Mary, Queen of Hungary

Mary
Depiction in the Chronica Hungarorum
Queen of Hungary and Croatia
1st reign	10 September 1382 - December 1385
Coronation	17 September 1382
Predecessor	Louis I
Successor	Charles II
Regent	Elizabeth of Bosnia
2nd reign	24 February 1386 - 17 May 1395
Predecessor	Charles II
Successor	Sigismund
Co-ruler	Sigismund (1387–1395)
Born	1371
Died	17 May 1395 (aged 23–24) Buda, Kingdom of Hungary
Burial	Várad, Kingdom of Hungary (now Romania)
Spouse	Sigismund of Luxembourg
House	Capetian House of Anjou
Father	Louis I of Hungary
Mother	Elizabeth of Bosnia
Religion	Catholic Church

Mary, also known as Maria of Anjou (Hungarian: Anjou Mária, Croatian: Marija Anžuvinska, Polish: Maria Andegaweńska; 1371 – 17 May 1395), reigned as Queen of Hungary and Croatia between 1382 and 1385, and from 1386 until her death. She was the daughter of Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland, and his wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia. Mary's marriage to Sigismund of Luxembourg, a member of the imperial Luxembourg dynasty, was already decided before her first birthday. A delegation of Polish prelates and lords confirmed her right to succeed her father in Poland in 1379.

Having no male siblings, Mary was crowned "king" of Hungary on 17 September 1382, seven days after Louis the Great's death. Her mother, who had assumed the regency, absolved the Polish noblemen from their oath of loyalty to Mary in favor of Mary's younger sister, Jadwiga, in early 1383. The idea of a female monarch remained unpopular among the Hungarian noblemen, the majority of whom regarded Mary's distant cousin, Charles III of Naples, as the lawful heir. To strengthen Mary's position, the queen mother wanted her to marry Louis, the younger brother of Charles VI of France. Their engagement was announced in May 1385.

Charles III of Naples landed in Dalmatia in September 1385. Sigismund of Luxembourg invaded Upper Hungary (now Slovakia), forcing the queen mother to give 14-year-old Mary in marriage to him in October. However, they could not prevent Charles from entering Buda. After Mary renounced the throne, Charles was crowned king on 31 December 1385, but he was murdered at the instigation of Mary's mother in February 1386. Mary was restored, but the dead king's supporters captured her and her mother on 25 July. Queen Elizabeth was murdered in January 1387, but Mary was released on 4 June 1387. Mary officially remained co-ruler with Sigismund, who had meanwhile been crowned king, but her influence on the government was minimal. She and her premature son died after falling from a horse when the queen went on a hunting trip while she was pregnant.