On September 17th, 1382, Mary the daughter of Louis I, “the Great,” of Hungary, of Croatia, and of Poland, was grieving. She was eleven, and her larger-than-life father had just died seven days before. But Mary was a princess. And she was her father’s eldest daughter, and his heir. So on September 17th, 1382, Mary was crowned King of Hungary.
Unfortunately her reign was short, bloody, and filled with twists. Unhappy noblemen did not want a woman on the throne, and supported her distant cousin Charles III of Naples. Meanwhile, Sigismund of Luxembourg invaded Upper Hungary (today’s Slovakia) in September 1385. By October, Mary and Sigismund were married, pretty much at sword-point.
Charles III also invaded that autumn, took Buda, and forced Mary to renounce the throne. He was crowned in December 1385. Then Charles III was assassinated, likely on Mary’s mother’s instigation, in February 1386. But the dead king’s supporters captured Mary and her mother, and held them until 1387. That’s about two years longer than their king had reigned! The mother was executed but Mary was let go, and officially became co-ruler with her husband Sigismund. In reality, she had little power. Mary died eight years later, at age 23 or 24, when thrown from a horse.
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