Mary, the first official woman ruler of the Kingdom of Hungary

With the introduction of Christian male primogeniture to the Hungarian Kingdom by Saint Stephen, no one outside the Árpád bloodline ruled in Hungary and this was almost unbroken for centuries, until the death of Andrew III. Thus, primogeniture was broken. However, the male sex of the sovereign was overthrown too, when Mary, Louis the Great’s daughter succeeded him on the throne in 1382.

Louis the Great inherited a financially well-off country from his father, which he handed over to his daughter, Mary I of Hungary, who thus became the first Queen of Hungary. This change was unwelcomed by the noblemen of Hungary, who rejected the idea of being governed by a female monarch.

Mary’s reign as a monarch was, sadly, short. She was not even crowned ‘queen’ as that title only referred to the wives of kings, so she was crowned ‘king’ in mid-September 1382. As Mary was only eleven years old when she was announced as the new monarch, her mother, Elizabeth, assumed regency. Here it must be mentioned that Mary was already betrothed to Sigismund of Luxembourg, but the queen mother made sure that the fiancé would not be present.

Sigismund asked for the wedding ceremony to take place on several occasions, but both the mother and the daughter postponed it, until October 1385.

The Hungarian noblemen regarded Charles III of Naples, Mary’s cousin as the lawful heir to the throne, and so invited him to dethrone Mary. Charles eventually took the crown in September 1385, but Mary’s supporters were adamant about keeping Mary as the head of the Hungarian Kingdom. This resulted in Charles being poisoned in February 1386, which, as it is expected, led to an anarchic revolt all across the kingdom.

Following the death of Charles, Mary was restored to the throne but soon captured and imprisoned. She was released in July 1386, when an official pact was made with the noblemen: Mary should give up the throne to her husband, Sigismund, but can remain co-ruler.