Elizabeth of Luxembourg

1409 – 1442 · Generation VI · Consort

Elizabeth (1409 – 1442). Consort. Married Albert in 1422. Daughter of Emperor Sigismund; wife of Albert II of Germany; mother of Ladislaus the Posthumous. As Sigismund’s only child she was treated as the princess through whom Hungary would pass, and in 1411 she was betrothed to Albert of Habsburg. When her mother, Barbara of Cilli, was accused of adultery in 1418, Elizabeth shared her exile — a hint that her father may have doubted her paternity — before both returned to favour. After Sigismund’s death in 1437 the Hungarian estates elected the couple king and queen, with Albert to govern only with her consent, and a law of 1439 declared the crown hers by right of birth. Widowed and pregnant that year, she ruled as regent, but the magnates chose Władysław III of Poland. She had her infant son crowned at Székesfehérvár with the Holy Crown, smuggled out of Visegrád by Helene Kottannerin, and waged civil war. She died suddenly in 1442, shortly after meeting Władysław at peace talks in Győr, amid rumours of poison.

Place in the family

Elizabeth of Luxembourg married Albert II of Germany, a second cousin 3 times removed of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Partners

Married Albert II of Germany (1397 – 1439) in 1422 — one child together

Children

Ladislaus the Posthumous (1440 – 1457)

Life

1409 — Born
1422 — Married Albert
1442 — Died