Mary, Queen of Hungary

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 1385 and murdered six weeks later at the queen mother's instigation. Mary was restored, then captured by Charles's supporters in July 1386. Her mother was killed in captivity; Mary was freed the following June but held little real authority under Sigismund's rule. She died in May 1395 after falling from a horse during a hunt while pregnant, her premature son dying with her.