Mary
Queen of Hungary and Croatia
Years: 1371 - 1395
Mary, also known as Maria (1371 – 17 May 1395), is Queen regnant of Hungary and Croatia between 1382 to 1385 and from 1386.
She is the older of the two daughters of Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland, and his wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia, to survive childhood.
Her marriage to Sigismund of Luxembourg, a member of the imperial Luxembourg dynasty, is decided already before her first birthday.
A delegation of the Polish prelates and lords confirms Mary's right to succeed her father in Poland in 1379.
Mary is crowned "king" of Hungary on September 17, 1382, seven days after her father's death.
Her mother, who assumes regency, absolves the Polish noblemen from their oath of loyalty to Mary in favor of Mary's younger sister, Hedwig early in the following year.
The idea of a female monarch remains unpopular among the Hungarian noblemen, the majority of whom regard Louis the Great's distant cousin, Charles III of Naples, as the lawful king.
To strengthen Mary's position, the queen mother wants to give her in marriage to Louis, the younger brother of Charles VI of France.
Their engagement is announced in May 1385.
Charles III of Naples lands in Dalmatia and Mary's former fianceé, Sigismund of Luxembourg, invades the western parts of Upper Hungary (now in Slovakia) in September 1385.
Under duress, the queen mother agrees to wed Mary to Sigismund of Luxembourg in October, but they cannot prevent Charles from entering Buda in early December.
Mary is forced to renounce the throne and Charles is crowned king on the last day of the year.
His brief reign ends with his murder at Queen Elizabeth's instigation in February 1386.
Mary is restored, but the murdered king's supporters capture her and her mother on July 25.
The queen mother is murdered in January 1386, but Mary is released on 4 June 1387.
Mary officially remains the co-ruler of her husband, who has meanwhile been crowned king, but her influence on the government is only nominal.
