Gunhilde of Denmark

Gunhilda of Denmark, born circa 1020, was Queen consort of Germany through her marriage to King Henry III from 1036 until her death in 1038. She was a daughter of King Cnut the Great and his second wife, Emma of Normandy, placing her in the House of Knýtlinga. Gunhilda was the sister of King Harthacnut, half-sister to Kings Svein Knutsson of Norway and Harold Harefoot of England, as well as Alfred Aetheling, Edward the Confessor, and Godgifu.

Her engagement to Henry III, part of a political agreement between her father and the Holy Roman Empire, led to her relocation to Germany around 1025. The marriage took place in 1036 after a previous engagement between Henry and a Byzantine princess did not come to fruition. Gunhilda adopted the German name Kunigunde upon her marriage. Her life was marked by significant events, including a controversial accusation of adultery and her subsequent vindication, the birth of her daughter Beatrice, and her untimely death during an epidemic while accompanying her husband on a military campaign in Italy.