Catherine Cornaro

Born into Venice's Corner dynasty on 25 November 1454, Catherine was married to James II of Cyprus in a union engineered to tighten Venetian influence over the eastern Mediterranean kingdom. When James died in 1473, she became regent for their infant son, James III, who held the throne barely a year before his own death in 1474. At twenty, Catherine found herself queen regnant of Cyprus — and also Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia by the island's accumulated titles. Venice declared her a "Daughter of Saint Mark," a ceremonial move that let the republic assert control over Cypriot affairs through…