottokar's brotherFrederick (Bedřich) 'assumed the reins' and made Ottokar one of the leaders of his armed forces in theMoravian lands. In 1192 Ottokar himself ascended thePrague throne and even achieved his recognition by theHohenstaufen emperorHenry VI; however, he lost support and was deposed soon after. He again had to leave Bohemia, together with his wife and four children.

Adelaide came toMeissen at the court of her brother MargraveAlbert the Proud. Meanwhile, Ottokar became a mercenary of Germanprinces to profit from theGerman throne dispute between Emperor Henry's brotherPhilip of Swabia and theWelf dukeOtto of Brunswick. At this time the couple got estranged. Ottokar decided to solve the problem in a way exclusive to all dynastic principles.

By the end of 1197, Ottokar came to terms with his younger brotherVladislaus III and succeeded as Bohemian duke for the second time. He finally obtained the hereditary royal title according to theGolden Bull of Sicily issued by Philip of Swabia. Shortly after that, he repudiated his wife and also his adult son Vratislav. Ottokar was at least 40 at that time and risked losing the heir. Adelaide and her daughters again stayed in Meissen, while Vratislav became a mercenary inGermany andItaly.

In 1199, King Ottokar divorced Adelaide, officially on the grounds ofconsanguinity.^[2][3] They were both descendants of MargraveHenry of Schweinfurt and thePolish kingMieszko II Lambert. They were fifth cousins once removed or fourth cousins once removed. Ottokar married PrincessConstance of Hungary, daughter of KingBéla III,^[3] who was his fourth cousin thrice removed, later in the same year.^[1]

Adelaide, however, had no intention to waive her rights nor to have her children considered as illegitimate. She began litigation in 1199, calling the Hohenstaufen family andPope Innocent III for help. In the German throne dispute, both the Hohenstaufen and Welf party alternating stood for her rights. In 1205 Adelaide could return to Prague for a while after Ottokar had signed an agreement with Philip of Swabia. Moreover, his first-born son with Constance of Hungary had died, and Ottokar decided to marry his daughter with Adelaide,Margaret (Dagmar), to KingValdemar II of Denmark in this time. However, when Constance gave birth to another son, later kingWenceslaus I, in 1205, Adelaide, with her daughters, had to leave Bohemia permanently. She retired to the Holy Cross monastery inMeissen.

The Pope still used the pending lawsuit for leverage, but finally decided that the cessation of marriage was legal. Adelaide still struggled, though, in 1210, she had lost. She died one year later in her Meissen exile.^[4]

• Vratislaus (d. bef. 1225).^[1]
• Margaret (Dagmar) (d. 24 May 1212),^[1] married to KingValdemar II of Denmark.
• Božislava (d. 6 Feb bef. 1238), married to Count Henry I ofOrtenburg.
• Hedwig (Hedvika), nun inGernrode Abbey andSt. George's Convent, Prague.

• Curta, Florin (2019).Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300). BRILL.ISBN 978-90-04-39519-0.
• Klaniczay, Gábor (2002).Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-42018-1.
• Loud, Graham (2019).The Chronicle of Arnold of Lübeck. Routledge.ISBN 978-0-429-62452-0.
• Wihoda, Martin (2015).Vladislaus Henry: The Formation of Moravian Identity. BRILL.ISBN 978-9004303836.

• 1160s births
• 1211 deaths
• House of Wettin
• Queens consort of Bohemia
• Repudiated queens
• 12th-century people from Bohemia
• 12th-century women from Bohemia
• 13th-century people from Bohemia
• 13th-century women from Bohemia
• Daughters of monarchs

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Czech-language text
• Articles containing German-language text
• Year of birth uncertain