Throughout history, there have been many royal heiresses who were moved back in the line of succession, due to the birth of a son in their family. However, Elizabeth of Slavonia, heiress of Hungary, is a rare example of a royal heiress being displaced due to the birth of female relatives. Elizabeth’s younger cousins were ahead of her in the line of succession because they were the daughters of the king, while Elizabeth was the daughter of the king’s younger brother.
Early Life
Elizabeth of Slavonia was born in 1352 or 1353 as the first child of Stephen of Hungary, Duke of Slavonia, and his wife, Margaret of Bavaria. She was born into the Capetian House of Anjou, which ruled Hungary at the time. Another branch of the family ruled Naples. Elizabeth’s father was the youngest son of Charles I, King of Hungary, and Elizabeth of Poland. By the time she was born, their oldest son, Louis, was King of Hungary. Also, by the time of her birth, the second son, Andrew, had been killed in Naples, so Stephen was heir to the throne of Hungary, since Louis did not yet have children. In 1354, Elizabeth gained a younger brother, John. However, later that same year, Stephen died. Upon his death, Elizabeth’s brother, John, became the new Duke of Slavonia and heir to the Hungarian throne. Their mother, Margaret, ruled Slavonia as John’s regent until 1356.
In 1356, Margaret returned to her homeland of Bavaria and soon remarried to a German knight, Gerlach von Hohenlohe. She left Elizabeth and John in Hungary. The two children were to be brought up in the court of their uncle, King Louis of Hungary.
Since Louis had no children of his own yet, Elizabeth was seen as a valuable bride. In 1356, she was betrothed to Jobst, the oldest son of John Henry, Margrave of Moravia, who in turn was the younger brother of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Jobst belonged to the House of Luxembourg.
Elizabeth’s brother, John, died in 1360, aged around six. Louis still did not have any children, so Elizabeth became his heir.
Heiress Presumptive to Hungary
Elizabeth’s status increased after the death of her brother. She was now first in line to the Hungarian throne. Louis’ uncle, King Casimir of Poland, did not have any sons and considered Louis a possible successor. Therefore, Elizabeth was an heir to both the Hungarian and Polish thrones. In February 1361, Elizabeth’s uncle and grandmother, Elizabeth of Poland, renewed the agreement of her betrothal to Jobst of Moravia. However, this did not last long, and the engagement was soon broken off, possibly due to a conflict Louis and his mother were having with Jobst’s uncle, the Emperor.
Around this time, Louis and his mother joined an anti-Luxembourg alliance with the House of Habsburg. Possibly as a result of this alliance, Elizabeth was betrothed to Albert III, Duke of Austria, who was from the House of Habsburg. Elizabeth and Albert were second cousins once removed, so a papal dispensation was required for them to marry, but the Pope did not grant it. This betrothal was broken off by 1365.
In 1365, the competition for Elizabeth’s hand continued. The Pope described Elizabeth as close to marriageable age, so it’s possible that at this time, there was hope to get her married as soon as possible. The Pope was suggesting a French marriage for Elizabeth, particularly to Philip, the younger brother of King Charles V of France. However, Louis seems to have reconciled with Emperor Charles around this time. The Emperor wanted Elizabeth to marry his eldest son and heir, Wenceslaus. Louis agreed to this arrangement, and on 27 February 1366, Louis promised Elizabeth, about thirteen, to five-year-old Wenceslaus. Louis’ mother, however, was not in favour of this marriage.
By this time, Louis may have been considering another successor, Charles of Durazzo, who also belonged to the Capetian House of Anjou. Charles had arrived in Hungary in 1364 or 1365. It is also worth mentioning that at this time, Louis was still hoping to gain the throne of Poland from his uncle. Since Louis’s claim to Poland came from his mother, Charles would only be eligible to inherit Hungary. It could be possible that Louis considered Charles his successor in Hungary and Elizabeth his successor in Poland.
Elizabeth’s engagement to Wenceslaus did not last, and it was broken off in 1369, possibly with her grandmother’s encouragement. Soon afterwards, a change in fortunes happened to the childless Louis. His wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia, gave birth to a daughter named Catherine in 1370. She became pregnant again soon afterwards. Louis no longer needed Elizabeth or Charles as his heirs.
Marriage and Later Life
Although she was no longer heiress presumptive, Louis still seems to have wanted to marry Elizabeth off. In October 1370, she was married to Philip III, Prince of Taranto, another member of the Capetian House of Anjou. Louis accended the Polish throne a month later.
Elizabeth’s new husband, Philip, was from the Taranto branch of the Capetian House of Anjou. He was the youngest of three sons born to Philip II, Prince of Taranto, and his second wife, Catherine II, Titular Latin Empress of Constantinople in her own right. The Latin Empire of Constantinople had been reconquered by the Byzantines in 1261, but the descendants of the Latin Emperors continued to use that title. Philip’s oldest brother, Robert, was Titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople, but died childless in 1364. The second son, Louis, had been married to Queen Joanna I of Naples as her second husband, but he died with no surviving children in 1362. Therefore, Philip was the last male member of the Taranto branch.
Elizabeth was Philip’s second wife. He had previously been married to Queen Joanna’s sister, Maria, as her third husband. Philip and Maria’s five children all died in infancy. Since Philip was the last of his line, he was probably hoping for Elizabeth to give him children. At the time of their wedding, Elizabeth was about 17 or 18, while Philip was about forty-one. The new couple lived in the kingdom of Naples, in present-day Italy. As a dower, Elizabeth was granted the Greek island of Corfu as a personal fief.
Elizabeth and Philip had just one son, named Philip, in 1371, but he died in infancy. Elizabeth was widowed on 25 November 1373 or 1374. Louis of Hungary had three daughters by now, so the chance of Elizabeth inheriting the Hungarian or Polish thrones was not high. After her husband’s death, it is not known what exactly happened to Elizabeth. It is sometimes said that she returned to the Hungarian court in Buda. It is also possible that she remained in Naples. Elizabeth did not marry again, and there seems to have been no plans for her to be remarried. It is likely that her uncle may not have wanted her to remarry, because if she did, her new husband could lay claim to the inheritance of his daughters, who were still small children.
Elizabeth, who had once been heir to the Hungarian throne, disappears from record after her husband’s death. It is not even known when she died. Even if she had returned to Hungary, Elizabeth most likely returned to Italy at some point and died there, because she was buried in the Cathedral of Taranto. It is known that she died before 6 April 1380, because when her grandmother wrote her will on that day, she gave 2,000 gold forints for Elizabeth’s funeral costs, and asked for her body to be returned to Buda. However, there seem to be no records on whether or not Elizabeth’s body was ever returned. Elizabeth of Poland possibly wanted her granddaughter to be buried in the Monastery of Saint Clare in Buda. The elder Elizabeth was buried there, according to her wishes, when she died in December 1380.
Elizabeth of Slavonia was not just survived by her grandmother, but also by her uncle, whom she was once determined to succeed. She would have been no more than twenty-seven when she died. Nothing seems to be known about Elizabeth’s own actions. With the limited information available about her, she just appears to be a pawn in the royal succession plans and marriage market, and little more is said about her when she was no longer needed as her uncle’s heir. We will never know what type of queen she could have been if given the chance.
Sources
Halasz, Eva; “Prince Stephen of Anjou (1332-1354)” (In Hungarian)
“Elzbieta Lokietkowna” at zamki.name
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