Catherine of Hungary (1370–1378)

Catherine of Hungary
Catherine and her sisters kneeling in front of their mother, who is presenting the casket to St. Simeon
Born	early July 1370 Hungary
Died	May 1378 (aged 7) Hungary
Burial	Székesfehérvár Basilica
House	House of Anjou-Hungary
Father	Louis I of Hungary
Mother	Elizabeth of Bosnia

Catherine of Hungary or Catherine of Anjou (July 1370 – May 1378) was heiress presumptive to the thrones of Hungary and Poland as eldest living child of King Louis the Great and his second wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia.

Heiress presumptive

Catherine's birth was long expected, as her parents, Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of Bosnia, were childless for the first seventeen years of their marriage. Her birth also secured the succession to the Holy Crown of Hungary, to which Catherine was heiress presumptive all her life.

Being the eldest daughter of the King of Hungary and Poland who had no sons, Catherine was a much wanted bride. When she was only four years old, she was betrothed to Louis, a younger son of King Charles V of France and future Duke of Orléans. Their marriage was supposed to establish a connection between the two branches of the French royal house. Her father made a set of concessions to the Polish noblemen in exchange for recognizing Catherine (or one of her sisters) as sovereign of Poland after his death. This agreement is known as the Privilege of Koszyce.

Thus, Catherine was expected to reign over Hungary and Poland. Her father also planned to leave her his claim to the Crown of Naples and the County of Provence, which were then held by his ailing and childless cousin Joanna I. She was supposed to be married to Louis upon reaching marriageable age, and he would retain the rights to Naples even if the marriage were childless and Catherine were to predecease him, while Provence would become a hereditary fiefdom of the House of Valois. The King of France asked Catherine's father to have Catherine recognised as heiress to the Holy Crown of Hungary; although Provence was important to Charles, establishing a cadet branch of the House of Valois on the Hungarian throne was also significant, as Catherine's prospect of becoming queen of Naples was not realistic.

Death and aftermath

However, Catherine died aged seven, predeceasing both her father and her cousin Joanna. The agreement between her father and the noblemen became null and void. Catherine's youngest sister Hedwig eventually became monarch of Poland. Her other sister Mary, who was betrothed to her fiancé, became heiress presumptive and eventually monarch of Hungary.

Ancestors

Family of Catherine of Hungary (1370–1378)

Charles II of Naples               Charles Martel of Anjou                       Maria Arpad of Hungary               Charles I of Hungary                             Rudolph I of Germany               Clemence of Habsburg                       Gertrude of Hohenburg               Louis I of Hungary                                   Kazimierz I Kujawski               Vladislaus I of Poland                       Euphrosyne of Opole               Elisabeth of Poland                             Boleslaw the Pious               Hedwig of Kalisz                       Yolanda of Poland               Catherine of Hungary                                         Prijezda I, Ban of Bosnia               Stephen I of Bosnia                       Stephen II of Bosnia                             Stephen Dragutin of Serbia               Elisabeth of Serbia                       Catherine of Hungary               Elisabeth of Bosnia                                   Ziemomysł of Kuyavia               Casimir II of Kuyavia                       Salome of Pomerania               Elizabeth of Kuyavia

Notes

• ^Note 1 There may have been a daughter named Mary who died in infancy in 1366, but whether or not she existed is unclear.

See also

• Elizabeth of Slavonia (Catherine's cousin and predecessor as heiress of Hungary)
• Chest of Saint Simeon