Mary of Hungary

Early life

Mary was the second of six children. Her sisters Elizabeth and Catherine both became Queen of Serbia. Another sister, Anna, married Andronikos II Palaiologos. Mary's only brother was Ladislaus IV of Hungary.

Marriage

Mary was 12 years old when she wed Charles II of Naples in Naples on 6 August 1270. The marriage was intended to be a double alliance between Naples and Hungary to support the intended conquest of Byzantium by Naples, but it did not serve its purpose as her brother in 1272 made an alliance with Byzantium as well. Maria accompanied Charles on his trips and spent 1278-82 in Provence with her consort. In 1284, she made her first political act: when Charles was taken captive by Aragon, she made the decision to free the Aragonese prisoner Beatrice of Hohenstaufen.

Queen

In 1285, Charles became monarch but remained in an Aragonese prison. She did not take part in the regency for him in Naples, but remained in Provence, where she did take part in the administration from time to time, though she was not formal regent. In 1288, she took part in the negotiations of her consort's release, and the same year, she made a peace treaty with Aragon. Charles was released the same year, and they returned to Naples together.

In 1290-94, she was regent for him in Provence.

Struggle for the Hungarian throne

On 10 July 1290, Mary's brother, King Ladislaus IV of Hungary was murdered by three Cuman assassins,. Since Ladislaus had died childless, the question now was who would succeed him: in addition to Mary, her sisters Catherine and Elisabeth believed that they had claims, as did the children of the youngest sister, Anna. In addition, the crown was already claimed by Ladislaus' cousin Andrew the Venetian, who was the next heir according to agnatic descent. Andrew was summoned from Vienna by Archbishop Lodomer, who crowned him King Andrew III on 23 July with the Holy Crown of Hungary in Székesfehérvár, the traditional site for Hungarian coronations.

However, Mary refused to accept Andrew's right to the crown, because in her view his father Stephen the Posthumous had been a bastard, and thus not a legitimate member of the House of Árpád (the royal family of Hungary). Stephen had been born to the third wife of King Andrew II after her husband's death, and was not recognised by his elder half-brothers, including Mary's grandfather Béla IV. In April 1291, Mary declared her own claim to the throne. The Babonići, Frankopans, Šubići, and other leading Croatian and Slavonian noble families seemingly accepted her as the lawful monarch, although as events showed their loyalty in fact vacillated between her and Andrew III. In January 1292, she transferred her claim to Hungary to her son, the 18-year-old Charles Martel Charles was then set up by Pope Nicholas IV and the church party as the titular King of Hungary (1290–1295) as the successor of Mary's brother.

Andrew III was unable to give full attention to the conflict with Mary and Charles, because he was engaged in a conflict with another challenger, Albert of Austria. In the ensuing war, Andrew recovered from Albert several important towns and fortresses - including Pozsony (Bratislava) and Sopron - which had previously been held by the powerful Kőszegi family. After the Peace of Hainburg, which concluded the war, was signed on 26 August, the Kőszegis threw their support to Mary's party. They rose up in open rebellion against Andrew in spring 1292, acknowledging Charles Martel as King of Hungary. Andrew´s troops subdued the rebellion by July, but in August the Kőszegis captured and imprisoned him; he was freed only four months later.

During 1290, Mary's sister Elisabeth fled from Bohemia with her son because her husband had lost favour and was executed, Mary allowed Elisabeth and her son to stay in Naples with her, before she became a nun, but escaped and remarried to Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (brother of Catherine's husband).

Later life

Mary's husband Charles of Naples died in May 1309. There is no evidence that Mary became a nun, as has sometimes been rumored, but she did spend a lot of her time in convents. She lived in Naples for the rest of her life, where she died on 25 March 1323. She was buried in Naples at the Santa Maria Donna Regina.

Children

Mary and her husband had fourteen children:

Charles Martel (1271 – 1295), titular King of Hungary.

Margaret (1273 – December 31, 1299), Countess of Anjou and Maine, married at Corbeil August 16, 1290 Charles of Valois, brother of king of France, and became ancestress of the Valois dynasty.

Louis (February 9, 1274, Nocera – August 19, 1297, Chateau de Brignoles), Bishop of Toulouse, later canonized.

Robert I (1276 – 1343) King of Naples.

Philip I (1278 – 1331) Prince of Achaea and Taranto, Despot of Romania, Lord of Durazzo, titular Emperor of Constantinople

Blanche (1280 – October 14, 1310, Barcelona), married at Villebertran November 1, 1295 James II of Aragon

Raymond Berengar (1281 – 1307), Count of Provence, Prince of Piedmont and Andria.

John (1283 – aft. March 16, 1308), a priest.

Tristan (1284 – bef. 1288)

Eleanor, (August 1289 – August 9, 1341, Monastery of St. Nicholas, Arene, Elis), married at Messina May 17, 1302 Frederick III of Sicily

Maria (1290 – c. 1346), married firstly at Palma de Majorca September 20, 1304 Sancho I of Majorca, married secondly 1326 Jaime de Ejerica (1298 – April 1335).

Peter (1291 – August 29, 1315, Battle of Montecatini), Count of Gravina

John (1294 – April 5, 1336, Naples), Duke of Durazzo, Prince of Achaea, and Count of Gravina, married March 1318 (divorced 1321) Matilda of Hainaut (November 29, 1293 – 1336), and married secondly November 14, 1321 Agnes of Périgord (d. 1345)

In fiction

Marie of Hungary is a character in Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings), a series of French historical novels by Maurice Druon. She was portrayed by Denise Grey in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, and by Line Renaud in the 2005 adaptation.