Frederiksborg Palace
Hedwig was born on 5 August 1581 at Frederiksborg Palace in Denmark, the seventh child and fourth daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. One of her three sisters was Princess Anne of Denmark, future queen of England and Scotland, and one of her brothers became Christian IV of Denmark. Like her siblings, she spent most of her childhood away from Denmark: in her case with her mother's relative in Mecklenburg.