The civil war that began with the death of King Andrew III of Hungary and Croatia ended two decades later with the succession of the grandson of Mary of Hungary, the sister of King Ladislaus IV of Hungary. He became King Charles I of Hungary. The amount of times he married is disputed as are the names of all of his wives. He definitely married Beatrice of Luxembourg, but she died in childbirth later that same year. He then married Elisabeth of Poland, and they had several sons. They may have also had a few daughters. Charles died on 16 July 1342 and was succeeded by his eldest son, now King Louis I of Hungary and Croatia. He was first married to Margaret of Bohemia, but she died without issue. He then married Elizabeth of Bosnia with whom he had three daughters. In 1370, he inherited the Kingdom of Poland from his maternal uncle Casimir III of Poland. With only daughters, he was faced with a difficult decision. His eldest daughter died young, leaving only Mary and Jadwiga. Louis died on 10 September 1382 leaving Mary as Queen of Hungary and Croatia and Jadwiga as Queen of Poland. Mary was dethroned in 1385 by her distant cousin Charles III of Naples. Charles was murdered on the orders of Mary’s mother, and both she and her mother were held captive. Mary was restored to the throne, but her mother was murdered in 1387. Mary was eventually released, and she married Sigismund of Luxembourg. Mary was pregnant when she had an accident while horse riding. She went into early labour while far out in the wood and gave birth to a stillborn son. Mary died not much later. Her sister claimed the Hungarian throne, but Sigismund managed to hold it quite easily.
Sigismund now became King of Hungary and Croatia in his own right. He remarried to Barbara of Celje, and they had one daughter named Elizabeth together. On 19 April 1422, Elizabeth married Duke Albert V of Austria, and they had two daughters before Sigismund’s death in 1437. Later that same year, they were elected King and Queen of Hungary. Elizabeth was pregnant with her third child when Albert died in 1439, and the child was a boy, and he became Ladislaus V, King of Hungary and Croatia upon birth. Elizabeth died a short while later, and it was rumoured that she was poisoned. Ladislaus died at the age of 17 without leaving issue. The next year, Matthias Corvinus was elected as King of Hungary.
Matthias Corvinus was married three times. First to Elizabeth of Celje, second to Catherine of Poděbrady and lastly to Beatrice of Naples. He had no children by any of his wives. He died in 1490 and later that year, Vladislaus II, a grandson of Elizabeth of Luxembourg, was elected as King of Hungary and Croatia. He had previously also been elected King of Bohemia. Vladislaus was married three times. First to Barbara of Brandenburg, then to his predecessor’s widow Beatrice of Naples and thirdly to Anne of Foix-Candale. He had a son and a daughter with his third wife. Upon Vladislaus’s death in 1516, he was succeeded by his 10-year-old, now Louis II, King of Hungary. Louis married Mary of Austria, the sister of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, while his sister Anne married Mary and Charles’s brother Ferdinand. Louis and Mary had no children and upon his death in 1526, while battling the Ottomans, he was succeeded as King by his brother-in-law, Ferdinand. He was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558. He and Anne had 15 children, of 13 lived to adulthood. Ferdinand basically ruled over a Hungary that had been divided in three due to the wars. The Ottoman wars shrunk the Kingdom by about 70%.
Ferdinand died in 1564 and was succeeded by his son Maximillian II, Holy Roman Emperor in Hungary. He married his cousin Maria of Spain in 1548, and they had 16 children, though not all lived to adulthood. He died in 1576 and was succeeded by his eldest son, now Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. Rudolf died without marrying and without issue in 1612. He had already ceded the Kingdom of Hungary to his successor and younger brother, now Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1611, he married Anna of Tyrol, but they had no children. Upon his death in 1619, he was succeeded by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, a grandson of Anne and Ferdinand. In 1600, Ferdinand married Maria Anna of Bavaria, and they had seven children, though not all lived to adulthood. He was widowed in 1616 and remarried Eleonor Gonzaga, but they had no children. Upon his death in 1637, he left his son an empire engulfed in war.
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, married his first cousin Maria Anna of Spain in 1631 and they had six children before he was widowed in 1646. In 1648, he married another first cousin Maria Leopoldine of Austria, and they had one son. Maria Leopoldine died in childbirth. In 1651, Ferdinand married Eleonora Gonzaga, and they had two surviving children. Ferdinand died in 1657 and was succeeded by his son Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1666, he married Margarita Teresa of Austria, who was both his niece and his first cousin.
They had four children, of which three died young, before her death in 1673. His second wife was Archduchess Claudia Felicitas of Austria with whom he had two short-lived daughters before her death in 1676. His third wife was Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg with whom he had ten children, though not all lived to adulthood. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor. He married Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and they had two surviving daughters. He was succeeded as King of Hungary by his younger brother, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles had married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and they too had two surviving daughters. The Pragmatic Sanction 1713 allowed for the succession of his daughter Maria Theresa as Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Croatia and Queen of Bohemia. She became Holy Roman Empress when her husband was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Upon her death in 1780, she was succeeded by her son Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. He married Isabella of Parma in 1760, and they had two short-lived daughters before her death in 1763. He then married Maria Josepha of Bavaria who died childless four years later. Upon his own death in 1790, he was succeeded by his brother Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. He married Maria Luisa of Spain, and they had 16 children, though not all lived to adulthood. Upon his death in 1792, he was succeeded by his son, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Francis married four times. Firstly to Elisabeth of Württemberg, secondly to his double first cousin Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies, thirdly to his first cousin, Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este and lastly to Caroline Augusta of Bavaria. He had children by his first two wives. Upon his death in 1835, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, who suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. He married Maria Anna of Savoy, but they had no children.
Ferdinand abdicated after the revolutions of 1848 in Hungary in favour of his nephew, now Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria. He married Elisabeth in Bavaria in 1854, and they had three surviving children. Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Habsburg Empire became the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. This arrangement lasted until 1918. The last King and Queen of Hungary were Charles IV (Charles I as Emperor) and Zita of Bourbon-Parma.
There were two short-lived Hungarian republics between 1918 and 1920. Another Kingdom of Hungary existed from 1920 until 1946 under Regent Miklós Horthy. In 1946, the Second Hungarian Republic was established under Soviet influence. In 1949, the communist Hungarian People’s Republic was founded. The Third Hungarian Republic has existed since 1989.
The claim to the Hungarian throne is currently being held by Karl von Habsburg, the grandson of Charles.
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