Grand Internal Princess Consort Hadong (Korean:하동부대부인;Hanja:河東府大夫人; 24 September 1530 – 24 June 1567), or Hadong Budaebuin, of the Hadong Jeong clan, was the wife of Grand Internal Prince Deokheung and the biological mother of King Seonjo, the 14th monarch of Joseon.
Biography
Early life and lineage
Lady Jeong was born during the reign of King Jungjong, as the younger child among one son and one daughter. Her father was Jeong Se-ho (정세호) and her mother was a lady from the Gwangju Yi clan.
On her paternal side, she was a great-granddaughter of Jeong In-ji and a second cousin twice removed of the Deposed Queen Yu, as well as a descedant of King Sejong and Queen Soheon via their second daughter, Princess Jeongui (정의공주), and a descendant of Grand Prince Hyoryeong via his grandson, Yi Chu (이추; eldest son of Prince Seowon). Meanwhile, her mother was a granddaughter of Yi Geuk-gam (이극감), one of a group of five brothers who all achieved ministerial rank, a rare feat that established the Gwangju Yi clan as a major political force of the early Joseon period.
Marriage
Sometime in the early 1540s, Lady Jeong was married to Yi Cho (then known as Prince Deokheung), the eighth son of King Jungjong. She gave birth to her first son in 1545, followed by a second son in 1546, a daughter in 1548, and a third son in 1552, before losing her husband in 1559.
Death and aftermath
Lady Jeong died eight years later, at the age of 36, and was buried alongside her husband in present-day Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. Their tomb is now known as Deokheungdaewongunmyo (덕흥대원군묘).
At this time, King Myeongjong was childless and their youngest son, Yi Gyun (renamed Yi Yeon, posthumously King Seonjo) was adopted as his heir, acceeding to the throne less than two months after Lady Jeong's death. Because Yi Cho had been the son of a concubine, the new king couldn't follow the example of King Seongjong and posthumously honor his parents as king and queen. As a compromise, the "grand internal prince" (대원군;daewongun) title was created for Yi Cho and conferred upon him in 1569, while Lady Jeong was elevated to the rank of grand princess consort (부부인;bubuin). She was incorrectly indentified as a grand internal princess consort (부대부인;budaebuin) in the 18th century, and modern historical sources maintain the designation.
↑▪︎1st wife: Lady, of the Jeonju Yi clan (전주 이씨); great-great-great-granddaughter of King Sejo. ▪︎2nd wife: Lady, of the Gwangsan Kim clan (광산 김씨); daughter of Kim Su-won (김수원). ▪︎Issue: 1 daughter. [Lineage: King Sejo → Crown Prince Uigyeong → Grand Prince Wolsan → Prince Deokpung (덕풍군; 1485–1506) → Prince Parim (파림군; 1500–1541) → Lady Yi]
↑▪︎1st wife: Princess Consort Namyang (남양군부인), of the Namyang Hong clan (남양 홍씨; 1544–1569); daughter of Hong Seom (홍섬; 1504–1585). ▪︎2nd wife: Princess Consort Sinan (신안군부인),of the Seongju Yi clan (성주 이씨; 1556–1516); daughter of Yi Ui-ro (이의로). ▪︎Issue: 9 sons (6 concubine-born sons), 6 daughters (5 concubine-born daughters).
↑▪︎Wife: Princess Consort Pyongsan (평산군부인), of the Pyongsan Shin clan (평산 신씨); daughter of Shin Yeo-jong (신여종). ▪︎Issue: 3 sons (1 adopted son and 2 concubine-born sons), 1 concubine-born daughter.