He had a miserable childhood
It is a fact that he had a miserable childhood. Ivan was Vasili III's first son by his second wife, Elena Glinskaya. Vasili's mother was a Byzantine Palaiologos family member and a Greek princess. Elena's mother was a Serbian princess, and the Glinski line claimed genealogy from both Orthodox Hungarian aristocrats and the Mongol king Mamai (1335-1380). Born on August 25, he was given the name Ivan in commemoration of St. John the Baptist and the Beheading Day on August 29.
Ivan's father died when he was three years old from infection and inflammation on his leg that progressed to blood poisoning. Except for the young Ivan, the younger brothers of Vasily were the closest challengers to the throne. Only two of Ivan III's six sons remained: Prince Andrey Staritsky and Prince Dmitrovsky Yuri. At his father's suggestion, Ivan was named Grand Prince of Moscow. His mother, Elena Glinskaya, served as a regent at first, but she died in 1538 when Ivan was just eight years old, and many believe she was poisoned. The regency was thereafter rotated between numerous rival boyar families fighting for dominance.
According to his own letters, Ivan and his younger brother Yuri frequently felt ignored and angered by the powerful boyars of the Shuisky and Belsky families. Ivan remembered in a letter to Prince Kurbski, "My brother Iurii, of blessed memory, and me they brought up like vagrants and children of the poorest. What have I suffered for want of garments and food! "
