Helena of Hungary, Queen of Croatia
{{Infobox royalty
| consort = yes
| name = Helen of Hungary
| image = Depiction of Queen Helen the Fair by Celestin Medović.jpg
| caption = Depiction of Queen Helen the Fair on a painting Betrothal of King Zvonimir, by Celestin Medović
| death_date = {{circa|1091}}
| succession1 = Regent of Croatia
| reign1 = 1089–1090
| succession2 = Queen consort of Croatia
| reign2 = 1075–c. 1089
| dynasty = Árpád
| spouse = Demetrius Zvonimir
| issue = Radovan
Klaudija
Vinica
| father = Béla I of Hungary
| mother = Richeza of Poland
}}
Helen of Hungary, also known as Helen the Fair ({{langx|hr|Jelena Lijepa}}; {{langx|hu|Ilona}}) (d. 1091), was a queen consort of Croatia.
Family
Helen was born as a Hungarian princess and was the daughter of Árpád dynasty's king Bela I, sister to Ladislaus I of Hungary, granddaughter of Polish king Mieszko II Lambert.
Marriage
Helen became queen of Croatia during her marriage with Croatian king Demetrius Zvonimir, a distant relative whom she married in 1063. They had a son named Radovan,Codex Diplomaticus Croatiæ, Vol. I, CCXI, p. 177. who died in his late teens or early twenties, and daughters named ClaudiaMonumenta Historiam Slavorum Meridionalium, Vol. VII, Acta, 121, p. 146. and Vinica.
Helen had excellent family connections, being an aunt to Irene, the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Helen was very popular with the Croats, 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. This situation caused a decade of war and instability in the kingdom, resulting in the personal union of Croatia and Hungary that lasted until 1918. Helen died around 1091.[http://www.matica.hr/HRRevija/revija042.nsf/AllWebDocs/marijan Zdravka Jelaska Marijan: "Dolazak ugarskoga kralja"]
External links
- [http://members.tripod.com/royalcroatia/zvonimir.htm Dmitar Zvonimir and Helen]
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{{s-roy}}
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{{S-vac|last=Hicela Orseolo|as=last known queen}}
{{S-ttl | title = Queen consort of Croatia | years=1075–1091}}
{{S-vac|next=Felicia of Sicily|as=next known queen}}
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Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Ii, Queen Of Croatia}}
Category:11th-century Croatian nobility
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:11th-century Hungarian people
Category:Burials at the Church of St. Mary, Knin
Category:11th-century Croatian women
Category:11th-century Hungarian women
Category:Croatian people of Hungarian descent
Category:Croatian people of Polish descent