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 her. She ruled for fifteen years under that shadow, until February 1489, when she formally ceded the kingdom to Venice and returned home. She died in Venice on 10 July 1510, the last sovereign Cyprus would ever have.