Her father earned an extreme amount of wealth and territories due to his marriage to Mathilde's mother Anna, and gained the nickname "the Rich".

They were: Mathilde's parents, like their older sister Elisabeth, tried to secure the Katzenelnbogen legacy with an early marriage policy.

However, it took place on 3 November 1489, after Pope Innocent VIII had awarded Duke John the Golden Rose of Virtue on 15 April 1489 .

This is remarkable in light of the fact that John, with his alleged 63 illegitimate children, had the dubious reputation of being a "child maker".

He states that only Mathilde could have been the first owner of the prayer book and that after her death, it was passed down to her granddaughter Sibylle of Cleves as a wedding present.