Between Two Queens

Historical Background

In 1270, a double marriage took place.  Carlo, heir to the King of Naples married Maria, daughter of the King of Hungary.  Ladislaus, heir to the King of Hungary, married Isabella, daughter of the King of Naples.    

Alas, the union between Ladislaus of Hungary and Isabella of Naples was not harmonious. Ladislaus would shove Isabella aside so that he could be with his mistresses. Ladislaus was also a very unpopular ruler, which led to his assassination in 1290. No children were born from this unhappy marriage. The ancient house of Arpad, which ruled Hungary for over 300 years was at risk.

Ladislaus had no brothers, but three surviving sisters, including Maria, Queen of Naples, who had given King Carlo fourteen children. Maria put in her bid for the throne of Hungary, but the country had never had a female monarch before, and they will not willing to accept one. The King and Queen of Naples' eldest son, known as Carlo Martel, laid claim to the kingdom instead. However, his claim was contested by his cousin, Andrew, the last surviving male Arpadian. In the end, Andrew won, and was crowned King Andrew III of Hungary.

Carlo Martel did not want to give up his claim in Hungary, but Croatia, which had been under Hungarian control since 1102, recognized him as their King. But Carlo Martel's claims did not last long. He died in 1295, when he was not yet twenty-four, and his parents outlived him. He left behind two daughters, and one son, Carlo Roberto, aged seven at the time.

Carlo Roberto should have became the new heir-apparent to Naples, but the aging king did not want a small child as the heir to a kingdom that risked invasion. Louis, the second son of Carlo, rejected his chance to be the heir, and instead chose to take holy vows.  The third son, Roberto became the heir to Naples.

In 1301, Andrew III of Hungary died, leaving behind just one daughter, Erzsebet, who was only eight at the time. She was betrothed to Wenceslaus, the heir to Bohemia. This marriage would bring a union between the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia. But Hungary, like always, was opposed to a female ruler. It would be Wenceslaus alone who would be the actual ruler of the kingdom.

But the plans for Hungary's succession were not so clear. There were lords who supported Carlo Roberto, now thirteen over Wencelslaus, eleven at the time. Carlo Roberto was crowned King of Hungary, but soon his coronation was considered invalid. Wencelslaus was soon crowned King instead. In 1305, Wencelslaus' father died, and he succeeded him as King of Bohemia and Poland. Listening to the Bohemian lord's advice, he went against the pre-arranged wishes, broke off his engagement to Erzsebet of Hungary, and married another.  That same year he gave up his claim on Hungary to focus on Poland and Bohemia instead.

Maybe Erszebet could marry Carlo Roberto instead, and they could rule Hungary? If this theory was ever thought of, it went nowhere, for the Duke of Bavaria, a first cousin of Ladislaus IV became the new king instead. Erzsebet never inherited her father's kingdom, nor married, and in 1310, she was placed in a convent where she would spent the rest of her life as a nun.

In 1308, the Duke of Bavaria abdicated the Hungary throne, and Carlo Roberto, now twenty became the uncontested King of Hungary, under the name of Karoly I, ready to rule on his own. But establishing himself as King to his rebellious subjects was not easy, as was producing a much-needed heir for his fledgling dynasty. In 1320, Karoly was thrice-widowed with no surviving children. But he was soon in luck, for the King of Poland offered him his beautiful and wise daughter, Elzbieta. The marriage was by far Karoly's most successful. Elzbieta bore him five sons, and even though the first two died, the younger three thrived. When Karoly died in 1342, his life goals fulfilled, he was seceded by the eldest of these sons, Lajos, sixteen, wise beyond his years, and striving for an even more glorious reign than his father's.