Mary, Queen of Hungary

Queen of Hungary (1371-1395)

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Lived 1371–1395, aged 24

Wikipedia
47 languages
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Era
1371–1395
Aged 24

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

Crowned "King" of Hungary at eleven because medieval law had no word for a reigning queen, she spent her brief reign watching her mother orchestrate a rival's murder, then died at twenty-three from a hunting accident while pregnant.

Biography

About

Mary was the daughter of Louis I of Hungary, betrothed to Sigismund of Luxembourg before her first birthday. When her father died in 1382, she was crowned "King" of Hungary — no male siblings, no precedent for a ruling woman. Her mother served as regent but faced resistance: Hungarian nobles wanted Charles III of Naples instead, and Polish lords were steered toward Mary's younger sister Jadwiga. Charles invaded in 1385; the queen mother forced fourteen-year-old Mary into marriage with Sigismund to consolidate power, but Charles still entered Buda and took the throne. He was crowned in December…

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