Helen of Hungary, also known as Helen the Fair ( hr, Jelena Lijepa; hu, Ilona) (d. 1091), was a queen consort of Croatia.

Family

Helen was born as a Hungarian

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

and was the daughter of

Árpád dynasty The Árpád dynasty, consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds ( hu, Árpádok, hr, Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the King ...

's king

Bela I Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur ...

, sister to

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I ( hu, László, hr, Ladislav, sk, Ladislav, pl, Władysław; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and ...

, granddaughter of Polish king

Mieszko II Lambert Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death. He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave, but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia. He was pro ...

Marriage

Helen became queen of Croatia during her

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

with Croatian king

Demetrius Zvonimir Demetrius Zvonimir ( hr, Dmitar Zvonimir, ; died 1089) was a King of Dalmatia and Croatia from 1076 until his death in 1089. He was crowned as king in Solin on 8 October 1076. Zvonimir also served as Ban of Croatia (1064–1074), and was named ...

, a distant relative whom she married in 1063. They had a son named Radovan, who died in his late teens or early twenties, and daughters named Claudia and Vinica. Helen had excellent family connections, being an aunt to

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United State ...

, the mother of the Byzantine Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...

. Helen was very popular with the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic ...

, and they often called her ''Jelena Lijepa'' ("Helen the Beautiful"). She is thought to have been an influential consort. Upon the death of Zvonimir, Helen was said to have been quietly plotting the inheritance of the Croatian Crown for her brother, the King of Hungary, which caused a decade of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and instability in the kingdom, resulting in the personal union of Croatia and Hungary that lasted until 1918. Helen died around 1091.Zdravka Jelaska Marijan: "Dolazak ugarskoga kralja"
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External links

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Ii, Queen Of Croatia Medieval Croatian nobility 11th-century Croatian people Year of birth missing 1091 deaths Hungarian princesses 11th-century Hungarian people House of Árpád Burials at the Church of St. Mary, Knin 11th-century Croatian women 11th-century Hungarian women Croatian people of Hungarian descent Croatian people of Polish descent Croatian people of Bulgarian descent Daughters of kings