King of Hungary
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The King of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország királya) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (Magyarország apostoli királya) was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all monarchs of Hungary.
Establishment of the title
Before 1000 AD, Hungary was not yet recognized as a kingdom by the Pope and the ruler of Hungary was styled Grand Prince of the Hungarians. The first King of Hungary, Stephen I. was crowned on 25 December 1000 (or 1 January 1001 in the proleptic calendar) with the crown Pope Sylvester II had sent him and with the consent of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor.
Following King Stephen I's coronation, all the monarchs of Hungary and the Árpád dynasty used the title "King". However, not all rulers of Hungary were kings—for example, Stephen Bocskai and Francis II Rákóczi were proclaimed rulers as "High Princes of Hungary", and there were also three Governors of Hungary who were sometimes styled "regents", János Hunyadi, Lajos Kossuth and Miklós Horthy.
Legal requirements for a coronation to be legitimate
From the 13th century on, a process was established to confirm the legitimacy of the King. No person could become the legitimate King of Hungary without fulfilling the following criteria:
- Coronation by the Archbishop of Esztergom
- Coronation with the Holy Crown of Hungary
- Coronation at Székesfehérvár Basilica
This meant a certain level of protection to the integrity of the Kingdom. For example, stealing the Holy Crown of Hungary was no longer enough to become legitimate King.
The first requirement (coronation by the Archbishop of Esztergom) was confirmed by Béla III, who had been crowned by Archbishop Berthold of Kalocsa, based on the special authorisation of Pope Alexander III. After his coronation he declared that this coronation would not affect the customary claim of the Archbishop of Esztergom to crown the king. In 1211, Pope Innocent III refused to confirm the agreement of Archbishop John of Esztergom and Archbishop Berthold of Kalocsa on the transfer of the claim, and he declared that only the Archbishop of Esztergom was entitled to crown the King of Hungary.
King Charles I of Hungary was crowned in May 1301 with a provisional crown in Esztergom by the Archbishop of that city; this led to his second coronation in June 1309. At that time the Holy Crown was not used, and he was crowned in Buda by the Archbishop of Esztergom. However, his final third coronation was in 1310, in Székesfehérvár, with the Holy Crown and by the Archbishop of Esztergom. Then the King's coronation was considered absolutely legitimate.
On the other hand, in 1439, the dowager queen Elizabeth of Luxemburg ordered one of her handmaidens to steal the Holy Crown from the palace of Visegrád, and then promoted the coronation of her newborn son Ladislaus V, which was carried out legitimately in Székesfehérvár by the Archbishop of Esztergom.
A similar situation occurred with Matthias Corvinus, when he negotiated for return of the Holy Crown, which was in the possession of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. After it was returned, Matthias was legitimately crowned.
Inheriting the throne
As in all the traditional monarchies, the heir descended through the male line from a previous King of Hungary. In accordance with Hungarian tradition, this right usually passed to younger brothers, before passing to the son of the previous King, which caused family disputes on many occasions. The founder of the first Hungarian royal house was Árpád, who led his people into the Carpathian Basin in 895. His descendants, who ruled for more than 400 years, included Saint Stephen I, Saint Ladislaus I, Andrew II, and Béla IV. In 1301 the last member of the House of Árpád died, and Charles I was crowned, claiming the throne in the name of his paternal grandmother Mary, the daughter of Stephen V. With the death of Mary, the granddaughter of Charles I, in 1395, the direct line was interrupted again, and Mary's husband Sigismund continued reigning, after being elected by the nobility of the Kingdom in the name of the Holy Crown.
Later, Matthias Corvinus was elected by the nobles of the Kingdom, being the first Hungarian monarch who descended from an aristocratic family, and not from a royal family that inherited the title. The same happened decades later with John Zápolya, who was elected in 1526 after the death of Louis II in the battle of Mohács.
After this, the House of Habsburg inherited the throne, and ruled Hungary from Austria for almost 400 years until 1918. Admiral Horthy was appointed regent in 1920, but Charles IV of Hungary's attempts to retake the throne were unsuccessful. The monarchy of Hungary was formally abolished on 1 February 1946 on the establishment of the Second Hungarian Republic.
Length of reign
| # | Name | Reign | Duration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longest-reigning Hungarian monarchs # Name Reign Duration from to days years/days 1 Francis Joseph I 2 December 1848 21 November 1916 24,825 67 years, 355 days 2 Sigismund 31 March 1387 9 December 1437 18,515 50 years, 253 days 3 Leopold I 2 April 1657 5 May 1705 17,564 48 years, 33 days 4 Francis 1 March 1792 2 March 1835 15,705 43 years, 1 day 5 Louis I 21 July 1342 10 September 1382 14,661 40 years, 51 days 6 Maria Theresa 20 October 1740 29 November 1780 14,650 40 years, 40 days 7 Stephen I 25 December 1000 15 August 1038 13,747 37 years, 233 days 8 Ferdinand I 17 December 1526 25 July 1564 13,735 37 years, 221 days 9 Béla IV 14 October 1235 3 May 1270 12,620 34 years, 201 days 10 Charles I 17 November 1308 16 July 1342 12,294 33 years, 241 days | Shortest-reigning Hungarian monarchs # Name Reign Duration from to days 1 Charles II 31 December 1385 24 February 1386 55 2 Ladislaus III 30 November 1204 7 May 1205 158 3 Otto 9 October 1305 May 1307 c. 599 4 Albert 18 December 1437 27 October 1439 678 5 Charles IV 21 November 1916 16 November 1918 725 6 Leopold II 20 February 1790 1 March 1792 740 7 Stephen V May 1270 6 August 1272 c. 814 8 Béla I 6 December 1060 11 September 1063 1,009 9 Samuel Aba September 1041 5 July 1044 c. 1,029 10 Géza I 14 March 1074 25 April 1077 1,138 | ||||
| from | to | days | years/days | ||
| 1 | Francis Joseph I | 2 December 1848 | 21 November 1916 | 24,825 | 67 years, 355 days |
| 2 | Sigismund | 31 March 1387 | 9 December 1437 | 18,515 | 50 years, 253 days |
| 3 | Leopold I | 2 April 1657 | 5 May 1705 | 17,564 | 48 years, 33 days |
| 4 | Francis | 1 March 1792 | 2 March 1835 | 15,705 | 43 years, 1 day |
| 5 | Louis I | 21 July 1342 | 10 September 1382 | 14,661 | 40 years, 51 days |
| 6 | Maria Theresa | 20 October 1740 | 29 November 1780 | 14,650 | 40 years, 40 days |
| 7 | Stephen I | 25 December 1000 | 15 August 1038 | 13,747 | 37 years, 233 days |
| 8 | Ferdinand I | 17 December 1526 | 25 July 1564 | 13,735 | 37 years, 221 days |
| 9 | Béla IV | 14 October 1235 | 3 May 1270 | 12,620 | 34 years, 201 days |
| 10 | Charles I | 17 November 1308 | 16 July 1342 | 12,294 | 33 years, 241 days |
| # | Name | Reign | Duration | ||
| from | to | days | |||
| 1 | Charles II | 31 December 1385 | 24 February 1386 | 55 | |
| 2 | Ladislaus III | 30 November 1204 | 7 May 1205 | 158 | |
| 3 | Otto | 9 October 1305 | May 1307 | c. 599 | |
| 4 | Albert | 18 December 1437 | 27 October 1439 | 678 | |
| 5 | Charles IV | 21 November 1916 | 16 November 1918 | 725 | |
| 6 | Leopold II | 20 February 1790 | 1 March 1792 | 740 | |
| 7 | Stephen V | May 1270 | 6 August 1272 | c. 814 | |
| 8 | Béla I | 6 December 1060 | 11 September 1063 | 1,009 | |
| 9 | Samuel Aba | September 1041 | 5 July 1044 | c. 1,029 | |
| 10 | Géza I | 14 March 1074 | 25 April 1077 | 1,138 |
See also
Notes
- Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9–14. század), főszerkesztő: Kristó, Gyula, szerkesztők: Engel, Pál és Makk, Ferenc (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1994).
- Magyarország Történeti Kronológiája I-III. – A kezdetektől 1526-ig; 1526–1848, 1848–1944, főszerkesztő: Benda, Kálmán (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1981, 1982, 1993).
- Magyar Történelmi Fogalomtár I-II. – A-K; L-ZS, főszerkesztő: Bán, Péter (Gondolat, Budapest, 1989).