Mary
Mary (Maria) was queen of Hungary and Croatia in her own right. She was married to Sigismund, who reigned as king jure uxoris.
Contents
History
Mary was the second daughter of Louis I and Elizabeth. After her elder sister Catherine died at the age of 8, she became heir presumptive.
Before her first birthday, a marriage was arranged with Sigismund, the second son of Charles IV. The marriage required a papal dispensation as they were cousins.
Reign
First Reign
Louis I died on September 10, 1382. Mary was immediately crowned in her own right. For the entirety of Mary's reign, her mother Elizabeth served as regent.
The Polish nobility demanded that their monarch live within Poland, effectively demanding that Elizabeth's second daughter Jadwiga inherit and be removed from her influence. During this interregnum, Władysław II consilidated power as an alternative candidate for the monarchy. In 1384 Elizabeth was forced to concede and Jadwiga was recognized as heir to Poland.
Mary's reign was contested by Charles II, the senior Angevin male, who already held the duchal titles of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia.
Sigismund occupied Bratislava seeking to enforce the marital contract. They married in Buda in October 1385, but he was neither granted a royal title nor given a place in Hungarian government. He departed Hungary thereafter.
Interregnum
Charles II seized Buda and the Hungarian crown in December 1385.
Elizabeth had him assassinated in February, restoring Mary to the throne.
Second Reign
In July 1386, both Mary and Elizabeth were captured by John Horvat, the ban of Macso. Sigismund intervened militarily, but Elizabeth was executed as his army approached Novigrad in January 1387. Mary would finally be freed in July 1387.
During the imprisonment, Hungarian nobility had elected Sigismund first as regent and then king. He was crowned in March 1387. Mary was quickly set aside from governmental powers.
Mary was injured while pregnant on May 17, 1395. She and her prematurely-born son died that day.
Legacy
Mary left no heirs for the Angevin dynasty in Hungary. Sigismund would re-marry and eventually arrange for his daughter's marriage into the Habsburg dynasty.