Gertrude was married to Henry the Proud, Duke of Bavaria, a dynastic arrangement meant to strengthen ties to the Welf dynasty.

Acting as Saxon regent, Gertrude with the aid of her mother Empress Richenza was able to secure the inheritance rights of her son by reaching a consent with the Hohenstaufen King Conrad III.

In 1142 Henry the Lion was finally vested with the Duchy of Saxony by King Conrad III, after Albert the Bear renounced his rights.

[3] They had: The marriage produced no male heirs, as Gertrude died in childbirth at Klosterneuburg Monastery in Austria on 18 April 1143, which was her 28th birthday.

In 1152 King Conrad was succeeded by his nephew Frederick Barbarossa, who vested Gertrude's son Henry the Lion with the Duchy of Bavaria in 1156.