Mary, Queen of Hungary

Mary, known as Maria of Anjou, was born on April fourteenth, thirteen seventy-one, into the royal lineage of Hungary and Poland as the daughter of Louis the Great and Elizabeth of Bosnia. Her destiny as a monarch was sealed early, with a marriage to Sigismund of Luxembourg arranged before her first birthday. In thirteen seventy-nine, Polish prelates recognized her right to succeed her father, marking the beginning of her tumultuous journey in power.

Following the death of her father in September thirteen eighty-two, Mary was crowned 'king' of Hungary just days later. However, her reign faced immediate challenges as her mother, who took on the regency, shifted allegiances to favor Mary's younger sister, Jadwiga, in early thirteen eighty-three. The notion of a female ruler was met with resistance from the Hungarian nobility, who preferred Charles III of Naples as the rightful heir.

In a bid to solidify her position, Mary's mother arranged an engagement to Louis, the younger brother of Charles VI of France in May thirteen eighty-five. However, the political landscape shifted dramatically when Charles III invaded Dalmatia, leading to Mary's forced marriage to Sigismund. Despite her efforts, Charles was crowned king in December thirteen eighty-five, only to be murdered shortly thereafter, a plot orchestrated by Mary's mother.

Mary's reign was marked by instability; she was captured alongside her mother in July thirteen eighty-six, and after her mother's assassination in January thirteen eighty-seven, Mary was released in June. Although she remained a co-ruler with Sigismund, her influence was limited. Tragically, her life was cut short when she died after a fall from a horse while pregnant, during a hunting trip.