|
Worldwide
Guide to Women in Leadership
EUROPEAN
QUEENS
AND
EMPRESSES
and women who
acted as regents
of Kingdoms and Empires
from the year
BCE 1200
Female rulers of principalities,
duchies, counties, baronies are not included
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Around 1200
Legendary Queen
Camilla of Lathium (United Kingdom) |
|
Ruled of one of the British
tribes. |
|
590-59 Legendary Ruler
Adela of Friesland (The Netherlands and Germany) |
|
After the murder of Frana in
586 BCE, the people wanted the
"borugh
maid"
Adela to be their new Earth Mother,
but she refused because she wished to resign from her citadel and marry,
which she did. For the next thirty years no Mother could be elected
because each state supported the its own Maiden. More land was lost to the Magy of the Finns and Magyars but not by conquest of arms. He used
propaganda on children and bribes on the nobles, promising them permanent
hereditary offices with special privileges. These were long term plans
that undermined the very foundation of Friesland society. During Adela’s
unofficial reign, nobles were then being mentioned but the meaning of such
offices was changing. A count took the public inventory; he counted,
initially the market sales which were taxed and the profits of the ships
which were shared and later on, the military levy of armed men. It
eventually became a position of privilege, even an hereditary one. A duke
was a hearer of disputes like a local judge and it has already been
mentioned that a king was an elected short-term commander. |
 |
Before 512 Queen
Hypsipyle of Lemnos (Greece) |
|
In the ancient realm of myth there is the account that in prehistoric
times the island Lemnos was only inhabited by women. This island was
called gynaikokratumene, which means reigned by women. In
the Greek myth about the Argonauts, a group of men comes to this island on
their way to the land of Colchis (in the East of the Black Sea),
which was ruled by
Hypsipyle.
These women of Lemnos lived as
self-confident Amazons on this island, their aim of life was not focused
on fighting against men. It is likely that this myth reflects former
matriarchal life on this island. |
 |
Ca. 480 Queen and
Admiral Artemisia I of Caria-Harlikarnassos and Kos (Turkey) |
|
As a vassal of Persia,
Artemisia was obliged to recruit her own small force when Xerxes
invaded Greece - in fact, Artemisia commanded five ships in her own
right. Artemisia alone of his commanders advised Xerxes against a
naval battle with the Greeks but Xerxes, however, chose to follow
the advice of his male advisors, and met the Greeks on the sea in
the channel of Salamis on 20th September 480 BCE. Artemisia was
aboard one of her ships, commanding their movements. After the
initial confusion, the Persians took the offensive. Though she only
had one ship left, Artemisia herself disabled the ship of King Damasithymus of Calynda. At a council, Artmesia spoke her mind - she
had opposed the war from the beginning and opposed its continuation.
She advised Xerxes to leave his trusted commander Mardonus to pursue
the Greeks whilst Xerxes himself return home, and would still
maintained his dignity whether in victory or defeat. For her wisdom,
Xerxes entrusted Artemisia with the care on his sons, and returned
home to a kingdom racked by rebellion and conspiracy, to which he
ultimately became a victim. Her kingdom prospering from her good
relations with Persia. |
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Around
401 Joint Ruler Queen
Epyaxa
of Cilicia (Turkey) |
|
She is known from
references to her in Xenophon's Persian Expedition, where she gives
considerable aid to the rebel Cyrus. The comments about her do not
explicitly state that she was a co-ruler with Syennesis III, simply
that she was "Queen" - but she acted in a very independent fashion.
|
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Years 400
Military Leader Telessilla,
of Argos (Greece) |
|
A warrior poet, she
rallied the women of the besieged city of Argos with war hymns and
chants and led them in defending the city against the invading
forces. |
 |
Ca. 353-50 Queen
Artemisia II of Caria, Rodhos and Harlikarnassos (Turkey)
|
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Also Satrap of Asia Minor or Vice-Reine
of the Persian King. Ca. 377-53 she had been co-ruler with her
husband and brother, King Mausolos of Caria and Rodhos, who died
353.
After
Mausolos' death in 353, she became ruler in her own right, and
constructed the 49 meters high monumental tomb "Mausoleum" at the
center of the city which is a magnificent piece of art in the
Hellenistic world and one of the Seven Wonders of the antique era. |
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344-30 Regent Queen
Cleopatra of Macedonia of Epirus (Greece) |
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Sister of Alexander
the Great, Married to Alexander of Epirus. In 309 she was murdered. |
 |
340-35 and 334-20
Queen Ada I of Caria
(Turkey) |
|
Co-ruler with her brother and husband
Idrieus in succession to their sister, Artemissa II. After his death
she ruled alone for three years until her younger brother, Pixadarus
(341-335), deposed her. She moved to her fortress Alinda, where she
held out for several years. His daughter, Ada
II,
married a persian nobleman, Orontobates, who became satrap of Caria.
Even after the death of Pixodarus,
her son-in-law kept
her a prisoner in Alinda.
Seizing the opportunity afforded by Alexander’s invasion, Ada
I
opened negotiations with him offering the surrender of all of Caria
if she were placed upon her rightful throne. She further offered to
adopt him as her son making him at once the legal heir to the throne
of Caria by Carian law. Alexander turned inland to face the armies
of Orontobates and Memnon who stood ready to defend Halicarnassus.
The siege was a short one as Alexander’s army was joined by the
Carian forces loyal to their Queen and with Ada at the head of her
armies given the honor of taking the acropolis. Though Orontobates
and Memnon escaped by sea, Ada sat again on the throne of
Halicarnassus and stayed there until her death sometime after the
death of Alexander. |
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334-ca. 323 Regent
Princess Barsine of Persia of Pergamon (Turkey) |
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Ruled in the name of her and Alexander
the Great's son Herakles. She was the daughter of king Artabazos IV
of Syria. Barsine was married to Mentor, her second husband was her
brother Dariusz Memnon, since 333 she was the wife of Alexander the
Great. |
 |
334-330
Co-Regent
Queen Olympias of Epiros
(Greece)
330-323 Regent of Epiros
323-16 Regent Dowager Queen of
Macedonia (Greece) |
|
Since around 357 she was married to king Philip II of Macedonia,
and she
later acted as regent for
him
during his military campaigns.
Since 331 she was in exile in Epiros. After her brother's death in
330, with her daughter Cleopatra, she was regent of Epirus for her
grandson Neoptolemos. Since 323 she was regent of Macedonia for her
second grandson Alexander IV. Murdered during a rebellion
and lived (375-316). |
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Until early
the
300's
Queen Regnant Tirghetau
of
Circassia (Russia) |
|
She was head of the region in the foothills
north of the Caucasus. Its
inhabitants, a sturdy, handsome folk with many often rapacious
neighbors, have developed a warrior culture as a response to
repeated invasions and slaving raids. |
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322-317 Politically influential
Queen Eurydice II of
Macedonia
319-317 Co-Ruler of
Macedonia
(Greece) |
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Daughter of Kynane and
Amyntas IV of Macedonia, and influential during the reign of her
husband, king Philippos
III Arrhidaeus of Macedonia. 319-317 de facto co-ruler of
Macedonia with Nicanor. She fought for the power with Olympias.
Killed in 317. She lived (337-317). |
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322-287 Politically influential
Queen Phila of
Macedonia
294-287 Co-Ruler of
Macedonia
(Greece) |
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The daughter of Antipater
I, regent of Macedonia. She was influential during the reigns of her
husbands Crateros ( 322-319) and Demetrius I (319-287), and was
active in diplomacy until she killed herself in 287. |
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314-13 Ruler
Kratesipolis of Korinthos and Siyon (Greece) |
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In 308 she handed over
Korinthos to Ptolomy I of Egypt. |
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306-285 Regent
Dowager Queen Amastris of Herakleia, Pontica and Pontos
(Turkey) |
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Pontos is also known
as or Pontoiraklaia. She was a niece of Dariusz III Kodoman, she was
married to tyrant Dionizos, Krateros and since 300 to Lysimachus,
king of Thrace and Macedonia, whom she divorced in 298 and returned
Herakleia. After her death Lysimachus give Herakleia to Arsinoe II.
Amastris lived (?-285). |
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Around 300 Celtic Chiefess
in Reinheim (Germany) |
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Known from her very
elaborate grave. |
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298/97-95 Regent
Dowager Queen Thessalonica of Macedonia (Greece) |
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Regent for her son
Philippos IV |
 |
285-281 Ruler Arsinoe
II Piladelphos of Herakleia, Pontica, Kassandria and Ephesos
(Turkey)
281-279 Resided in Kassandreia
277-70 Co-Regent Queen of Egypt |
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The daughter of
Ptolemy I Soter, she was married to King Lisymachus of Tracia
299-281. He gave her Herakleia, Pontica, Kassandria and Ephesos.
After his death in 281 she resided in Kassandreia. She had been
married to her half brother Ptolomy Keraunos of Macedonia, but after
he murdered one of her sons in 279 she escaped to Egypt. Before 274
she was wife of and co-ruler of her,
brother Ptolomy II Piladelphos. She lived (around
316-270). |
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Ca. 262-35 Regent
Dowager Queen Olympiada
of Epiros (Greece) |
|
After the death of Pyrrhus II, she was reigned in the
name of Ptolemy (ca. 262-235). |
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253 Sovereign
Lady Laodike III of Egypt of Propontis (Turkey)
247-246 Regent of Syria |
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Politically active
during the reign of her husband-brother (or cousin, King Antiochiaos
II of Syria (267/66), and after their divorce, she became Lady of
Propontis. Later regent for Seleukos II Kallinikos and after he came
of age she remained politically active until she was murdered.
She lived (287/84-237/36). |
|
250 Regent Dowager Queen Etazeta of
Bithynia
(Tyrkey) |
|
After the death of her husban, king Nicomedes I, she continued to
rule on behalf of their infant sons. Zialas, a grown-up son by an
earlier wife, Ditizele, had previously fled to Armenia. Now Ziaelas
returned, at the head of some Galatians. Although
she was supported by neighbouring cities and Antigonus,
Ziaelas conquered first part, then all of Bithynia. Etazeta and her
sons, including another Ziboetes, fled to Antigonus’ court in
Macedonia. |
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248-233 Queen
Deidamia of
Epiros (Greece) |
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Ptolemy was king (ca. 262-235). Pyrrhus III
succeeded as king in 235. |
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245 Dowager Tyrant
Nikaia of Korinthos and Euboia (Greece) |
|
Married to the
uncle of Alexander the Great, Antigonos Gonatas, Governor of
Macedonia etc., and was his co-ruler until he was deposed in 250.
She then
married
his son Demetrios II. |
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231-28
Regent
Dowager Queen Teuta of
Arcliano (Illyrian State) (Albania) |
|
She had practically
been
co-ruler
with her husband Agron,
and after his death in 230
BCE,
she was regent for
son Pinnes.
The state covered
Northern Albania and part of Montenegro. |
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Ca. 215-175/76 Co-Reigning Queen
Kamasayre Philoteknos of the Bosporanian Realm (Crimean)
(Georgia) |
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Ruled jointly
with husband, Pairisades II, who died around 190.
|
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200's
Queen Martia Proba of a Celtic Tribe (United Kingdom) |
|
Her seat of power was
in London, and she was holding the reins of government so wisely as
to receive the surname of Proba, the Just. She especially devoted
herself to the enactment of just laws for her subjects, the first
principles of the common law tracing back to her; the celebrated
laws of Alfred, and of Edward the Confessor, being in great degree
restorations and compilations from the laws of Martia, which were
known as the "Martian Statutes".
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Late 200s-early 100s
Legendary Queen Amage of the Roxolanoia
(Russia) |
|
The
Roxolanoia tribe was
probably deriving their name from the proto-Iranian Raokhshna,
or “shining”. The name may also derive from a term meaning,
essentially, “The Western Alans”. They were among the most powerful
of the Sarmatian tribes, inhabiting much of the region north of the
Black Sea. The ruling dynasty of the Bosporan Kingdom (see Crimea)
from the end of the 1st century BCE on was Sarmatian in origin, and
probably belonged to the Roxolanoi originally. |
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138-before 127 Regent Dowager Queen Ri-'nu
of
Parthia (Turkey) |
|
Other versions of her name is Riinu
or Rihinu, and she was regent for son
Phraates II. |
 |
130
De Facto Ruler
Queen
Laodike of Cappadocia (Greece) |
|
The widow of Ararathes
V of Cappadocia, she poisoned 5 (step)sons and ruled in the name of
the 6th. |
 |
130-126
Regent Dowager Queen Nysa of Cappadocia (Turkey) |
| Widow of
Ariarathes V Epiphanes Philipator and regent for their
son Ariarathes V (130-116). In 190 her husband had secured that the
state became an independent kingdom. Formerly it was a satrapy
under the Persian Achaemenid Empire. It was incorporated by
Alexander the Great into the Macedonian Empire, and on Alexander's
death became a client state of the Selecucid Empire. |
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125/24 Regent
Dowager Queen Ghadani of Iberia (Georgia) |
|
After the death of her son Rhadamiste I (or Ghadam),
she assumed the regency
for her
grandson Pharasmenes III (135-185)
in the
ancient country in Transcaucasia, roughly the eastern part
of present-day Georgia. It was inhabited in earliest times by
various tribes, collectively called Iberians by ancient historians,
although Herodotus called them Saspirams.
The kingdom
was allied to the Romans, ruled by the Sassanids
of Persia, and became a Byzantine province in
the 6th century. She was
widow of King Pharasmenes II Kveli
(ca. 116-32),
and
daughter of King Sanatroukes
a Parthian King of Armenia. She
was (b. ca. 100). |
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120-115 Regent Dowager Queen Laodice
of Pontus (Turkey) |
|
Following the death of her
husband, king Mithradates V, she ruled in the
place of her 11 years old son, Mithradates VI. Eupator
Dionysos. About 115 BCE, she was deposed and
thrown into prison by her son. She was
daughter of king Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria and Queen Laodice.
|
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100s
Queen Larthia Seianti of the City State of Caere in Etruria (Italy) |
|
Her splendid sarcophauge has lead historians to
speculate that she might have been Queen of the City State of
Chiuisi or Caere. Even if Caere did not
have kings and Queens at this time (as did Rome, or as Caere
certainly did in the 5th century), it is clear that society had
become sharply differentiated, not only in regard to wealth but also
in division of labour.
Many scholars hypothesize the existence of a powerful aristocratic
class, and craftsmen, merchants, and seamen would have formed a
middle class; it was probably at this time that the Etruscans began
to maintain the elegant slaves for which they were famous.
|
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Around 100 Ruler
Aba of Olbe (Turkey) |
|
The daughter of Zenofantes,
tyrant of Cilicia, and Olbe was a city in this
principality. |
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62-47 Princess
Musa Orsobaris of Prusias (Albania) |
|
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Until BCE 13 and BCE 8-7/8 CE
Reigning Queen Dynamis of the Bosporanian Realm (Georgia)
|
|
A
grandchild of King Mithridatis of Persia, she inherited the country
from her father. In 17/16 her first husband, Asander, died. Her
second husband was deposed by the third, the king of Pontus. They
divorced and she was in exile until his death. Died ca. 70 years
old. and was succeeded by fourth husband, Spurges, who had not
previously been
co-ruler. |
 |
BCE 10-5, 4-2 and BCE
6-12 CE Queen Regnant Erato of Greater Armenia |
|
Her father, Tigran III
had been force to accept the supremacy of
Rome, but the dynasty still used the title of
"King of Kings."
She first married her half-brother Tigran IV, who
was disposesed by Augustus because of suspected treachery, and
Tiberius came again to Armenia to replace him with
their cousin
Artavazd. This led to discontent and finally to civil war, partly
instigated by Tigran, whom Phraates, King of Parthia, was secretly
backing. Augustus sent his godson, Caius Caesar, to bring about an
appeasement, but before his arrival, Tigran IV was killed in a riot,
while she took to
flight. The revolt was supressed,
and in the year 1 CE,
the Armenian throne was bestowed upon Ariobarzan, a Mede by origin,
who was accepted because of his eminent qualities. But
he very shortly was killed
by accident, and Augustus nominated Artavazd, his son, as his
successor. But the
opposition to foreign rule soon found expression in the
assassination of the King. Augustus thereupon abandoned his
ill-conceived policy and sent Tigran V, a descendant of the national
dynasty, to occupy the throne. But the nation's tranquility,
apparently restored by this concession, was soon disturbed. The
nobles recalled Queen Erato,
but also her second
reign was short, and her overthrow marked the end of the dynasty of
Artashes and Tigran.
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BCE 8-23 CE Queen
Regnant
Pythodorida of Pontus (Turkey) |
|
She succeeded Polemon
I, and in 23 the kingdom was reincorporated into the Roman Empire.
|
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BCE 3- 6 CE Regent Dowager
Queen Thea Ourania of Parthei
(Turkey) |
|
Took
over the regency for son Pharaateces after the death of her husband, Phraates IV. |
|
 |
Around
year 1 Queen Medb of Connaught (Ireland)
|
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Also known as
Maeve,
she was daughter of the high king of Ireland, Ouchu Feidlich, and married
King Ailill mac Mata of Connaught. It seems that she was once
married to Conchobor mac Nessa, the king of Ulster.
She was powerful enough
to be euhemorized in myth as a triune goddess of fertility and nature.
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3-40
Regent
Queen
Antonia Thryphaena of Pontus (Turkey)
38-40 Regent of Thrace
|
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Ruled in the name of son King Polemos who succeeded her mother in Pontus
in Asia Minor.
He succeeded
a
brother, Rhoemetaces, who had become king after the
murder of her husband, Kytos.
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7/8-23 Queen
Pythodoris I Philometer of Pontus (Turkey)
|
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Also known as Pantos Pythodorida, she succeeded husband, Polemon I, and married
King Archelaos of Cappadocia. Succeeded by daughter and her son.
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14-29 De-facto
Co-Regent Augusta Livia of the Roman
Empire
|
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Livia Drusilia Augusta
was a member of the ancient, wealthy and powerful patrician gens
claudia, the Claudian family. Octavian divorced his first wife
Scribonia and forced Livia to divorce Tiberius so they could marry in 38 BCE.
It was a political marriage in the tradition of the Republic, intended
to bring together the wealth and might of the gens claudia and
the gens julia, the Julian family, into which Octavian had been
adopted by Julius Cæsar. The marriage thus formed an important part of
Octavian's strategy in the intense power struggles of the late Republic.
The dynasty they founded is known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Though
their union was political in nature, there were warm feelings between
the two, at the very least a profound sense of mutual loyalty. Their
marriage lasted 52 years, until the death of Augustus in 14 CE.
Livia never bore him any children, but Augustus Adopted Tiberius after a
number of other possible heirs all died. Livia's son Drusus died in an
accident in 9 CE. Livia was quite influential, through her personal
wealth, through her intelligence and political sense, and through her
marriage. She played a central role in the establisment of the
Principate, along with Augustus and M. Agrippa. Livia's influence
continued when her son Tiberius became emperor, until her death in 29 CE
at the age of 85. She was deified by her grandson Claudius in CE
41,
and lived (BCE 58-CE 29).
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Ca.
40-60 Queen
Regnant
Cartimandra of The
Brigants (Brigantia) (United Kingdom)
|
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Brigantia was a British tribe in Yorkshire. She signed a treaty with the Romans, placing herself under their
protection. Her tribe was opposed to this treaty and there were several revolt. In 48, she asked for and received Roman help in
fighting the rebellion. Cartimandua's consort, Venutius attempted to have her overthrown but he was unsuccessful after
the Romans came to her aid. For a while
Cartimandua ruled jointly with Venutius, but when he made another attempt to
overthrow her, she took Vellocatus, a royal armor-bearer, as her consort. She
sent Vellocatus to fight Venutius and, again, asked for Roman help. Ca.69,
Cartimandua "retired" and in 71, Rome annexed Brigantia after they
easily defeated Venutius, Vellocatus and the Brigantes in battle.
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54-56
Regent Augusta Iulia Agrippina of the
Roman Empire
|
|
She was the younger of three daughters of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. She was 34 years old when
she married emperor Claudius, who was nearing the end of his life. During the last five years of Claudius’ reign, she grew more and more powerful.
Her son Nero succeeded her husband at the age of 17 and could not legally rule in
his own name. Agrippina acted as his regent and was a powerful controlling
influence on him even after he came of age. After about a year, Nero moved her out of the imperial palace. She began to denounce her son more and more in
public. After the tension between mother
and son grew to a critical level, Nero determined to be rid of her, and had her
killed. She lived (16-59).
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Around
60 Queen Regnant Phytodoris of Colchis (Georgia)
|
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Colchis was an ancient country on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and
in the Caucasus region. Centered about the fertile valley of the
Phasis River (the modern Rion), Colchis corresponds to the present-day
region of Mingrelia in Georgia. She was a vassal of the Roman
Empire.
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60-61 Queen
Regnant
Boudicca of the
Iceni-Tribe in
Norfolk (United Kingdom)
|
|
The Iceni
was a people who lived in the present-day counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk. She led a rebellion against the Roman authorities as a result of
their mistreatment of her family and people after the death of her husband, Prasutagus, who may have been a Roman client-ruler, in 60 AD.
She and other disaffected tribes, sacked the cities of Colchester,
St. Albans and London and, it is estimated, massacred approximately 70.000 Roman
soldiers and civilians in the course of the glorious, but ill-fated rebellion.
The rebels were finally defeated in battle by a force led by the Roman governor
of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus, after which she took her
own life by ingesting poison together with her
two
daughters, Camorra and Tasca or, according to legend, Voada and Voadicia.
She lived (15-61).
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112-?
Regent
Dowager Queen
Gespaepyris of Pontus (Turkey)
|
|
Gespaepyris was born as Princess of Thrace and ruled on behalf of her son Mithridates VI.
in the kingdom in Asia
Minor.
|
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130-? Reigning Dowager Queen Laodike II Nysa of
Cappadocia (Turkey)
|
|
After the death of her husband, Ariarathes V, she poisoned 5 stepsons and ruled
in the name of her own son.
|
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135-49 Regent
Dowager Queen
Ghadana of Iberia (Georgia)
|
|
The
widow of King Pharasmenes II Kveli (ca. 116-32), she
reigned for grandson Pharasmenes III (135-185) after the death of
her son Rhadamiste I (or Ghadam). She was daughter of King Sanatroukes
of Armenia (b. ca. 100).
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193-217 Joint Ruler Iulia Domna of the
Roman Empire
|
|
She was one of the most powerful people in the Roman Empire. While her emperor
husband, Septimius Severus, was fighting rivals, pursuing rebels, and subduing
revolts in the far corners of the empire,
she was left to administer the
vast Roman Empire. She played one powerful
general or senator against another, while keeping herself from falling into the
many traps set by political enemies at court. Caracalla had murdered his brother Geta in her private apartments
even as the younger son sought protection in
her arms. After Macrinus had
murdered Caracalla and seized the throne in 217, he sent her away from Antiochia after it
was reported that Julia was inciting troops to rebel against him. At this time,
she was believed to be about fifty years old and was suffering from a painful
illness, probably cancer of the breast. Rather than face exile and the
humiliation of being reduced to the status of a private citizen, she decided to
commit suicide by starving herself.
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218-222
(†) Joint De-facto Ruler
Iulia Soaemias Bassiana of the Roman Empire
|
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She plotted
together with her mother, Julia Maesa, to
substitute the ursurpor, Macrinus,
by her son Varius Avitus Bassianus (Heliogabalus)
(203-218-222). As the emperor's mother, with the title Iulia
Soaemias Augusta, she played a great role in government and
administration and was infact the de facto ruler
of Rome, since her son was concerned mainly with
religious matters. Their rule was not popular and soon discontent arose.
Julia Soaemias and Heliogabalus were killed by the Praetorian Guard in
222, and she was declared public enemy and her
name erased from all records.
She lived (ca. 180-222).
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218-222
Joint De-facto Ruler Iulia Maesa of the Roman Empire
222-225/26 (†) Joint Regent of the Roman Empire
|
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First she
plotted together with her daughter, Julia Soaemias Bassiana to have her
grandson Elagabaleus
placed on the throne and later she was joint regent with her other
daughter, Julia Masaea and her son, Alexander Servus.
She was sister of Julia Domna and closely related to the Imperial family
and grew up in Syria.
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222-228
(†)
Regent Dowager Empress Iulia Mamaea of
the Roman Empire
|
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She was behind
the plot that ousted
her sister, Julia Soaemias Bassiana,
and her son and had her infant son, son
Alexander Servus, placed
on the throne. She ruled
together her
mother,
Julia Mamesa
and 16 senatorsm
but as they were unable to defend the empire from the attacking Germans,
the Army killed both her and her son.
|
|
|
238-41 Regent
N.N. of the Roman Empire
|
|
Her name is not known, but she was the daugter of Emperor
Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus
Romanus Africanus (Gordian I) and married to a senator, whose name is
also not known. After
Emperor Maximus I Thrax was murdered, her 13 year old son, Emperorr Gordianus III (225-38-44)
was placed on the throne with her in charge of the regency.
|
|
 |
275
Sole Regent Dowager Empress Ulipia Serverina of
The Roman Empire (March-September)
|
|
Reigned alone after her husband, Aurelianus' death until Tacitus was
named emperor.
|
|
|
350
Augusta Constantina of
East Roman Empire (Covering
what is now Greece and Turkey)
|
|
She roclaimed Vetranio as Cæsar during a riot - acting in her own right
with the authority of the daughter of the Emperor with the title of
Augusta in
the Byzantine or East Roman Empire. |
|
|
375-83
Joint Ruler Dowager Empress Iustiana of the
Roman Empire
383-? Regent
|
|
Joint ruler with son Gratianus and regent for Valentianus II (383-92),
who ruled the
Western division of the Empire, encompassing Rome itself
together with Italy, Gaul, Britain, Iberia, and northwestern Africa,
though the state was already disintegrating faced with the babaric
invasions.
|
|
|
378
Queen Regnant Zarmandukht of Greater Armenia
|
|
Her
name is also spelled Zarmandux,
she was widow of King Pap, who was known to have been gay and was killed on the
orders of the Byzantine general Terent. In the
first instance his cousin, Varazdat was king until 378. She took power, but from 378 until his
death in 385, Manuel Mamikonean, was the real
ruler of Armenia. He ruled as a "trustee" of the
monarchy in the name of her son, and kept both of them
in the king's place and causing them to circulate around in honor.
He nourished her two sons
Arshak and Vagharsha
as his foster-children and honoured her. |
|
|
378
De-facto
Regent Dowager Empress Domnica of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what
is now Greece and Turkey)
|
|
She
held the City of
Byzanz after the death of her husband, Valens and defended
the city against the attacks of the Goths, before the arrival of the
successor, Theodosios.
|
|
|
449/50
Augusta Justa Grata Honoria of the Roman Empire (in the West)
|
|
The
sister of Valentin III, she acted in her capacity as Augusta.
|
|
|
400-04 De-facto Ruler Empress Eudoxia of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what
is now Greece and Turkey)
|
|
She
was a significant figure in the government because she had the ear of her husband
Emperor Arcadius of the East Roman Empire until her own death in 404.
She was strong and strident, dominating her weak and passive husband.
|
|
|
414-55 De-facto Ruler Augusta Pulchera of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what
is now Greece and Turkey)
|
|
At the age of 15 Princess Aelia Pulcheria was crowned Augusta and assumed a
dominant role in guiding the affairs of state. In 420/22 she may have organized
the Byzantine campaign against Persia, she replaced the emperor as director of
power, but the ultimate power resided with her brother. In the mid-420s she
engaged in a power struggle with her sister-in-law, Eudokia, and Pulchera was
forced into semi-retirement. She established herself as a holy virgin dedicated
to God, and this gave her access into the altar to receive the communion with
priests and deacons, something normally barred to women. When
her brother died in 450 she took control of the government of the
Eastern Empire, and married Marcian, Army Chief of Staff, and named him
co-Emperor. She spoke Greek and Latin and had a deep interest in
medicine and natural science lived (399-453).
|
|
|
423-50 Regent Dowager Empress Galla Placidia of
the Roman Empire (Covering Italy, Spain, France and Northern
Africa)
|
|
She was in Rome at the time of its sack by Alaric and the
Visigoths, and after Alaric’s death in 414, she married his brother
and successor as king of the Visigoths, Athaulf.
After his death, Placidia returned home in 416 to marry Constantius, who was
made co-augustus in the West in 421 and became the Roman emperor Constantius
III. He died of pleurisy after a reign of only seven months. In 423 her brother
Emperor Honorius died and Galla Placidia was made Augusta and regent for her six year old son Valentinian III.
Placidia proved to be a hard-nosed ruler who knew how to manage a declining
economy and rebellious subjects. Even after her son's death, she managed the
Roman government in the West for twenty years during one of the most perilous
periods of its existence. She
lived (388-450).
|
|
 |
491
Regent Dowager Empress Ariane of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what
is now Greece and Turkey)
|
|
Also
known as Aelia Ariadane,
she was the daughter of Leo I (447-74).
She was married to Tarasicodissa who became Emperor Zeno, and after his
death in 491 the Senate officially requested her to choose another
candidate to rule and she married Anastasios I, who became
emperor.
|
|
 |
518-65 Co-Ruler
Empress
Theodora of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
Before becoming Empress, she was an actress. During this time in
history the theatre was looked down upon and in fact banned by the church.
She later became a devote Christian and married Emperor Justinian, who
viewed her as an equal and accepted her many ideas. She was influential in
changing the administrative and legislative sectors. She was an advocate
of women’s rights. The Empress, along with her husband changed laws on
guardianship to include women, and created a law that allowed women to own
property. The two also rebuilt cities that were ruined during earthquakes,
and built the church Hagia Sophia. In 532, mobs attempted to overthrow
Justinian, causing the Emperor the desire to flee his city. But it was his
wife who convinced him to stay. |
|
 |
526-34
Regent Princess Amalasuentha of the Ostrotoths (Italy)
534-35 Joint Reigning Queen |
|
She was the
daughter of King Theodoric and Audofleda, a sister of King Clovis.
Exceptionally well educated, she studied both Greek and Latin and took a
keen interest in art and literature. Married to Eutharic at the age of 17,
she found herself Queen in 522, following the deaths of both her father
and her husband. She served as regent for her 10-year-old son, Athalric.
Like her father, she maintained a pro-Byzantine policy, which was not
popular with the Ostrogothic nobles. She suppressed a rebellion and
executed three of its leaders. She also purged her lands of dishonest
office holders and limited the power of grasping landowners.
After her son
died, in 534, she shared the throne with her cousin, Theodahad who later
led a palace revolution and caused her to be exiled to an island, where
she was strangled in her bath as an act of vengeance by relatives of the
nobles she had executed. |
|
|
565-572 and 574-578
Co-ruler Empress
Sophia of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey)
572-574 Sole Regent |
|
The
niece of Empress Theodora and married to emperor Iustinus II
(565-578), and sole regent during her husband's mental illness. She
nominated his two successors without marrying either, and
continued exercise a high degree of influence on the government and is
believed to have played a major role in various financial measures and
took an active part in foreign politics, mainly in her dealings with
Persia. |
|
 |
584-94
Regent Dowager Queen Fredegundis of France |
|
Fredgunde
or Fredegunda was
a slave-girl at the court of Neustria when she came to the attention of
Chilperic I, Merovingian King of Soissons (Neustria). She became his
mistress and then eventually third wife. She persuaded Chilperic to
repudiate his first wife Audovera and was said to be the driving force
behind the murder in 568 of Chilperic's second wife Galswintha.
Fredegunda also engineered the murders of Audovera's three sons and
Sigibert of Austrasia, Chilperic's brother. Finally her husband was
murdered or assassinated, shortly after the birth of their son Lothair in
584. Fredegunda seized her late husband's wealth and fled to Paris with
her remaining son Lothair (Clotaire II), and persuaded the Neustrian
nobles to recognize her son as the legitimate heir to the throne and she
took over the regency and continued her longtime
power struggle with Guntrum of Burgundy (d.593) and Brunhilda,
Queen-Mother of Austrasia (d.614), whom she defeated around 597.
Fredegunda (d. 598). |
|
 |
590
Reigning Dowager Queen Theodolina of the Lombards (Italy)
615-25 Regent of the Kingdom |
|
Co-ruler with
husbands, king Autharis (584-90) and Agilulf (591-615) and regent for son
King Adololdo of the Lombards or
Langobards,
who was deposed by her son-in-law. She
was instrumental
in restoring Athanasian Christianity - the ancestor
of modern Roman Catholicism - to a position of
primacy in Italy against it's rival, Arian Christianity. With a stable
base in Italy thereafter, the Papacy could begin subduing those it
regarded as heretics elsewhere. |
|
 |
639-42
Regent Dowager Queen Nanthildis of
Neustrasia and Burgundy (France) |
|
Also known as Nanthilde, Nanthechilde or Nantechildis,
she was a
former servant and married the Merovingian king
Dagobert I (604-29-35)
after he had divorced his
childless consort, Gomatrud. After Dagobert's death her son, Chlodwig II
was appointed king of Neutrasia and Burgundy and his older half-brother,
Sigibert III king of Austrasia. She received 1/3 of the royal treasure.
She acted as regent together with the Major Domus Aega. As he attacked the
Burgundfarons she protected them and 642 she reformed the office of Major
Domus of Burgundy and appointed the Frankish Flaochad to the office.
She
lived (ca. 610-642). |
|
 |
641 Regent Dowager
Empress Martina of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
After the
death of her husband, Herakleios, she was first co-ruler with stepson,
Constantinos III , whom she was accused of poisoning. She took power but
was deposed together with son Heraklonas, who was still a minor. They were
both mutilated and sent into exile. |
|
|
642-49
Member of Regency Council Dowager Empress Gregorina
of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
She was
the widow of Herakleios-Constantinos and her son, Constans, was chosen as
Emperor after Martina and Heraklonas, and though the sources does not
mention the members of the Regency Council it can be assumed that she was
one of the members. She was a niece of Emperor Herakleios II. |
|
|
657-64/65
Regent Dowager Queen Bathildis of Neustrie,
Bourgogne and Austrasie (France) |
|
 |
Also known as
Bathilde or Baldechildis,
she was born
in England, and taken to Gaul as a slave and about 641, she was bought by
Erchinoald, mayor of the palace of Neustria. She married Clovis II in
648. The future Lothair III was born in 649, and she had two more sons,
Theoderic and Childeric, who also eventually became rulers. Balthildis'
influence during her husband's reign was considerable, since she
controlled the court and the allocation of charity money, and had strong
connections with Church leaders. After Clovis' death in 657 she took over
the regency for her son Lothair III and embarked on a policy of unifying the
Frankish territory by controlling Austrasia through imposing her son
Childeric as Prince and absorbing Burgundy. She lost her political power
when Lothair came of age and was forced to retire to the convent of
Chelles, which she had founded and endowed with much of her personal
wealth in 664. She died in 680 in Chelles, and was later declared a saint.
|
|
|
|
|
662 Regent Dowager
Queen
Himnechilde of Austrasia (France) |
|
After the
death of her husband,
Sigebert III, she was joint regent for
her son,
Childéric II
together with
the
Major Domus (Major of the Palace) Wulfoald. |
|
|
664-66
Regent Dowager Queen Sexburga of Kent (United Kingdom) |
|
The
eldest daughter of King Anna of East Anglia and his second wife, Saewara.
She married King Erconbert of Kent, and after he
died of the "yellow plague", she reigned on behalf off
her son, Egbert I. After he came of age, she
became abbess of Minister-in-Sheppey and later of
Ely, where her sister, St. Etheldreda of Ely had
been Abbess. Another sister and both of her daughters; Ermengilda
and Ercongota were Saint and the sam was the case of her
grandchildren; St. Werburga of Chester, St. Wulfade
and St. Rufinus. She lived (Ca. 636-around
700). |
|
|
Ca. 669-74 Regent
Empress
Aelia Sofia of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
Handled the
affairs of state for her insane husband Justinos II (58-95 and 705-11),
who was killed.
|
|
|
672-74
Queen Regnant Seaxburh of Wessex (United Kingdom) |
|
She succeeded her husband,
Cenwealh, who was king (642-72), and was followed by Centwine, son of
former king Cynegils. |
|
 |
692 Regent
Queen Dowager Clothilde of Neustria and Bourgogne (France) |
|
Regent for a few months for son Childéric.
She is also known
as Rothilde, Chrothéchildis or Doda (d.
694/9). |
|
|
685-99
Regent Dowager Princess Spram of Girdyaman (Azerbaijan) |
|
Ruled in the
name of
Varaz-Tiridat I of the
Mihranid Dynasty, who ruled (680-699).
She was succceded by Sheraye. |
|
|
714
Acting Major Domina
Plectrudis von Ecternach of
Neustraia, Austria, Aquitania and Burgundy (France) |
|
Also known
as Plectrud or Plectrude, she engaged in a power-struggle with her stepson, Carles Martel after the death of her
husband, Pipin II d'Heristal.
She favoured the succession of one of her grandsons to the office of Major
Domus. Her forces were finally defeated in 719. She
was daughter of Count Palantine Hugobert von Ecternach
(d. 697/698)
and inherited "The Lands between the Rhine, Moselle and Meuse" after her mother
Irmina von Oeren, and was later
declared a Saint.
She lived (Before
665-ca.725). |
|
|
Ca. 750 Legendary Queen
Wanda of Poland |
|
According to legend her
father, king Krak was succeeded by one brother, but was killed by another.
The Councillors broke with tradition in asking Wanda to rule over her
people. Peace and prosperity prevailed over Krakow, but in the west, the
Germans grew in strength and began attacking Polish hamlets and cities.
The German commander, Rytygier, wanted to make Wanda his wife, and to
avoid this and save her people, she wandered to the top of a cliff over
the Wisla river, she threw herself into the river. |
|
|
Ca.
772-98 Joint Reigning Queen Cynethryth of Mercia (United Kingdom) |
|
She was the
wife of Offa II, the Saxon King of Mercia (757-96), and acquired notoriety
as a tyrannical Queen. She was the only Queen consort ever allowed to
issue coins in her own name, and they carry vivid portraits, the earliest
portrait of an Englishwoman. Her daughter, Eadburgh, acquired a still
worse reputation. |
|
 |
780-90 Regent Dowager
Empress Eirene of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey)
787 Presiding over the 7th Ecomenical Synod (Council)
792 Joint Ruler
of the Empire
797-802 Reigning Empress |
|
Also known as Irene, she dominated her husband
Emperor Leo IV (775-780), and after his death she took over the regency for son,
Constantine VI. Irene generally undermined Constantine's authority when he
tried to push her aside, she deposed him in 797 - he was seized, flogged
and blinded. Irene began her reign as the first Byzantine Empress, and did
not recognize Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in 800. After the death of
his wife, Liutgard, the same year, Charlemagne sought her hand in marriage
- but nothing came out of this proposal. Soon revolts against Irene rule
broke out and she was deposed by the leading Patricians. Irene was then
exiled to island of Lesbos, where she supported herself by spinning. Irene
died the following year and her former finance minister succeeded as
Emperor Nicephorus I. She lived (752-803). |
|
|
Before
825 Regent Dowager Queen Angharad Ferch Maredudd Llewelyn of Powys, Holderness,
Skipton and Cockermouth (Wales and England in the United Kingdom) |
|
Reigned in the name of her
son. |
|
|
829-30
Member of Regency Council Dowager Empress
Euphrosyne of The Byzantine
Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
She was
daughter of Emperor Constantinos VI who divorced her mother, Maria of
Amnia (ca. 770-ca. 830) and send both of them to a monestary, where they
stayed until 820 when Michael II of Amorion ursurped the throne and
married Euphrosyne in order to legitimize his reign. After his death, she
was probably member of the regency council for his son, Theophilos, though
the sources are not clear about this. After she helped select his wife,
Theodora, she retired to a convent, though she did not stay totally out of
politics. She (ca. 790-after 840). |
|
|
842-56 Head of the
Regency Council Dowager
Empress Theodora of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
The widow of Theophilos
(829-42), she was leader of the regency for her son
Michael III (838-42-67). She restored the veneration of icons, brought
back the deposed holy Patriarch Meletios and convened a Council, at
which the Iconoclasts were anathematized. When Michael came of age,
she spent 8 years in the monastery of Saint Euphrosynia, in ascetic
deeds and the reading of Divine books (a copy of the Gospels is known
of, copied by her hand). She died peacefully in about the year 867. Later
declared a saint. |
|
|
842 Member of the Regency
Council Princess Tekla of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
The sister of Michael III,
she was in theory co-regent with
Theodora |
|
|
914-919 Regent
Dowager Empress Zoë Karbonopsina of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
The fourth wife of
Leon IV, who died 912. After his death the guardian of her son, but Constantinos VII (b. 905) sent her to a convent. She later managed to
become regent for son, but was deposed in 919. |
|
|
927-30
Regent Dowager Queen Oneca de Navarra of León (Spain) |
|
Ruled in the name of her
son, Alfonso IV (926-31) who abdicated. |
|
|
Until 931 Co-Regent
Margravine Ermengard di Lucca of Ivrea (Italy) |
|
She was daughter of Adalbert
II of Tuszia and Berta, illegitimate daughter of king Lothar II. As
co-regent she secured the Italian throne for her brother, Hugo d’Arle,
against the claims of Raoul II de Haute-Bourgogne. |
|
|
945-59
Co-ruler Empress Helena Lecapena of the Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
Married to Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitu (913-59), who raised her father, Romanus
Lecapenus, to the rank of cæsar and the status of co-emperor of the
Eastern Roman Empire and actual ruler of the state. In 944 two sons
deposed him, but they were executed, and finally Constantine took over the
reigns himself - though with heavy guidance from Helena. She retired to a
convent after her husband's death, to please his son, Romanus, who was
under the spell of his wife, Theophano. |
|
|
961-62 De-facto in charge of the Government
Dowager Empress Mathilde von Sachsen of Germany |
|
She had withdrawn to the
convent of Quedlinburg which she founded after the death of her husband,
King Heinrich I in 936, but took over the reigns in Germany when her
son, Otto I, went to Italy after having appointed his infant son, the
later Otto II as regent. She had devoted her time to charity and founder
of numerous convents and she was later declared a saint (Mathilde die Heilige).
She was mother of 3 sons and 2 daughters (among whom Geberga was regent in
the West-Frankish kingdom from 954), and lived (ca. 895-968). |
|
|
963-69 Regent Dowager
Empress Theophano of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey) |
|
Very powerful during the
reign of her husband, Emperor Romanos II (959-63) and regent for sons
Basileios II and Constantinos VIII. Married to the FieldMarshall
Nikephoros Phokas, who was emperor 963-69. He was deposed by Jean
Tzimikskes who married Theodora, daughter of Theophano . |
|
|
966-75
Regent Doña Elvira
Ramírez of León
and Asturias (Spain)
|
|
The daughter
of Ramiro II, she left the convent take over the regency for her nephew, Ramiro
III, after the death of her brother, Sancho I. She made treaties with
Caliph Al-Hahen II and orgaised the defence against the Normans
In 968-69. In 975 she was replaced as regent by her
sister-in-law, the Dowager Queen Teresa. |
 |
966-99
Princess-Abbess Mathilde I von Sachsen of Quedlinburg (Germany)
997-99 Guardian of the Realm of the Holy Roman Empire
|
| Daughter of
Emperor Otto I, she was
appointed the first Princess-Abbess - Reichsäbtissin - of Quedlinburg. She
also acted as "domina imperialis", and followed her brother Otto II on
journey to Italy and acted regent with the title of Matica
(Reichsverweser) for her nephew, Otto III during his stay in Italy. She
was also named as his
representative in Sachsen with the additional titles of
Metropolitana of Quedlinburg and Matrixcia of Sachsen (Substitute and
Representive of the Emperor). She lived (955-999). |
|
 |
973-75 Joint Ruler
Queen
Ælfthryth of England
978-84 Regent Dowager Queen |
|
Sources
indicated that after her consecration she was considered to been sharing
the royal lordship with her husband, King Edgar, who was first succeeded
by his son of the first marriage, Edward, then by a brother, and finally
by his son by Ælfthryth, Edmund II Ironside (968-78-1016), and was in
charge of the government during his minority, and continued to be a
dominant force after he came of age. |
|
|
975-80
Regent Dowager Queen
Teresa Ansúrez of
León
and Asturia (Spain)
|
|
The widow of
Sanchos I, she replaced her sister in law, Princess Elvira as regent for
son, Ramiros II, after his troops was beaten by the Arab forces by Gormaz
in 975. From 977 the kingdom was systematically attacked by al Mansur, and
in 981 Ramiros was deposed after a riot, and replaced by Vermundo II in
Asturia, and was now only king in Leon until he was deposed here too, and
killed. |
|
|
978-94
Queen
Gurandukht of Abkhazia (Georgia) |
|
She
succeeded Theodosius III the Blind
and reigned jointly with king
Bagrat III Bagrationi the
Unifier (King of Georgia
1008-14)
of the
mountainous district along the east coast of the Black
Sea. |
|
|
983 Regent Dowager
Empress Adelheid in Italy
985-94 Regent of the Holy Roman Empire |
|
 |
As the widow of Duke Lothar
of Burgundy, she married to Otto I at the age of 20. He let her control
the lands she brought into the marriage, and even added some he owned. In
976 and 985 she Presided over the hearings of the Royal Court in Italy.
When her husband died, she became regent for her son Otto II, who included
her in his decrees, arriving at decisions "with the advice of my pious and
dearest mother." After her son's death she became joint regent with her
daughter-in-law, Theophano, for the 3 year old, Otto III, and after
Theophano died, Adelaide became sole regent. After he came of age at the
age of 14, she lived in a nunnery using the title "Adelheida, by
God's gift Empress, by herself a poor sinner and God's maidservant”. She
lived (931-999) |
|
|
|
 |
983-91 Regent Dowager
Empress Theophano of the Holy Roman Empire |
|
A Byzantine Princess who at
the age of seventeen was given to the young Saxon emperor Otto II and
crowned Coimperatrix as the only German Empress and Consors Regni. Though
elegant and a delicate beauty, she was high-spirited and a superb
politician who brought with her an intimate knowledge of the intricacies
of court life. When her husband died, leaving her with a three year old
son, she took the title "Imperator Augustus" and defended her son Otto
III’s title for seven years from those who challenged him. For seven years
Theophano with tact and firmness administered the empire in her son's
name. She was called by a contemporary "a woman of discreet and firm
character...with truly masculine strength."
Sometimes she used the male title "imperator augustus, and lived
(ca.955-991) |
|
|
986-87
Regent Dowager Queen Emma of France |
|
Daughter of Lothaire III of
Italy and Germany and Adélaide who later married Otto I of Germany. Emma
took over the regency after the death of her husband King Lothaire as
guardian for son Louis V, who was king from 26th of march 986 till 18th May
the following year. |
|
|
987-96 Joint Ruler Queen Alais d'Aquitaine of France |
|
Also known as Adèle, she was
married to Hugues Capet, and reigned jointly with him, and after his death
996 she also seems to have played a political role during the beginning of
the reign of her son, Robert II. She was daughter of Guillaume II and
Adèle de Normandie, and lived (ca. 945-1004/06). |
|
995 Possible
Regent Dowager Queen
Gunhild of Poland of Sweden |
|
It is not known for certain that she was acctually the wife of King Erik,
who might have been married to
Sigrid Storråda,
but she might have acted as
regent for son, king
Olof Skötkonung.
Since 996 she was possibly married to
Svend
Forkbeard king of Denmark and
political active until their divorce in 1000.
In 996 she lead to an alliance between Denmark and Sweden.
Daughter of prince of Poland Mieszko I and
Dobrawa, she was origianally named Princess
Świętosława–Sygryda,
mother
of several children with both husbands, and
lived (968/72-after 1014). |
|
 |
999-1008
Regent Dowager Queen Elivra García of León (Spain) |
|
After the death of her husband, Bermudo II (953-84-99),
she was joint-regent with Mendos Gonzales for
son Alfonso V (989-999-1028). Born as Princess of Castilla and lived
(965-1017) |
|
|
1014-72
Queen Dearbforgail of Munster and Ireland
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She was daughter of King Brian Bory, her husband was king Dermont
MacMilmamo of Leister was also king of Ireland.
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1015-.. Regent Dowager Duchess Gisela von Schwaben of
Swabia (Germany)
1024-39 Co-Regent of Germany
1026-39 Co-Regent of Italy
1027-39 Co-Regent of The Holy Roman Empire
1032-39 Co-Regent of Bourgogne |
| The daughter
and heiress of
Duke Hermann II von Schwaben and Gerberga de Bourgogne, she reigned
after the death of her second husband, Duke Ernst I von Schwaben during
the minority of their son, Ernst II, until she was removed from the
regency because she and Ernst I was too closely related according to the
Canon Law. She later married Konrad II, and she was crowned Queen of
Germany, and Holy Roman Empress. The sources indicates that she was a
vivid participant in the affairs of the realm and took part in the
Imperial Councils and acted as joint regent of
her husband, and it was trough her intervention that her relative, Rudolf
III of Burgundy transferred the succession to his realm to her husband.
She was also interested in the affairs of the church and intervened in the
appointments of Bishops and Princely Abbots and participated in various
synods. She was not at good terms
with her son, Heinrich III, and therefore she was less influential after
Konrad's death. She lived (989-1043). |
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1017-27 Regent
Abbess Urraca
Garciez de Covarrubias
of Castilla (Spain)
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The Abbess of
Covarrubias, she ruled
jointly with bishop Pedro of Burgos
during the minority of her nephew, Count
Garcia II (1110-17-29), after her brother,
Sancho had been killed. She was daughter of
Cout Carcia I.
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1027-ca. 36 Regent Dowager Queen Miriam Artsruni of United
Georgia
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After the death of her husband, Giorgi I (1014-27), she was in charge of
the regency for son Bagrat IV (1027-72). The kingdom was invaded by The Byzantine
Empire at the
time, but their attack was fought off. In 1031 after the takeover of
Iberia, she and heir Minister traveled to Constantinople on a diplomatic
mission and negotiated a peace, and had her son recognized as full king
(Curopalate) and head of the local princes.
Also known as Maria, she was daughter of Sennacherib-John of Vaspurahan.
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1028-41
and
1042-50
Joint Reigning Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita of The Byzantine Empire
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She was the younger daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII, and succeeded
him 1028. Zoë married 60 year old Romanus III Argyropolus and made him
co-emperor. The marriage lasted barely six years before Zoë poisoned
him, and married the epileptic weakling Michael IV Paphiagonian, who had
her cloistered in 1041. This enforced confinement was short-lived as the
Byzantine nobles rebelled against Michael. Zoë was released from her
confinement, and Michael was himself cloistered in a monastery by the
nobles. Zoë now ruled jointly with her older sister Theodora in 1042.
Zoë married again, this time to Constantine IX Monomachus aged 42, and
both reigned till her death. Zoë was succeeded in Byzantium by husband,
who then ruled jointly with her sister Theodora. Zoë lived (986-1050).
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1030-35
Regent Dowager Queen Alfiva of Norway
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Also known as Lady Ælfgify of Northamton she was regent for her, and
Knud the Great’s son, King Svend of Norway. Her rule was harsh and
provoked an uprising which removed her from power. When Knud died she
returned to England, and persuaded the nobles to recognize her other son
Harald Harfoot as king in 1037 but no records of her from then on have
survived.
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1034-36
Regent Dowager Queen Richeza von der Pfalz of Poland |
|
She was the first polish Queen since 1025 as the wife of prince (since
1025 a king) Mieszko II. She was the eldest daughter of Errenfried Ezzon,
“der rheinische Pfalzgraf” (palatin) and Matilda, daughter of Emperor Otto
II. Rycheza was regent for her son, Kazimierz I Odnowiciel. She lived
(996-1063).
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1037-65 Co-Queen
Regnant Sancha of León (Spain)
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In 1029 Count García
Sánchez of Castilla was about to be married to Sancha of León, the
sister of Vermudo III, an arrangement apparently sanctioned by the king
of Navarra, when the count was murdered in the city of León. Sancho el
Mayor of Navarra then claimed the county of Castilla in his wife's name
and installed in it their son, Fernando, as the new count of Castilla.
After he had forced the marriage between Fernando and Sancha in 1032,
those lands went to Castilla as part of her dowry. In 1034
he wrested the city of León itself from Vermudo, who retreated into
Galicia, and began to style himself "Emperor" on his coinage. He was
killed at a battle in 1037 and succeeded by Sancha and her husband.
During their reign the kingdom was consolidated and expanded further.
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1042 and
1050-55 Joint Empress Theodora Porphyrogenita of The Byzantine
Empire
1055-56 Sole Empress
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In 1042 she reigned
jointly with her sister, Zoe, without success. The
sixty-five-year old Zoe married Constantine IX, Monomachus
and made him co-ruler.
Contemporary sources are unanimous in describing Constantine IX's
incompetence. They generously ascribe to him all the blame for the
rapidly tarnishing glory of Byzantium. The imperial family at public
functions and in royal portraits included three women as long as Zoe
lived. Aside from the aged Zoe and her sister, Theodora,
but also
Constantine's mistress, the niece of his second wife, was always presen.
On the death of Constantine IX, Theodora, the only surviving member of
Basil II's family, ruled for twenty months,
and before her
death she had chosen to forward Michael VI as her successor. She
lived (978-1056).
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1042-66 Joint Ruler Queen
Edith of Wesex of England (United Kingdom)
1066 De facto Regent
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She was
married to king Edward. In 1051 her father, Earl Goodwin of Wessex
revolted against the Norman influence, but failed, and was banished.
Edward started divorce-proceedings, but they remained married until his
death, and during the vacancy at the throne she seems to have been
de-facto caretaker. They had no surviving children and there was a
succession of rulers, resulting in William
the Conqueror
of Normandy becoming king and it was her
who was obliged to hand over the keys to
Winchester, the county town of Wessex.
She remained in charge of vast lands, but did no longer participate in
politics. She lived (ca. 1020-75).
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1055-61 Hereditary Duchess Agnes de Pointou of Bavaria
(Germany)
1056-62
Regent Dowager Empress of the Holy Roman Empire
1057 and 1059 and 106? Presiding over the Hearings at the Royal Court (Königsgericht)
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She was descended from
the royal houses of Burgundy and Italy, the daughter of William V of
Aquitaine and Poitou, she became the second wife of the German king
Henry III in 1043. They were crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Empress by
Clement II in 1046. After her husband's death she acted as Regent for
her son, Heinrich IV (1050-?) She was not an experienced politician and
was influenced by the nobility to part with the duchies of Bavaria and
Carinthia, and entered into unwise alliances against the dominant
reforming party in the Papacy. By 1062 discontent led to an uprising in
which Anno, Archbishop of Köln, took over the regency. Agnes retired to
a convent where she remained until her death. She lived (1024-77).
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1060-? Regent
Dowager Queen
Anne de Kiev of France
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After the death of her husband, Henri I, she reigned jointly with
Baudouin V of Flanders in the name of
her son, Philippe I. Her subsequent marriage
to Raoul, Comte de Valois caused a scandal, since he was already married.
He was excommunicated, and she died in a convent. She was daughter of
Jarosla Vladimirovich of Kiev and Indegard of Norway, and lived
(1051-89).
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1066-69
and 1069-83 Regent Queen Mathilda van Flanders of England
in the Normandie (France)
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She was married to William I the Conqueror of England (1066-87) and duke of
Normandy. He depended heavily on her and she acted as regent whenever he was
absent after their marriage in 1051. With him in England 1067-69 until she went
back to Normandy, where she remained in
charge
until her death.
In 1077 the oldest son,
Robert Curthose, suggested that he should become the ruler of Normandy
and Maine. When William the Conqueror refused, Robert rebelled and
attempted to seize Rouen. The rebellion failed and Robert was forced to
flee and established himself at Gerberoi. William besieged him there in
1080 but Matilda managed to persuade the two men to end their feud. Mother of around 10 children,
one of the last being king Henry I. She lived (ca. 1031-83).
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1067
Reigning Dowager Empress Eudoxia
Makrembolitissa of The Byzantine Empire
(Covering what
is now Greece and Turkey)
1068 and 1071 Regent
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Regent for Michael VIII Dukas and Konstantinos after the death of her husband Constantine
X Dukas. In 1068 married to Romanos IV Diogenes, who took title of
emperor. In 1071 co-ruler with son, Michael, but was deposed and ended her life
in a convent.
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1088-91 Joint
Ruler Queen Jelena Illona Lijepa of Croatia and Dalmatia
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Also known
as Elena or Helena. She was considered a joint ruler during the reign of
her husband Dmitar Zvonimir (1075-1089), who had previously been a ban
in Dalmatia and gained the title of king with the support of Pope
Gregory VII, after which he aided the Normans in their struggle against
the Eastern Empire and Venice between 1081 and 1085. Due to this, in
1085 the Byzantines transferred their rights to Dalmatia to Venice. A
rebellion against Zvonimir broke out at the sabor of Knin in 1089
because of discontent with warring in the interest of the Pope, and he
was killed. She continued rule parts of the country in opposition to the
new king, Stjepan II of the Trpimirović dynasty, who nominally ruled
Croatia for 2 years. The army of her brother, Ladislaus of Hungary,
penetrated Croatian territory in 1091 and quickly occupied all of
Pannonian Croatia, after which they were met with some unorganized
resistance in Dalmatian Croatia. The Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius
reacted by making the Cumans attack the Magyars, which made Ladislaus
retreat from Croatia, but he did leave Prince Álmos to rule over
Slavonia. (d. after 1091)
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1095-1103
Joint Reigning Queen Bodil of Denmark
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Contemporary
sources depict her as the co-ruler of her husband, King Erik I Ejegod.
She was daughter of the Thurgot, Earl in Jutland, and her nephew, Asser,
became the first Archbishop Denmark. In 1103 they went on a prilgimmage
to Jerusalem. Erik died on the way and she did in Jerusalem in 1103 or
1104.
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1101-12 Regent
Dowager Queen Adelisa
di Savona of Sicilia (Sicily) (Italy)
1101-1118 Sovereign Countess of Salona
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Widow of Roger I, she was
a very efficient and
successful regent for the sons Simon and
Roger II. After having handed over the government to Roger, she travelled
to Jerusalem and married
Bodouin I, but it was not a success
and they divorced in 1117 where after she returned to Sicilia. She lived (1072-1118).
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1104-30
Joint Reigning Queen Margrethe Fredkulla of Denmark
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Contemporary sources depict her
as the co-ruler of her husband, Niels,
and considered to be the strongest of the two. She is described her as
vise, clever, devote and peace loving. Daughter of King Inge of
Sweden, she was first married to the Norwegian king Magnus, who died
1103. (d. 1130).
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1109-29
Queen Regnant Urraca I Alfonsez of
Castilla and Léon
(Spain)
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In 1107 she reigned over her Dowry Galicia and Zamora after the death
of her first husband Count Raimond de Bourgogne.
The following year she inherited the throne from her father Alfonso VI Fernandez of Castile and Leon (1040-1109).
Her second marriage in the year 1109 to Alfonso I Perez de Aragon (d.
1134) ended in divorce in 1114.
Her reign was disturbed by strife
among the powerful nobles and especially by constant warfare with her
husband, who had seized her lands. She never remarried, though she took
several lovers. Another thorn in her side was her half-sister, Tarasa of
Portugal and her husband, Enrique, who allied with her estranged
husband, then betrayed him when a better offer came from Urraca's court.
After her brother-in-law's death in 1112, her sister still contested
ownership of lands. With the aid of her son, Alfonso Raimúndez, Urraca
was able to win back much of her domain and ruled successfully until her
death. According to the Chronicon Compostellanum, she died in childbirth
in 1126. The father was her lover, Count Pedro González of Lara. She was
succeeded by her legitimate son, Alfonso VII Raymundez of Castile and Leon "Imperator
totus Hispaniae" (d. 1157), She lived (1082-1128/29).
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1117-18 Presiding
over the Hearings of the Royal Court Mathilda of England of the Holy
Roman Empire
1119 Stadholder in Italy and Superme Commander of the Army
and Presiding over Courts
1125 Holder of the Imperial Insignia of the Holy Roman Empire
1135-50 De-facto
Sovereign Duchess of
Normandie
(France)
1141 Queen Regnant (Lady Domina)
of England (United Kingdom) (02.02-01.11)
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Also known as
Maud,
she was
married the Holy Roman emperor Henry V
in 1114, and
acted as his co-ruler until his death 11 years later, when she became
the holder of the Royal Insignia until a new Emperor was elected. As her only legitimate brother had
been killed in the disastrous Wreck her father, King
Henry I, had the barons swere allegiance
to her and promised her the
throne after her father's death. She then married
Count Geoffrey V of Anjou and Maine. He
was thirteen, she twenty-three. It is thought that the two never got on.
Newer the less they had had three sons in four years.
Being absent in Anjou at the time of her father's death on 1st December 1135,
possibly due to pregnancy, she was not in a position to take up the
throne and she quickly lost out to her
cousin, Stephen de Blois. With her husband, she attempted to take Normandy. With
encouragement from supporters in England though, it was not long before
she
invaded her rightful English domain and so began a long-standing Civil War from
the powerbase of her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, in the West Country.
After three years of armed struggle, she gained the upper hand at
the Battle of Lincoln, in February 1141, where King Stephen was
captured. However, despite being declared Queen or "Lady of the English"
at Winchester, she alienated the citizens of London with her arrogant manner. She failed to
secure her coronation and the Londoners joined a renewed push from Stephen's
Queen and laid siege to the Empress in Winchester. She managed to escape to the
West, but while commanding her rearguard, her brother was captured by the enemy.
She then exchanged Robert for Stephen who soon reimposed
his Royal authority. In 1148, after the death of her half-brother,
Matilda finally returned to Normandy, leaving her son, who, in 1154,
would become Henry II, to fight on in England.
She lived (1101-67).
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1131-41 De-facto Ruler Queen
Helene of Serbia of Hungary
1141-... Regent of the Kingdom
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Influential
during the
reign of her husband Beta II the Blind,
and after his death she assumed the regency for
son, Geza II (1130-41-61).
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1137-63 Queen Regnant Petronilla
I of
Aragón (Spain)
1163-69 Regent of Arágon and Barcelona
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Succeeded father, Ramiro II the Monk. She married Count Berenguer IV
of Barcelona, who did not become joint-regent. In 1163 she abdicated in favour
of her son, Alfonso II. and continued as his regent, and even after he came
of age she continued to control the state affairs. Alfonso later named himself
king of Aragon and Cataluña. She lived (1136-73/74).
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1154-65 Co-Reigning Countess Consort Constance
of France of Toulouse (France)
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Her first husband, Count
Eustache IV.of
Boulogne, Duke of Normandie and Heir to the English
Throne died in 1153 and the
following year she married Raimondo V of Toulouse. She was the first
Countess of Toulouse to use the title of Duke, she often signed official
documents with the title Regina or Dux Narbonnæ, but at her seal she
used the title Ducissa. The couple was divorced 1165. She was daughter
of king Louis VI in his second marriage to Adelaide de Savoie, the
mother of four children, and lived (ca. 1124-ca. 80).
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1156-66 Joint Ruler
Queen
Margarita de Navarra
of Sicilia (Sicily) (Italy)
1166-72 Regent Dowager Queen of Sicily and Malta
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Daughter of King Garcia VI and married to Guillermo I,
Prince of Capua, before becoming co-king in 1151. Regent for son
Guillermo II (b. 1154-). Since 1167 the sources name her as co-regent
and in 1168 a regency council consisting of 10 people was formed, with her
has head. She lived (1128/35-82) .
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1157-ca.58 Regent Dowager Queen
Berengela Raimondo de Barcelona of Castilla, Leon and Galicia (Spain)
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The widow of king Alfonso II (1105-57), she was in charge of the
government in the name of her
son, King Fernando II (1137-57-88). She lived (1105-57).
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1178-84
Joint Ruler Queen Tamar of Georgia
1184-1213 The Most High Queen,
by the will of our Lord, King and Queen of Queens of the
Abkhazis, Kartvelians, Ranians, Kakhetians and the Armenians, Shirvanshah and
Shahanshah and Master of all the East and West, Glory of the World and
Faith, Champion of the Messiah
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Member of the royal house of Bagrationi, she was 19 years old when her
father Grigori III had her crowned co-ruler, and when he died she became
the sole ruler of Georgia. Despite the fact that she was 25 on her
accession, Tamar was placed under the official guardianship of her
father's sister Rusudani. She dealt with the
various factions within the nobility by giving commands of provinces to
important generals and prominent nobles.
During her reign the kingdom reached the apex of its
political, economic and cultural might. A unique Georgian Christian Culture
flourished in this multinational state, exalted by great building projects. After the conquest of Byzantium by the
Fourth Crusaders in 1204, Tamar
sent troops to Trebizond and Kerasund in support of her relative,
Alexios Comnenus, who would become Byzantine Emperor 1205. She personally led the Georgian forces and routed the Turks at the battle of
Basiani. From here on, she pursued a policy of military
aggression - Kars surrendered in
1205 and her son Grigori was made Governor; she exerted her hold over
the local Muslim semi-protectorates; received tribute from some of
the southern Russians provinces. In 1209 The Emir
of Ardabil attacked Georgia, slaughtering 12.000 Georgians
and enslaving thousands more. Tamar took her revenge the
following year - she took the Emir of Ardabil by surprise, killing him,
and as warnings to
others who might threaten Georgi, Tamar's troops began raiding deep
into North Persia and other surrounding regions.
Married 1185 and divorced
two years later to Prince Giorgi of Novgorod and then in 1189 she
married King Davit-Soslani of
Ossetia (d. 1207). Succeded frist by son, Giorgi IV
Lasha, and then by daughter Rusudan in 1223.
Tamar lived (1159-1213).
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1180-82
(†) Regent Dowager Empress
Xenia-Maria de Antiochia
of Constantinople
(Cowering what is now Greece and Turkey)
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She was
daughter of Constance of Antiochia (d.1162) and Raymond de Poitiers,
and took over the regency for her son Alexius II (1180-82). Maria took a lover, her advisor Alexius Comnenus. But Maria's
regency was opposed by her stepdaughter Maria Komnena (daughter of Manuel by a
former wife) and her husband Ranier de Monferrato. Andronicus Comnenus was sent
for by popular acclaim and was crowned co-Emperor. He eventually assumed total
control of Constantinople. Maria was condemned to be strangled, and her son forced to
sign the warrant by new Emperor Andronicus. Her son was murdered two months
later. She lived
(1145-82).
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1184-?
Regent Princess Rusudani of Georgia
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She acted as regent after
the accession to the
throne of her niece, Queen Tamar, and as her advisor for the first years of her reign.
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1190-91 Regent
Dowager Queen Alix de
Blois-Champagne of France
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The third wife of Louis VII
(1120-37-80), she
was in charge of the government during her son, Philippe II
August's participation in the crusades at the time.
Louis' first wife was Duchess Eleanore d'Aquitaine, the second Constance
of Canstile. Alix
lived (1140-1206).
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1191-94 Queen Regnant Berenguela of
Navarra (Spain)
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Also known
as Berengaria
or Berengere, she
succeeded her father King Sancho VI and was
succeeded by brother, Sancho VII, and married to
Richard I Lionhart of England and became known as Queen
Berengere or Berengaria. Her sister later
Blanca was regent of Champagne from 1201 and later of Navarrawhen their
brother went into "retirement". Berenguela
did not have any children, and lived (1163-1230).
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1194 Regent
Dowager Queen Sibylla di
Medina of Sicilia (Sicily) (Italy)
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Daughter of Count Ruggerio di Accera and Caecile de
Madania. Married to Tankredo di Lecce, King of Sicilia (1190-94) and
regent for son Guillermo III, who succeeded his brother Roger III in 1193.
But the supporters of Queen Constanza gained ground and
Constanza’s husband, Emperor Heinrich VI, offered her son the position
as Count of Lecce in exchange of the royal insignia. But it seems that
she got involved in a conspiracy against Heinrich, and therefore she,
Guillaume and her three daughters were imprisoned and deported to
Germany, where she and the daughters were placed in a convent. After Heinrich's
death, they managed to escape to France.
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1194-98 Queen Regnant
Constanza
of Sicily (Italy)
1195-97 Regent
of Sicily
1197-98 (28.98-17.05) Sole Ruer of Sicily
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Also known as Constance, she was married to Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI and daughter of King Roger II of Sicily.
In 1185 she was named possible heiress of Sicily by her nephew King Guillermo II. On his death in
1189, however, the Sicilian nobles, wishing to prevent German rule in Sicily,
chose Constance's nephew Tancredo of Lecce as William's successor. Emperor
Heinrich VI
conducted an unsuccessful campaign in 1191 against Tancred during which Constance
was captured but was released because she was pregnant. After Tancred's death in
1194 they were crowned King and Quee of Sicily and she gave birth to her
only child, Friedrich. She was named regent in the absence of her
husband in 1195 but clearly considered herself to be the rightful
heiress and continued the forceful rule of her predecessor. When he died
in 1197 she
ruled alone for a year.
In order to save the throne of Sicily for her infant son, Federico (later Holy
Roman emperor as Friedrich II), Constance renounced the German kingship for
Frederick and the following year he was crowned as king of Sicily, continuing to
act as regent
until her death. In her will she had named Pope Inocenz II as guardian for
her son.
As queen she used the titulature;Constancia dei gracia Romanorum imperatrix semper augusta et
regina Sicilie and as regent for her son she added the term;
una cum carissimo filio suo Frederico eadem gracia rege Sicilie, ducatus Apulie
et Principatus Capue. She lived (1154-1198).
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1195-1203 De facto
Ruler Empress Euphrosyne of the Byzantine Empire (Covering
what is today Greece and Turkey)
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She
was married to Alexus III Angelus, a weakling with a lust for power, who
mainly busied himself with diplomatic affairs and left the interior with
home affairs to her. She proved to be both extravagant and
corrupt.
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1201-22
Regent Dowager Countess Blanca de Navarra of
Champagne (France)
Until 1229 Regent of Navarra (Spain)
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Also
known as Blanche de Navarre,
she
was pregnant when her husband Thibaut III died, and she became regent
for her posthumously born son Thibaut IV (1201-53). Her regency was
plagued by a number of difficulties. Her brother-in-law, count Henry II
had left behind a great deal of debt, which was far from paid off when
Thibaut III died. Further, their son Thibaut's legitimacy was not
unquestioned, and his right to the succession was challenged by Henry's
daughter Philippa and her husband, Erard I of Brienne, count of Ramerupt
and one of the more powerful Champagne nobles. The conflict broke into
open warfare in 1215, and was not resolved until after Thibaut came of
age in 1222. At that time Thibaut and Blanca bought out their rights
for a substantial monetary payment. Her brother Sancho VII of Navarre
was the last male-line descendant of the first dynasty of kings of
Navarre, the Pamplona dynasty, and was childless and when he went into
retirement ("el Encerrado") she took administration of the kingdom,
though he remained king until her son succeeded him in 1234. She was the
youngest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre (who died 1194) and Sancha of
Castile. She lived (1170's-1229).
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1212-22
Regent Dowager Queen Constance de Aragón of Sicilia (Italy) |
| She
held the reins in the absence of her
husband. She was the second wife of Friedrich III,
who was Emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire 1198-1251, and successor of his first wife was Queen Constanza of Sicily. She was the mother of Konrad IV, who also became
Emperor and
King of Sicily. She (d. 1222).
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1212-17
Sovereign Margravine Yolanda de Flanders
of Namur (Belgium)
1216-19 Empress of Constantinople |
|
Also known as Violante or Jolanta. After her
brother, Emperor Henri's death in June 1216 the Barons of the Empire offered her
and her husband Pierre, the crown, and they both accepted. In
1217 they left for Constantinople, and she seeded
the marquisate to
her oldest son.
They were crowned in Rome by Pope Honrius
III, and continued their journey, Pierre over land and was taken
prisoner, she was pregant and travelled by sea. In Morea she married her
daughter Anges off to Gottfried II, the future Prince of Achaia. In
Constantinopel she gave birth to
the heir to the throne, Baudouin II. (1228-1261),
and took ver the regency. Just before her dath she married her daughter
Maria to Emperor Theodor I. Laskaris of Nikæa. She was
mother of 9 children and daughter of Count Baudouin V of Flanders and
Hainault and lived (ca. 1175-1219). |
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1214
(†) Regent Dowager Queen Leonor de
Plantagenet of Castilla (Spain) |
|
Co-Regent for Enrique I (1214-17) and her daughter, Princess Bergengula
became regent after her death. She was daughter of Duchess Leonora of
Aquitanie and King Henry II of England. (d. 1214). |
 |
1214-15
Regent Princess Bergenguela of Castilla (Spain)
1215-19 Queen Regnant of Asturias-León and Castilla
1219 Regent
1230 Regent in León |
| First she
governed in the name of her
brother Enrique I (1204-14-15-17). Later she divorced - under Pope
Innocent III's orders - from her second degree cousin King Alfonso IX de
Leon (King of Leon 1188 -1230). Her first son, became King Fernando II of
Castile by succession and transmission of her rights to the Castilian
Crown in 1219. Eleven years later, when his biological father, Alfonso IX
de León, died in 1230, he became, too, King Fernando III of Leon. She
lived (1180-1246). |
 |
1218-28
Regent Dowager Queen Alice de Champagne of Cyprus
1243-46 (†) Regent of Jerusalem
|
|
The daughter of Queen Isabella of Jerusalem and her second husband Henri
de Champagne, she married Hugues of Cyprus
in 1208. He took over the reigns in
Cyprus in 1210/11 from his sister Burgundia. After his sudden death at Tripoli
in 1218, Alice acted as regent for her 8 month old son Henri in Cyprus. In 1223
she married Bohemond V of Antiochia. In Jerusalem, Friedrich II, Holy Roman
Emperor was recognized as suzerain but not regent of Cyprus in 1228, because of
his marriage to Queen Yolanda. When she died, Alice traveled to Acre to put
forward her claim to Crown of Jerusalem - without success. After she and
Bohemond divorced because they were too closely related (third cousins), she
married Ralph, Count of Soissons. As she was the great-aunt of King Conrad of
Germany - who had failed to come East to accept throne - Alice was entrusted
with regency of Jerusalem in 1243. After her death the regency passed to
her son and heir, Henri, King of Cyprus. She lived (ca.
1193-1246).
|
 |
1219-52
Queen Regnant Zabel
I
of Lesser Armenia (Cilicia) (Turkey/Syria)
|
|
Also known as Isabella, her father, Leo II had promished his nephew Raimond-Ruben de Antiochiaia,
the succession to the throne, but at his death-bed he her, as his heir. Her older sister, Stephanie, or her husband, Jean
de Brienne, claimed the title for her and their young son, but they died
shortly after. And the Armenian nobles followed the wish of Leo II, and
paid homage to her as their Queen, under various male regents. She later
ruled together with her two husbands;
Phillip 1222-25 (he was poisoned) and Heton I (1226-1269). Armenia Minor established very close ties
with the Crusader States. It was still threatened by Byzantium, however,
and appears to have come under Byzantine overlordship for short periods.
Her mother was Sibylla de Lusignan
of Cyprus-Jerusalem, she was mother of two sons and two daughters, and lived
(ca. 1212-52). |
 |
1223-47
Queen Regnant Rusudani of Georgia,
by the will of our Lord, Queen of Queen of Kings and Queens of the
Abkhazis, Kartvelians, Ranians, Kakhetians and the Armenians, Shirvanshah
and Shahanshah and Master of all the East and West, Glory of
the World, Kingdom and Faith, Champion of the Messiah |
|
The daughter of Queen Tamar (1178-1213) she succeded her brother,
Giorgi IV Lasha.
She was leader of the nation in a period when it was attacked by Mongol
tribes and disintegrated into numerous petty principalities. Retreated
to Kutaisi when Tiflis was besieged by Jalal ud-din Shah of Khwarazmia,
and captured by the latter, 9th March 1226. Forced to accept
the sovereignty of the Mongol Khan in 1242, an annual tribute of 50,000
gold pieces. In 1224 she married
Muhammad Mughis ud-din Turkan Shah of Erzerum, who embraced Christianity
on his marriage. Her son, Davit VI Narin, succeded her as King of Georgia
- Imerati. Her daughter, Princess Thamar married Sultan Muhammad Ghias ud-din
Kaikhushru II of Konia. She lived (1195-1247). |
 |
1226-36
Regent
Dowager Queen
Blanche de Castilla of France
1240-52 Sovereign Countess of Valois
1248-52 (†) Regent of France |
|
When her
hunsband Louis invaded England after the death of
her cousin John to claim the crown in her right, only to find a
united nation against him, she established herself
at Calais and organized two fleets, one of which was commanded by Eustace
the Monk, and an army under Robert of Courtenay; but all her resolution
and energy were in vain. Although it would seem that her masterful temper
exercised a sensible influence upon her husband's gentler character, her
role during his reign (1223-1226) is not well known. He
left her as regent and guardian of his children. Of her twelve or
thirteen children, six had died, and King Louis IX
was only 12 years old. The situation was
critical, for the hard-won domains of the house of Capet seemed likely to
fall to pieces during a minority. She had to bear
the whole burden of affairs alone, to break up a league of the barons
(1226), and to repel the attack of the king of England (1230). But her
energy and firmness overcame all dangers. She remained
influential after her son took over the government in 1236. In 1248
she again became regent, during Louis IX's absence on the crusade, a
project which she had strongly opposed. In the disasters which followed
she maintained peace, while draining the land of men and money to aid her
son in the East. She was the third daughter of
Alfonso VIII, king of Castile, and of Eleanor of England, daughter of
Henry II, and lived (1187-1252). |
|
1228-(37)
Regent Dowager Empress
Maria de Courtenay of Constantinople (Turkey) |
|
Regent for Baudouin II de Courtenay, who succeeded his brother, Robert.
She reigned together with co-regents. The
Empire of Constantinople
was mainly based around the ancient city of Byzantine and parts of Greece,
but the City of Constantinople is now known as Istanbul. |
|
1253-61
(†) Regent Dowager Queen Plaisance de Antiochia of Cyprus
1257-61 (†) Regent of
the Kingdom of Jerusalem in
Acre (Israel) |
|
At the death of her husband,
Henri of Lusignan,
her son Hugh II was only a few months old ans she claimed the regency. The
High Court of Cyprus confirmed her in this position, but the Barons in the
mainland, in Akkon (what remained of the former Kingdom of Jerusalem)
demanded that she showed up herself before they would confirm her as
regent. Lord Jean d'Ibelin of Arsuf was bailliff in Jerusalem and she
contemplated marrying his son. In 1258 she tried to strenghten her
pssition and arrived in Tripoli with her son. The High Court of the
Kingdom assembled, and her brother, Boemond tried to be accepted as heir
to the throne of Cyprus in the abcense of,
grandson of Emperor Frederik II and
Queen Maria of Jerusalem, but this was rejected and the royal family was
drawn into the civil war between the Genoese,
Venetians, Hospitallers and the Templars. A majority was
in favour of Plaisance's regency, and she returned to Cyprus after haveing
reappointed Jean d'Ilbelin as bailliff. She was
daughter of Boemond V of Antiochiaia and Lucienne
de Cacammo-Segni,
and lived (1236-61) |
|
 |
1253-54 Keeper and
Governor Queen Eleanor de Provence
of England (06.08-29.05) |
|
She was
appointed to "keep and govern the realm of England and the lands of
Wales and Ireland", with the counsel of Richard, earl of Cornwall, when
her husband since 1236, Henry III, was away in France to defend his
territories in Gascogne. She was adviced by a Council, but she was in
charge of the government, even when giving birth to a daughter in
November. Eleanor was very influential during her husband's reign. Her
determined resistance to
baronial reform and her key part in bringing about the fall of Simon de
Montfort's government invite new appraisal. After her husband's
death in 1271 she was the only person in the realm anointed to the royal
estate, she gave her consent to the breaking of the old seal and making
of the new and the declaration of the new king, Edward I's peace, but
she did not act as regent in the period until Edward returned to
England. As a widow she was in control of her
wast dowry in Amesbury. In 1286 she entered a convent, but was
still consulted by her son, Edward I, from time to time. She was daughter of Raymond Bergengar, count of Provence
and Beatrice of Province. Her sister Marguerite was
married to Louis IX of France, Sanchia to Richard, Earl of Cornwall and
the youngest Beatrice to Charles, Count d'Anjou. The youngest sister
inherited Province. Eleanor was mother of nine children of whom four survived to
adulthood. She lived (1217/23-91).
|
 |
1259-66
Regent Dowager Queen
Margrethe Sambiria Sprænghest of Denmark
1266-81 Lady of Estonia and Virland
|
|
Born as a Pommerian Princess, she was regent for her son Erik 5. Klipping
after the death of her husband, Kristoffer I. She fought against the
powerful Archbishop Jakob Erlandsen. In 1261 she and her son were taken
prisoner in Germany. The next year she returned together with Albrecht of
Braunshweig and Erlandsen left the country. She managed to persuade Pope
to accept the idea of female succession to the Danish throne, though not
to her daughters having succession-rights before male relatives in other
lines. Estonia was her dowry which she controlled from Lolland-Falster
another Dowry in the South of Denmark. She lived ca. (1230-81). |
|
1261-67 De Facto Ruler Queen Maria Laskarina
of Hungary in Croatia and Dalmatia |
| Married to King
Bela IV of Hungary (1235-70), sho used much of his reign trying to
curtail the power of the magnates and set out to recover the crown lands
his father had given to supporters. Confronted by the menace of the Mongol
invasion, he sent unheeded appeals to Pope Gregory IX and Holy
Roman Emperor Friedrich II, but he was defeated in 1241. Returning after
the withdrawal of the invaders, he repopulated the country by inviting
foreign colonization. Bela's long struggle with Ottocar II, king of
Bohemia, for Austria and Styria ended in defeat in 1260. His last years
were disturbed by the rebellion of his son, King Stephen V (1270-72),
who forced him to share the kingdom. Maria was involved in the struggle
and was de-facto ruler of parts of the kingdom. She was born as Princess
of Nicaea and (d. 1270). |
|
|
1263-64 (†) Regent Princess
Isabella of Cyprus |
|
When
Queen Plaisance of Cypern died in
1261 her son Hugo II was eight years old, at first Isabella's son was
appointed regent because the Supreme Court thought a man would be a
better regent than a woman, but in 1263 Isabella and her husband, Henri de Poitou of Antiochiaia (d. 1276 ), came to Cyprus
and the nobles paid homage to her as regent, but she died the following year. As
the younger daughter of King Hugo I Lusignan of Cypern and Alice de
Champagne-Blois she was Heriess Presumptive of Jerusalem,
since her mother
was the daughter and Heriess Presumptive of King Henri I of Jerusalem and
Princess Isabella d'Anjou of Jerusalem. Isabella's
oldest son, Hugo III,
was king of Cyprus (1235-84) and her daughter
,Marguerite
Titular-Princess of Antiochiaia and Lady of Tyros and lived (before
1244-1308) and married to Jean de Montfort, Lord of Tyros (d. 1289).
Isabella lived (ca. 1215-64).
|
|
1272-77
Regent Dowager Queen Elisabet Kumanac of Hungary
|
|
After the death of her husband
King István V (Stephen) of Hungary (1270-72) she was
regent for their son, László IV of Hungary (1272-90),
who was murdered.
He had been kidnapped at age ten from his
father's court by rebellious vassals. His minority
was an alternation of palace revolutions and civil wars, in which
she barely contrived to keep the upper hand. In
this milieu Ladislaus matured precociously and was poorly educated, which
greatly confined his personalities as rough and reckless. Her daughters Katalin
(Ca 1256-after 1314) was
married to king Stepan IV Dragutin of Serbia (d.
1316), Mária (ca 1257-1323)
was married to King Charles II of Naples and Sicily
- recognized as Queen in parts of the country 1290-92,
the third daughter was married to the Tsar of Bulgaria,
Erzsébet (1255-1326)
first married Zavis von Rosenberg zu Falkenstein
and secondly King Stepan Uros II Milutin of Serbia
and the youngst daughter Ágnes (ca 1260-ca
1281) was married to Emperor Andronikos II
Palaiologos of Byzantium. Queen Elizabeth
was daughter of Zayhan, a prince of the
Turkish Nomadic Cuman tribe, which had
been pushed into Hungary by the invasions of Chinghis-Khan,
and lived (1240-after 1290). |
 |
1274-1305
Queen Regnant Juana I of Navarra,
Countess of Champagne and Brie (Spain and France) |
| Also known as
Jeanne, and at the age of 13 she was married to king Philippe V of France (1268-1314), who
became king of Navarra by the right of his wife. She left him to reign in
Navarra and stayed in Champagne. Mother of 7 children.
Her
three surviving sons; Louis X of France, Philip V and Charles IV all
became kings of France and Navarra, and her only surviving daughter,
Isabelle, married king Edward II of England. She died under mysterious
circumstances; one chronicler even accused her husband of having killed
her. She lived (ca.
1271-1305). |
 |
1274-76
Regent Dowager Queen Blance d'Artois of Navarra and
the Counties Troyes and Meaux
1274-84 Regent of the
Counties of Champagne and Brie
(Spain and France) |
| After the death
of her husband Henri I (1270-74), she was regent for daughter Juana I,
and various
powers, both foreign and Navarrese, sought to take advantage of the
minority of the heiress and the weakness of the female regent. She left
the administration of Navarra to King Philippe III of England after her
marriage to Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (1245-1296), brother of Edward I of England, and they
administered Champagne until Juana came of age in 1284.
She was the daughter of count Robert I of Artois, and the
granddaughter of Louis VIII of France, mother of four
children with her second husband, and lived
(ca.
1248 -1300). |
|
1276-1309
Sub-Queen Helena d'Anjou of Dioclea (Montenegro) |
|
Succeeded
Stephen and followed by Stephen Uros III of Decani |
|
1280-84
Regent Dowager Queen
Ingeborg Eriksdatter of Norway |
| After the death
of her husband, Magnus the Lawmaker (1238-63-80) she acted as regent for
her son, Erik II (1268-99). She was the first Norwegian Queen to be
crowned and was daughter of King Erik IV Plogpenning of Denmark and Jutta
of Sachsen, and lived (1244-87). |
|
1283-1308
Titular Empress Catherina I de Courtenay of Constantinople (Turkey),
Dame of Courtenay (France)
Also Sovereign Princess of Achaia (Albaina) and Dame de
Courtenay (France) |
|
Daughter of Philippe,
the son of Emperor Boudewijn
of the Latin Empire in the ancient city of Byzanz and parts of Greece. He
was deposed 1261. Plans were made to marry her to Freiderich of
Sicilia, but nothing came of it. The Pope interfered, there were also
attempts to have her marry the heir to the Byzantine throne, Michael IX,
but she declined because the contract was not lucrative enough for her,
and in 1302
she
married Count
Charles I de
Valois
(1270-1325), who was
planning a cruzade against Byzantine when she died.
Mother of three daughters
and a son, who died just before herself, and she was therefore succeeded
by the oldest,
Catherine II, as
heir to the Latin Empire of the East.
Catharine I lived (1274-1308). |
|
1283-85
Governor Queen Constance Hohenstaufen of Sicily
(Italy) |
| In 1262 her
father, Manfredo Hohenstaufen, arranged her
marriage to Infant Pedro of Aragon. Manfredo lost his crown and life in
1266, and she was his heir - though the throne remained in the hands of
Charles of Anjou, a brother of King Louis IX of France. Her husband gave
her in her own right the title of Queen, before succeeding to the throne
in 1276. In 1282 her husband - now Pedro III made a triumphant entry into
Messina, and in the following year she left for Sicilia, and it was
announced that the Infant Jaime would be heir to Sicily as the elder son,
Alfonso, would remain heir of Aragon. In the case of Jaime's minority,
she would act as regent. Pedro III had to depart Sicily, leaving
her in charge. In November 1285 Constance's husband died at Villafranca de Penadres where he was buried, and the following year Jaime
was crowned - though both she and her son were excommunicated by the pope.
When in 1291 her eldest son, Alfonso III, died childless Jaime succeeded
him, remaining king of both countries until 1296 when Fadrique,
Constance's third son, became King of Sicilia. She returned to Spain
and lived (1249-1301). |
|
1284-85
Empress Regnant
Theodora Comnenus of Trebizond (Turkey) |
|
Trabzon is a city and coastal region in northeastern Turkey, by the
Black Sea; west-southwest of Georgia. At the Sack of Byzantium in 1204,
and subsequent establishment of the Latin Empire by marauding Crusaders, a
few members of the Imperial family escaped and established this state.
Owing to a combination of the typical Byzantine policy of extensive
marriage alliances together with notable difficulty of access by potential
invaders, Trapezoid was generally ignored or bypassed by the great
conquerors of the era; Seljuqs and Mongols mainly. Theodora was daughter
of Manuel I (1238-63) and came on the throne after
3 of her brothers, before she was deposed.
|
|
1284 Titular Queen Irene Palailologina de Monferrato of
Thessalonica (Greece)
|
|
Her father,
Guglielmo VIII
of Monferrato in Italy gave up the title of titular king
upon her marriage
to Emperor Andronikos
II. Palailogos of
Byzantine. Her father was
Marchese di Montferrato (1253-92), titular King of Saloniki (1262-84),
Signore d'Ivrea (1266-67) and
(1278-92), Signore di Milano (1278-82),
and died in prison Alexandria
in 1292. Her mother was
his third wife, Beatriz of Castilla.
She lived (1274-1317). |
|
1286-90
Queen Regnant Margaret of Scotland and The Orkney Islands (United
Kingdom) |
| With the sudden
death of Alexander III, Scotland was left without an obvious heir to the
throne. At first, Margaret's step-grandmother Yolande declared that she
was pregnant with a legitimate heir, countering the claims of two powerful
nobles, Robert Bruce (grandfather of the future Robert I of Scotland) and
John Balliol, each of whom wanted the throne for himself. When it was
discovered that Yolande was not really pregnant, it was decided that
Alexander's only surviving descendant, his three-year-old granddaughter
Margaret, would ascend to the throne under a regency of six nobles.
She was the daughter of Eric II of Norway and his wife Margaret,
daughter of Alexander III, who died in childbirth. Fearing that a young
and powerless queen would invite civil war between the rival claimants to
the throne, the Scottish nobles appealed to Edward I of England to
intervene. Eager to extend his own influence in Scotland, Edward arranged
the Treaty of Birgham in 1290, by which Margaret
was betrothed to his son the Prince of Wales (later Edward II of England),
in return for an assurance of Scottish independence though he would serve
as ward for the young queen. She set sail from
Norway to her new realm in the autumn of 1290, but took ill during the
stormy voyage and died soon after reaching the Orkney Islands around
September 26. With her death, the House of Dunkeld came to an end. Her
corpse was taken to Bergen and buried beside her mother in the stone wall,
on the north side of the choir, in Christ's Kirk at Bergen.
In the two years that followed, Scotland was left with 14 claimants to the
throne. Once again, Edward was asked to intercede. His efforts to exert
his own authority over the country eventually led to the First Scottish
War of Independence. Also known as "The
Maid of Norway", she lived (1283-90). |
 |
1286-92
Regent Dowager Queen
Agnes af Brandenburg of Denmark
1286 Royal County Sheriff of Lolland-Falster |
|
Regent for son Erik IV Menved
after her husband, Erik V was assassinated. Her rule was
challenged by several magnates who had been found guilty
- probably unjustly-
of killing her husband and had been outlawed in
1287. These outlaws, who were aided by the Norwegian king and soon joined
by Duke Valdemar of Schleswig and the new archbishop, Jens Grand, raided
the Danish coasts. Erik defeated Valdemar and reached an agreement with
Norway in 1295, but he continued to feud with Grand, whose imprisonment
led to a papal interdict of the king in 1297. Erik's settlement with Pope
Boniface VIII (1303) enabled him to resume Danish conquests along the
northern border of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1304 the emperor Albert I
ceded to Denmark all lands north of the Elbe River. Lolland-Falster
was her dowry which she administered as a royal fief, being in charge of
aspects of the local administration. She later married Count Gerhard II of
Holsten and became mother of another son, Johann, she
lived (1258-1304). |
|
1290-1300
Co-Regent Queen Catherina Tomasina Morosini of Hungary |
|
Her husband István
the Posthumous of Hungary,
Duke of
Slavonia (1236-71)
who died as a Patrician in Venezia,
was son of King Endre II of Hungary and Croatia (1205-35). She
became co-ruler when her son, Endre
III (1265-90-1301),
came to the throne after the son of his third cousin, Lázsló IV was
murdered during the civil wars in the country. She was daughter
Micaele Sbarra Morosini, and
Patrician of Venice
of lived (1240-1300). |
|
1290-92 Reigning in Dissidence Queen Mária of Hungary
|
|
She reigned in dissidence to King Endre III, after the her
brother Lázsló IV was murdered,when she was
acknowledged as kiralyno (female king)
by the Dalmatian regions, with the provison that
her son Carlo Martello (Martell Károly)
was to be elected king in her place.
She was daughter of King V. István and Elisabeth, who was regent of the
kingdom 1272-77, and married to the future King Carlo
II of Napoli and Sicily.
She lived (ca. 1257-1323). |
|
1295-1301
and 1312-21
(†)
Regent Dowager Queen María de
Alfonso de Molina of Castilla (Spain) |
|
Lady de Molina in her own right, she was widow
of Sancho IV. As regent for her son, Ferdinando IV, she defended his
throne against several pretenders, who were at various times supported by
France, Aragón, Portugal, Navarre, and Granada. 11 years
later, after Ferdinando’s death, she acted as a guardian to her
grandson Alfonso XI, while the regency was contested among his other
relatives. |
|
1303-17 De facto Reigning Empress Violante
Aleramo of Thessalonica (Greece)
1305-06 Sovereign Margravine of Monferrato (Italy) |
|
She married Emperor Andronikos II Palailogos, later Emperor of
Constantinople, as his second wife in 1284 and became known as Yolanda,
and was given Thessalonica as her dowry. She was in disupte with her
husband over the future of their sons, as his sons by the first marriage
were named as heirs. She wanted to have the Empire carved out in seperate
principalities for each of the thre sons. They grew further apart when her
husband married their five year old daughter to King Simonis Milutin of
Serbia who were in his 50s and forced their oldest son to marry the
daughter of his closest advisor even though she was of low nobility. In
1303 she packed her backs and took up residence in Thessalonica, which
considered her own property. 1309 an attempt of reconciliation failed and
she died in her territory in 1317. 1305 she had inherited Monferrato from
her brother and the folowing year she passed the title to her second son,
Theodore, who spend the rest of his life in Italy. She was mother of
seven chldren. |
 |
1306
Regent Dowager Queen
Ryksa Elzbieta of Bohemia
(Czech Republic)
1306-35 Lady of Königsgrätz |
|
Elisabeth-Richsa
had been politically influential 1303-05 during the reign of her
husband, Wencelas II of Bohemia,
Hungary and Poland, and regent from August till October, when she
married Rudolf III of Austria, who was titular king of Bohemia, Hungary
and Poland until his death one year later, but in reality Hungary and
Bohemia was in an interregnum. Elzbieta married her third husband,
Heinrich zur Lippe in 1315 and they continued as leaders of the Bohemian
nobility against Queen Elisabeth. After his death in 1329, she withdrew
to the Convent
of
Aula Sankt Mariæ in Brünn. She was daughter of King Przemyl II of Poland
and Richeza, daughter of King Valdemar of Denmark, and lived
(1288-1335). |
|
1352-54
Regent Princess Constanza of Sicily (Italy) |
|
The unmarried daughter of Pietro II of Sicily (1337-42) and Elisabeth of
Carinthia of Tirol, she was regent during the reign of her brother Luigi,
who was king 1342-55. Her sister Eufemia was regent for their other
brother, Federico from 1355. Constanza lived (1324-55). |
|
1355-57
Regent Princess Eufemia
of Sicilia (Sicily) (Italy) |
|
The unmarried daughter of Pietro II (1337-42) she was regent for brother, Federico III, Duke of Athens and
Neopatras (1341-55-77), who was succeeded by daughter Maria
in 1377. Their sister, Constanza had acted as
regent 1552-54 for their older brother King Luigi. Eufemia lived (1330-59). |
|
1365-68
In Charge of the Government Queen Leonor de Gandia
de Aragón of Cyprus, Titular Queen Consort of Jerusalem (Israel)
1369 Co-Regent of Cyrus |
|
Her husband,
Pierre I de Lusignan, who had been away on various expeditions since 1365,
returned to Cypern in 1368, he
retaliated on the nobles who had been her favourites
during his absence, and behaved with such haughtiness and tyranny
that he alienated the sympathy of his barons and even of his brothers. In
January 1369 he was assassinated by a body of nobles with the concurrence
of his brothers. His son Pierre, a boy of thirteen, succeeded to the
throne under the regency of his uncles, Jean, prince of Antiochia, and
Jacques, constable of Cyprus.
She quarreled
with both of them, who had both been concerned in the assassination
of her husband. She first welcomed the invaders as
a means of avenging the murder of her husband, but when she saw that the
Genoese were bent on destroying her son's kingdom, she joined the other
royalists and took refuge with Jacques, the constable of Cyprus, in the
Kyrenia castle. It was not until 1374 the her son was
reinstated on the throne. She lived (1333-1416) |
 |
1370-75, 1376-77 and 1378-79
Regent Dowager Queen Elżbieta Łokietkówna of Poland and Dalmatia |
|
As regent
Queen Elisabeth or Erszébet had the official title Regina Senioris
Poloniae and 1370-80, she was in fact joint ruler with her son,
Louis d'Anjou of
Hungary,
and officially appointed regent during
his stays in Hungary
after he inherited the kingdom after her brother, Kazimierz III of Poland
(1309-33-70). She had already been very influential since he succeeded her
husband,
Karol Robert,
as king of Hungary in 1342. She had gained the upper hand at court and for
several decades she acted as a sort of co-regent, and even the Hungarian
barons were afraid of her. She was a fanatical catholic and founded
countless religious churches and convents. Of her 7 children, the second
son, Andreas married his cousin, Joanna I of Napoli and was Duke of
Calabria until he was murdered by his wife in 1345. She
lived (1305-80).
|
|
1375-1403 Titular Queen Isabel of
Mallorca and Ibiza (Spain) |
|
The daughter of King Jaime III of Mallorca etc.
(1315-24-49),
who was killed fighting against the king of Aragon
who had retaken Majorca during the 1340s, labeling
him as "a contumacious vassal". She succeeded her
brother, Jaime VI (husband of Queen Joanna I of Napoli
(1326-82)) to the titular dignity
and lived in her family's possessions in Southern France at Chateau
de Gallargues. Her first husband was Margrave
Giovanni II of Montferrato (1313-72)
and the second Konrad von Reischach zu Jungnau. She
was mother of four sons (three of whom became Margraves of Monferrato) and
a daughter, and lived (1337-after 1403). |
 |
1376-87
Regent Dowager Queen Margrethe I Valdemarsdatter of Denmark and Norway
1387-1412 Reigning Queen (Master and Mistress) of Denmark, Sweden and
Norway |
|
She was the youngest daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark. At the age
of ten she was married to King Håkon VI of Norway, son
of Magnus II of Sweden and Norway. Their son Olaf, born in 1370, was
elected King Olaf II of Denmark in 1375 at the death of Margrethe's
father, with her as regent. After her husband's death shortly after her
son also became Olaf IV of Norway. After Olaf's death in 1387 the
Estates in Denmark elected her as "Full-mighty Master and Mistress of
All the Real" for
life. The following year she became regent of Norway. In 1388 the
Swedish nobility dethroned their king Albrecht of Mecklenburg, and
elected Margrethe as their reigning Queen instead. She chose her sister's daughter's son
Erik of Pommerania as her successor, who beacme king in 1389, but Margrethe remained the real ruler.
She founded the union of Kalmer which in the case of Sweden
would last until 1523, and with Norway until 1814. In 1410, Margrethe tried to reinstate Danish overlordship over Schleswig,
which caused a war with the Counts in Holstein. She traveled to the
conflict area, and died there in 1412. She lived (1353-1412). |
 |
1377-1402 Queen Regnant Maria of
Sicilia
(Sicily) (Italy)
1377-79 Duchess of Athens and
Neopatria and Titular Queen of Jerusalem |
| At
the age of 15 she succeeded her father, King Federico with Artale of
Alagona as regent. 1379-88 she was in-exile in Sardegna because of civil
war in Sicily. In 1390 she married Martin the Younger of
Aragon and two years later they returned together with his father, Martin the Old,
King of Aragon, and
Maria received the crown by the Sicilian Barons.
As king and Queen they used the titluatures; Nos, D.Martin, e duenya Marya, per la gracia di Dios, roy e reyna de Ssicilia, e
de los ducados de Athenes e de Neopatria duque e duquessa, e
nos infante don Martin, del mult alto D. Pedro, de buena memoria, roy d'Aragon
fillo, e
per la gracia di Dios duque de Monblanc, Conte de Luna e
senyor del marquesado e de la ciutat de Sagorbe,
governador general per lo mult alt senior D.Jean, rey d'Aragon, ermano e senyor
nostro muyt car, en tut sus regnos e terras,
coadjutor de la dicha reyna en lo regimento del regno e ducados sopredichos, e
padre e legitimo administrador del dicho rey. She died
without a heir, and lived (1361-1402).
|
|
1381-86 Politically
Influential Queen Margherita
d'Angiò-Durazzo
of Napoli (Italy)
1386-1400 Regent Dowager Queen |
|
She was very influential during her husband and nephew Carlo III Durazzo's
reign. He succeeded her father, Andreas of Hungary, as king and was also king of Hungary 1386. He was
killed same year and she took over the government in the name of her son Ladislao di Durazzo
(1386-1414) who was later succeeded by his daughter,
Giovanna II. Margherita was daughter of Duke Carlo di Durazzo
and the former heir to the
throne of Napels, Princess Maria of Napoli
(1328-66) and her sister
Giovanna, was Duchess of Durazzo
1348-87. She ived
(1347-1412). |
 |
1382-85
and 1386-95
Queen
Regnant Maria
of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia,
Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria
and Cumania,
Bulgaria |
|
Mária
was
crowned as
rex Hungariæ,
and
was the second
of three daughters of Louis I the Great of Hungary from the House of
Angevin (Anjou). Mary became Queen of Hungary after her father's death in 1382 (her elder
sister Catherine died four years earlier). The country was ruled by her
mother and the Palatine Miklós Garai. Many noblemen of Hungary were
opposed to them and they helped Charles of Durazzo (Charles III of Naples,
Charles II of Hungary) to become King of Hungary in 1385. Sigismund to
whom she was betrothed rescued her from captivity. Sigismund took revenge
on the murderers of her mother. From 1387 officially Maria and her husband
were joint rulers of Hungary but in fact he ruled alone. In 1410 Sigismund
was elected Holy Roman Emperor, two years after she married Barbara Cilli,
and their daughter, Elisabeth and her husband became Queen of King of
Bohemia and Croatia-Dalmatia in 1437. She lived ca. 1372-95). |
|
1382-86
Regent Dowager Queen Elisabeth of
Bosnia of Hungary |
|
She
assumed the regency without difficulty after her husband's death, but the
political elite was divided over who Maria should marry, She worked for a
marriage between her daughter and Louis d'Orléans of France. The Polish
nobles insisted that their ruler should reside permanently in their
kingdom. At first Elisabeth considered taking up arms, but in March 1383
she accepted the accession of her younger daughter, Hedwig (Jadwiga) as
Queen of Poland. In August 1384 some of the Hungarian nobles renounced
their allegiance to her. She was under threat from both Sigismund of
Luxembourg - whom her husband had designated as Maria's husband - and
Carlos d'Anjou of Durazzo-Napoli, who was offered the Hungarian throne.
Elisabeth was forced to abandon the idea of the French marriage and
accepted that Maria married Sigismund, but it was too late in December
1385 Maria abdicated and Carlos became king, but in February the following
year he was deposed, he was wounded and died. Elisabeth again seized the
reigns of power and immediately rewarded those who had been loyal to her
daughter. In April 1386, king Wenceslas of Bohemia brought Sigimund to
Hungary, and by the Treaty of Györ the queens were forced to accept him as
prince consort. A riot had broken out in Slavonia and Elisabeth thought
that the presence of Maria would calm the situation. She was wrong, her
small army was slaughtered, and the queens were imprisoned at the bishop
of Zagreb's castle, and this marked her fall from power, and in January
1387 Elisabeth was strangled in her prison. Elisabeth was daughter of
Stefan Kotromanić, Ban of Bosnia and Elżbieta of Poland, and lived
(ca.1340-87). |
 |
1383-85 Queen Beatriz of Portugal |
|
Also known as Brites, she
was married to king Juan of Castilla, and after her father, Fernando I's death, she
claimed the throne of Portugal, but was almost immediately deposed by
the Còrtes, who chose her uncle as king. Her son
Fernando I of Aragon and Sicily, who were married to Leonor Urraca de
Castilla, Countess de Albuquerque. Beatriz lived (1372-ca. 1410). |
 |
1383
Regent
Dowager Queen
Leonor Tellez de Menezes of Portugal |
|
First married to João Lourenço da Cunha, Lord of
Pombeiro and in 1371 she married king Fernando I, which caused a war with
Castilla as her husband broke an engagement with Enrique II's daughter.
During the later years of their marriage, her
husband was very ill and had to withdraw from the government, which was
left in her hands. After his death, she was appointed regent for their daughter,
Beatriz, who was married to Juan I of Castilla. She was very unpopular
because of her pro-Castilian politics, and people did not trust the
promises of autonomy, and as she gave her
lover, Juan Fernández
Andeiro, Count von Ourém, much power,
she was deposed after only six weeks by a riot of the
artisans of Lisbon in favour of her husband's illegitimate half-brother,
João de Avis.
Mother of one son
by her first husband and two by her second, who both died as infants.
She was daughter
of Martim Afonso Telo de Menezes and Aldonça
Anes de Vasconcelos, and
lived
(ca. 1350-86). |
 |
1384-99
Queen Jadwiga of
Poland and of the
Lands of Crakow, Sandomierz, Sieradz, Leczyca, Kujawia, and
Hereditary Lady of Pomerania
|
|
Her official title was “Hedvig Rex Poloniæ”,
and she
was the youngest daughter of
king Louis of Hungary and Poland
and Elizabeth of Bosnia. She was brought up at the royal court in Buda. In 1378 she was
betrothed to Wilhelm von Habsburg and spent about a year at the imperial court in
Vienna. She was well educated and polyglot, interested in arts, music, science and
court life, and was also known for her piety.When
her father died in 1382, the Hungarian throne was inherited
by her older sister, Maria. The lords of Lesser Poland did not want
to continue the personal union with Hungary and therefore
chose her as their new monarch.
After two years of negotiations with Jadwiga's mother and a civil war in Greater
Poland (1383), she finally came to Kraków and was crowned King of
Poland..
As a monarch, she probably had little actual power,
but she
was actively engaged in her kingdom's political, diplomatic and cultural life.
In 1387 she led a military expedition to reconquer the Duchy of Halych and in
1390 she began to correspond with the Teutonic Knights. She gave much of her wealth to charity,
including foundation of hospitals, she founded
the bishopric in Vilnius and resored the Academy of Kraków, since
called Jagiellonian University in honor of her and her husband.
Her engagement
to
Wilhelm of Habsburg was broken off, and instead she
married Jagiello, Gand Duke
of Lithuania, in order to unite Poland
and Lithuania and to convert the Lithuanians to Christianity.
She was said to be a blonde, blue-eyed beauty, and an exhumation performed in
1976 showed that she was unusually tall for a medieval woman (180 cm).
Her only daughter, Elizabeth Bonifacia,
died one month after her birth, and Jadwiga died soon after. She
lived (1374–99). |
 |
1392-1419
Regent Queen Isabeau Baverie of France
1403-04 President of the Council of State |
| In 1392 her
husband, Charles IV had the first of 44 fits of insanity, which were to
last until his death in 1422, and would make him unable to reign.
Isabeau was given large lands in Normandie, around Paris and in
Champagne as a security, and officially declared regent during the
"absence" of her husband. From 1395 she actively engaged in
politics, and arranged the marriage of her children in very young age.
Her advisors, the brother's of her husband, Philippe de Burgundy and d'Orléans, engaged in a fierce
power struggle, which almost resulted
in a civil war. In 1402 she took over the control of the taxation and at
26.4.1403 she became President of the Council of State and took over the
management of the Government. One year later Louis died, and she reigned
jointly with Philippe. After the birth of the last child, she removed
totally from Charles, who became more and more violent and dangerous. In
1407 her position was reaffirmed in an official act, but her husband's
cousin, Jean placed his followers in all the central positions. 1411-12 a civil
war broke out between the Burundians and Orleans. In 1415 her 18 year
old son, Louis, took over the government, and soon after the English
attacked France. After Louis' death, his brother, Jean (Married to
Jakobäa of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland) was regent until his death two years
later. She then was in charge again, and appointed Jean without Fear as Governor
of the French Kingdom. In 1419 and 1420 she met the English king, Henry
V and negotiated a peace-treaty. After the death of her husband, she
lived alone, plagued by rheumatism and immobile because of her heavy
weight. Originally named Elisabeth von Bayern, she was mother of 12 children, and
lived (1370-1435). |
 |
1395-98
Reigning Dowager Queen Jelena Gruba of Rama (Bosnia) |
|
Also known as Helena the Cruel, she was the widow of Stjepan Dasiba
(1391-95) and was succeeded by Stjepan Ostoja (1398-1404 and 1418-21).
|
 |
1395-97 and
1398-99 Regent-Governor
Queen
Maria López de Luna of Aragón (Spain) |
|
Her husband, King Martin
I was king of Aragon
(1395-1410) and in 1409 he succeeded his son as
King of Sicily, where
he reigned one year. Their son, Martin the Younger's wife Maria of Sicily
inherited the kingdom in 1377 but
1379-88 she was in-exile in Sardegna
because of civil war in Sicily. In 1390 they married and
two years later they returned together with Martin I.
After her death in 1402 Martin the Younger married the later Queen Blanca
II of Navarre (1391-1425-42). Maria succeeded her father
Lope de Luna
as Countess of Luna. (d.
1406).
|
 |
1313 and 1316-31
Sovereign Princess Mathilde d' Avesnes-Hainault
of Achaia and Morea, Queen
of
Thessalonica (Greece) |
|
Also known as Mahaut, she was
daughter of Florence d'Avernes-Hainault, who had succeeded her mother,
Isabelle de Villehardouin as titular-prince. First
married to Guido II de la Roche, Duke of Athens,
Lord de Theben (d. 1308).
In 1313 she was deposed by her second
husband,
Louis de Bourgogne, titular King of Thessaloniki
until his death in 1316. Two years later she married
Jean d'Anjou-Gravina (Prince Giovanni of Naploli
(1294-1336)) until their
divorce in 1321. Her fourth husband was Hugo de La Palice,
who was also Co-Prince
of Achaia and Morea.
Her sister, Marguerite, was Lady of Karytena
from 1311. Mathildee lived
(1293-1331). |
 |
1316
Regent Dowager Queen Clemence d'Anjou-Napoli of France |
|
When her husband Louis X (1289-1314-16)
died she was pregnant, making it impossible to know Louis's
successor until the time his child was born. If the child were a son, he
would succeed Louis as king: had the child been a daughter, Louis would
have been succeeded by his brother Philip V. (John I's half-sister Jeanne,
as a female, could not succeed to the throne of France; she did, however,
retain rights in the succession of Navarre). She was joint
regent with her brother-in-law Philip for the five months remaining
until the birth her child, who turned out to be
male. But Jean I, only lived
five days was succeeded by his uncle
Philippe V. |
|
1320-54
Politically Influential
Empress Eirene Palaiologina Asenina Cantacuzene of
the Byzantine Empire
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey)
1348 In charge of the Administration and Defence of Constantinople |
|
1318 she married Jean
Cantacuzene, Lord of Kalliopolis in Thrace. In 1320 he left her behind in
the city of Didymoteichou while he took part in Andronikos III Palaiologos's
rebellion against his grandfather, Andronikos II. She held the ford throuhout
the whole civil war wich lasted until 1238, when Andronikos II abdicated. Also
in charge of the defence of the city during the civil war against Anna of
Savoia over the regency over Anna's infant son from 1341-43. Jean was
problaimed Emperor and crowned in 1346 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who had
taken side against Anna and the Patriarch of Constantinople, and the following
year the new patriarch crowned Jean and Eirene. 1348 she was left in charge of
Constantinople while her husband went on campagn against the Bulgarians. Six
years later he abdicated and they both joined a convent. She was granddaughter
of Tsar Jean II Asen of Bulgaria and (d. 1361/79). |
|
1320-39
Politically Influential Queen Jadwiga Kaliska of Poland |
|
She was influential during the reign of her
husband
king Władysław I Łokietek
and her son
Kazimierz III the Great.
Her daughters were
Elżbieta Łokietkówna,
Queen of Hungary
and
Regent
of Poland and Kunegunda, Princess regent of Świdnica.
Jadwiga was daughter of Prince
Bolesław the Devout
of Małopolska
(Poland Minor)
and
the Hungarian
Princess Jolenta-Helena,
and lived
(1266-1339).
|
 |
1326-27
Regent
Dowager Queen Isabella de France of England |
|
When her
brother, King Charles IV of France, seized the French possessions of her
husband, Edward II in 1325, she returned to France and gathered an
army to oppose her estranged husband, who was probably homosexual and
neglected her in favour of his male favourites. In 1326 she landed with
her lover Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, at Suffolk with their
mercenary army. King Edward's few allies deserted him were killed, and
himself was captured and abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Edward III
of England. She and Roger Mortimer became regents for him. After he came
of age Mortimer was executed and she was allowed to retire to Castle
Rising in Norfolk where she enjoyed a comfortable retirement and made many
visits to her son's court. After her brother King Charles IV of France's
death, Edward III claimed throne of France - and thus began what is known
as the Hundred Years' War. Isabella was mother of four children, and lived
(1292-1358). |
 |
1328-49
Queen Regnant
Juana II Capet of Navarra and Pamplona
(Spain)
|
| Also Countess
d'Angoulême, she signed her laws with the title:
Nos, donna Johana, por la gracia de Dius reyna de Francia et de
Navarra, et de Jampayne et de Bria condesa
palaziana . Succeeded uncle, Charles IV, who had succeeded her father
in 1316. Married to Philippe d'Évreux
(1301-43), and daughter of
king Louis X the Hunchback of
France and Marguerite de Bourgogne, and lived (1312-49). |
 |
1330
Regent Queen Philippa de Hainault of England |
|
Her husband Edward III appointed her regent on many occasions when he
was absent on the Continent. When the Scots invaded England as far south
as Durham in1346, she raised an army, winning the battle of Neville's
Cross, and taking the Scottish King David II Bruce (d.1371) prisoner.
She was responsible for the introduction of weaving into England
and the patron of poets and musicians. She survived the Black
Death (1348) - but her daughter Joanna, en route to marry the Castilian
Prince Pedro the Cruel, was struck down and died. She was daughter of Count Guillaume III de d'Avesnes of Hainault and Holland
(d.1337) and Jeanne de Valois (d.1352). She had 11 children and lived
(1311-69). |
|
1330
Regent
Dowager Tsarina
Theodora Palailologina of Bulgaria |
|
After her husband, Tsar
Michael Shishman,was defeated and
killed by the Serbians, under Stephen Uros
III, at the battle of Velbflzhd (Kiustendil)
she assumed the regency for step-son,
Ivan Stepan Shishman,
who died in exile in Napoli.
She was soon deposed by her
husband's ex-wife Princess Ana Nead of Serbia. Theodora was daughter of
Micahél
IX Palaeologos,
co-emperor of Byzantium and
Rita of Armenia. |
 |
1330-31
Regent
Ex-Tsarina
Ana Neda of Bulgaria |
|
After her brother had
deposed her ex-husband, Michael III, she initially
reigned in the name of her son, czar Ivan Stephan,
until she was removed herself. Her brother, Stephen Uros III,
ruled Serbia and Bulgaria until 1355.
Ana Neda
was first engaged to Count
Charles de Valois, but
never married him. (d. after 1346).
|
 |
1340-47
Regent Dowager Empress Anna de Savoie of Constantinople
(Covering what is
now Greece and Turkey)
1350-65/66 De Facto
Ruler of Thessalonica (Greece) |
|
She was widow of Andronikos III (1296-1328-41) and governed for son Jean V
(1332-41—47-91)
jointly with the Patriarch of the Orthodox war. A civil war followed with
the pretender
Jean VI Kantakuzenos (1347-54)
who became emperor in 1347 when her son was deposed. She lived in
Constantinople until 1350 when she moved to Thessalonica which she ruled
as her own portion of the empire until her death. She
lived (1306-65/66).
|
|
1340-41
Empress Regnant Eirene
Palailologina
of Trebizond (Turkey) |
|
Also known as Irene Palaeologina, she was the
illegitimate daughter of Andronikos III Palailogos and married Emperor
Basileios II Komnenos of Trapezunt. They divorced in 1339
and when he died the
following year she succeeded him as ruler of the
Empire wich was established after the conquest of Constantinople by
the Fourth Crusade. Greek authority was maintained in three major
locations, at Nicaea, in Epirus and
at Trebizond. The latter started as
heir to the Comneni and a reasonable ambition of moving on to
Constantinople, but spent much of its existence in
vassalage to the Mongols and Turks who ruled the plateau behind it. The city is known as Trabzon today.
(d. 1341). |
|
1341 and 1341-42
Empress Regnant Anna Anachutu of Trebizond (Turkey) |
| She was daughter
of Alexius II Comnenus who ruled (1297-1330), followed by
her brother Andronicus III of Trebizond until 1332, his son Manuel II in
1332 and the seond brother, Basileios II Komnenos
1332-40, who was married to
Eirene
Palailologina,
who reigned as Empress 1341-42. |
 |
1343-82
Queen Regnant Giovanna I
d'Angiò
of Napoli and Sicilia and Sardegna,
Sovereign Duchess
of Pouilles and Calabre,
Princess of Capua,
Sovereign Countess
of Province, Forcalquier and Piémont (Italy and France)
1374-76 Princess of Achaia and Baroness of Vostitsa
(Greece) and
Titular Queen of Jerusalem |
| Also known as
Joan or Johanna of Napels, Jeanne
d'Anjou or Juanna. At the age of 17 she was crowned by her Grandfather,
Roberto d’Anjou, and inherited a flourishing kingdom, however tormented by
dynastic troubles. In 1342 Giovanna married Andrea of Hungary, who died
two years later in consequence of a conspiracy, to which perhaps the Queen
herself participated in. Her brother-in-law took his revenge invading
Naples. In 1346 she had married her cousin Luigi d’Anjou of Taranto.
Because of the invasion she flew to Avignon in Province, in 1347 she sold
it to Pope Clemente VI who supported her as an exchange to hold back
the Hungarian expansion in Italy. After the death of her second
husband, Giovanna got married with Juan of Aragon, who died very soon in
consequence of an illness. Then in the same year she married a
skilful captain, Otto of Braunschweig, to better defend her reign. She
didn’t have any heir and this caused succession problems. Pope Urbano VI
excommunicated her because she had backed up the Anti-Pope Clemente VII.
Her cousin, Carlo of Durazzo of Taranto, invaded her reign also because
she had appointed as her successor Louis I d’Anjou, brother of the King of
France. Giovanna fell prisoner and Carlo imprisoned her in Muro Lucano, a
small town in Southern Italy, and had her strangled
in 1383. She lived (1343-83). |
|
1344 Regent Dowager Queen
Maria of the Armenian Kingdom
of Cilicia (Lesser Armenia)
(Syria and Turkey)
1363-73 Politically Active |
|
After Constantine IV of Armenia, the first Latin king of the Armenian
Kingdom of Cilicia was killed in an uprising in 1344 after two years in
office, she took over the regency. The new king was a distant cousin, Constantine V
of Armenia, who died of natural causes in 1362. She then married
Constantine VI another distant cousin, who formed an alliance with Peter I
of Cyprus, offering him the port and castle of Corycus. On Peter's death
in 1369, Constantine looked for a treaty with the Sultan of Cairo. The
barons were unhappy with this policy, fearing annexation by the Sultan,
and in 1373 Constantine was murdered. The year before she had sent a
letter to
Pope Gregory XI requesting military help against the Moslems.
After her husband's death, the Pope
urged her to marry Otto of Braunschweig.
She was daughter of Jeanne
of Anjou, Princess of Tarent and Oshin Korikos (or Corycos), who was
regent of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1320-1329 during king Leo
V's minority. He was rumoured to have poisoned King Oshin and was probably
responsible for the deaths of Leo's father, Oshin's sister Isabella of
Armenia and two of her sons. He and his daughter, Alice was assassinated
in 1329 at the behest of her husband Leo V. |
 |
Around
1400-42 Titular Queen Yolande de Aragón of Sicily,
Napoli, Jerusalem, and
Aragón (Italy)
1417 Regent Dowager Duchess of Anjou and Province (France)
1424-27 Presiding over the Estates General of Anjou and Province |
| Daughter
of Juan I, king of Aragón, she was initially called Violenta. Her father
was succeeded by Martin as king of Aragón. Her marriage to Louis II of
Anjou in 1400, who spent much of his life fighting in Italy for his
claim to the kingdom of Napoli. She was appointed guardian of her
son-in-law the Dauphin Charles who became Charles VII in 1422, but his
title was still challenged by the English and their Burgundian allies. In
this struggle, Yolande maneuvered to have the duke of Bretagne
break from an alliance with the English, and was responsible for the
Breton soldier, Arthur de Richemont, becoming the constable of France in
1425. Yolande's early and strong support of Jeanne d'Arc, when others
had reasonable doubts, suggests the Duchess' possible larger role in the
orchestrating the Maid's appearance on the scene. Her younger daughter, Yolanda, was married to the heir of Bretagne, her youngest
son René inherited Lorraine in 1431 and after her older son's Louis
III's death, and three years later he also became duke of Anjou and heir of
Sicily. She lived (1379-1442). |
 |
1406-18
Regent
Dowager Queen
Catalina de
Lancaster of Castilla (Spain) |
| Widow of
Enrique III (1379-90-1406) she was joint regent with Fernando de
Antequera for son, Juan II (1405-06-54).
She was an active regent, involved in financial matters, using her
influence in negotiation about matrimonies and peace-treaties in the most
important European nations.
She was daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Aquitaine
(1340-99) and his second wife, Constance, titular Queen of Castile
(1354-94) whose father, Pedro I of Castile and Leon (1350-69), was
succeeded by a brother. Catalina was considered heiress of Castilla and
married her half-cousin, King Enrique, and became the mother of 1 son
and 2 daughters, and lived (1374-1418). |
 |
1409-15
Vice-Reine Blanca de Navarra of Sicilia (Italy)
1425-41 Queen Regnant Blanca I Navarra,
Countess de Nemours and Everux
(Spain and France) |
| She was widow of
Martin I de Aragón (1392-1409). His first wife was Maria of Sicilia,
Duchess of Athens and he was succeeded by his father, Martin II
(1409-10). 1410-12 the throne of Aragon was vacant, until Federico I de
Aragon became king.
He was King Consort of Navarre in her right,
and after her death kept the government of Navarre in his own hands,
from the hands of their own son Carlos de Viana, the rightful heir of the
line of Navarrese kings.
after his death in 1479 her daughter, Leonor became Queen.
Blanca was daughter of Charles II
of Navarra, Comte d'Èvreux and Duc de Nemours, and lived
(1385-1441). |
 |
1412-14,
1416-19 and 1431-33 "Stadholder"
Queen Barbara von Cilli
in Hungary and Croatia
1437 "Stadholder" of Bohemia (Czech Republic) |
|
Her
husband, Sigmund of Luxemburg, king of Hungary and King of Germany from
1410, king of Bohemia from 1419 and Holy Roman Emperor since 1433. In
Hungary she took over the "regni curia" when he went to Italy, first
supported by her brother-in-law the Palatine Garai Miklós and two bishops.
1414-16 she went to Aachen for the coronation and participated in the
Council of Konstanz before she returned and took over the government in
Hungary. In the 1420's she followed her husband on his journeys during the
Empire and he included her in the decision-making. During her second
regency in Hungary she managed to maintain peace after a settlement was
reached with the Hussites. After her coronation as Queen of Bohemia in
1437 she also acted as regent here for a few moths. After her husband's
death the same year she was arrested by his successor, Albrecht II, but
was able to flee to Poland. After Albrecht's death in 1439 she returned
and settled at her dowry at Menik near Prague for the rest of her life.
She was daughter of Herman II, Count von Cilli and Countess Anna von
Schaunberg, mother
of one daughter, Elisabeth who inherited Hungary and Bohemia, and
lived (1390/95-1451). |
 |
1414-35 Queen Regnant Giovanna II d'Angiò
of Napoli (Italy) and
Titular
Queen of Jerusalem Cyprus and Armenia,
Sicily, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Ramia, Serbia, Galicia,
Lodomeria, Cumania and Bulgaria |
|
Also known as Jeanne d'Anjou, she succeeded her
brother, and two years later, her
second husband, Jean de Bourbon, was imprisoned after trying to
seize power. She adopted Alfonso V of Aragon as her heir in 1421. After
he tried to take over power in 1423, she transferred the adoption to
another relative; Louis III d'Anjou, who she had expelled in 1420 for trying to
seize power. After
Louis' death in 1434, his brother, Rene was appointed heir, but Alfonso
took power after her death. She lived (1373-1435). |
 |
1416-56
Governor
Queen Maria
of Aragón and Catalunya (Spain) |
|
She was regent in Aragón and Cataluña during her cousin and
husband, Alfonso V's warfare in
Italy, conquering Napoli from Giovanna II in 1442. He
was king of Aragon
(1416-58), Napoli (1435-58) and Sicily (1442-58) and spend most of the time in
Italy from around 1435.
She was daughter of king Enrique III of Aragon and Catherine of
Lancastre, had no children and lived (1401-58).
|
 |
1420
De-facto Regent Queen Philippa of England of Sweden
1423-25 Regent of Denmark (August-May) |
|
She had big parts of Sweden as her dowry and she acted as her husband,
Erik VII of Pmerrania's
representative in the country, and she spend much of her time here. During his stay abroad from 1423 she was
Guardian of the Realm
in Denmark and among others made a treaty with some members of
the North-German Confederation of socalled Hanse-States about the walidity of the coin-system. In 1428 she successfully organized the defence of Copenhagen
against the attacking Hanse-Cities. No
children She lived (1394-1430).
|
 |
1422-28
Guardian Dowager Queen Catherine de
Valois of England |
|
Her husband,
Henry VI died suddenly in 1422 and she was effectively exiled from court,
suspicion falling on her nationality, and passed over as regent for her
son Henry V by her brothers-in-law and kept away from her son. She entered
a relationship and later married Owen Tudor, a Welsh courtier, who would
become the founding father of the Tudor dynasty. Of their five children,
two sons, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond and Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of
Bedford, were to play an important role in the future of the English
monarchy. She was daughter of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau de
Bavière, and lived (1401-37). |
 |
1437-40
Queen Elisabeth von
Luxemburg of Bohemia and of Croatia-Dalmatia, Soverign Duchess of
Luxembourg
1439-1440 De-facto Regent of Hungary (27.10-29.07) |
|
Known
in Hungarian as Luxemburgi Erzsébet királyné, she was daughter of
Sigismund of Luxembourg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who was joint
regent and successor of his first wife, Queen Maria d'Anjou of Hungary.
Her mother was Barbara Cilli. After his death in 1437, the Hungarian
Estates recognized her as
sovereign
or Lady of the Land (Landesherrin), which pawed the
way for her first husband, Albert von Habsburg's election as king of
Hungary. After his death in 1439, she wanted to secure the throne for the
unborn child. This would have meant that the reins of government would
have been in her hands, but this the estates would not accept, and they
offered the crown to Wladislas II Jagiello of Poland. In February, her son
Lászlo was born and on 15 May, she had him crowned. However, the Estates
declared that this had happened against the will of the people and in
June, they invalidated her son's coronation. Elisabeth had secured the
holy Stephan-Crown and Wladislas had to be crowned with another crown. A
civil war followed among her supporters and those of the Polish king.
Lászlo V the Posthumous was recognised as king in 1446 with Hunyadi Janos
(John Corvinius) as regent until 1453. She lived (1409-42). |
 |
1437-39
Regent
Dowager Queen
Joan Beaufort of
Scotland (United Kingdom of Great Britain) |
|
After her husband, James I,
was murdered, she reigned on behalf of their seven year old son son James II.
Despite her efforts he
became the pawn of two unscrupulous Scottish lords, Sir William Crichton
and Lord Livingstone. The Black Douglas entered the fray and succeeded in
defeating and executing Livingstone. Crichton, in turn, manipulated James
into killing the Black Douglas. Eventually, James II defeated the Douglas
family at the battle of Arkinholm. Daughter of John
Beaufort and Margaret Holland, she had eight children by
James I of Scotland and one with her second husband,
James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn (ca. 1383-ca.
1451) John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl.
(d. 1445). |
 |
1438-40
Regent
Dowager Queen
Leonor de Aragón-Urgell of
Portugal and The Agaves |
| Also
Countess de Urgell and Duchess de Goimbra. Her husband, Duarte
(1391-1433-38) had appointed her as regent of in his will for their
son, Afonso V
(1432-38-81).
However, she was inexperienced and, as an Aragonese, unpopular with the
people who preferred the late king's brother Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. Negotiations for a compromise arrangement were drawn out over
several months, but were complicated by the interference of the Count of
Barcelos and the Archbishop of Lisbon, as also by her giving birth to a
posthumous daughter in March 1439, and by the death of her eldest
daughter, Philippa. Eventually the Cortes appointed Pedro the sole
Regent, but Eleonore continued conspiring, but was forced to go into exile in
Castile in December 1440. (1409-45). |
|
1442-58 (†)
De Facto Co-Regent Queen Helena Paleologina of
Cyprus |
| The most
important event in the reign of Jean II was his
marriage to Helena of Byzantine-Morea.
She was stronger in character than her husband, took over the
running of the kingdom and brought Greek culture out of the oblivion in
which it had languished for three centuries. Her actions in favour of the
Orthodox faith and Greek culture naturally disturbed the Franks, who came
to consider her a dangerous enemy, but she had become too powerful to
attack. Greek Cypriots have always revered Queen Helena as a great heroine
because of her boldness.
Their daughter and heir, Charlotte,
was married to João, duke of Coimbra, grandson of the king of
Portugal, who used his influence in support of the
Catholic party, and so incurred the enmity of the Queen that
Helena persuaded King Jean II to exclude him from
any share in the government, on the grounds that he might grow too
powerful and attempt to seize the crown. João left the court with his wife
and died within a year under circumstances which led to the belief that he
had been poisoned at the instigation of Helena. In 1458 Helena died
and the king, now entirely under the influence of his illegitimate son,
Jacques, thought to make him his heir. But a few months later Jean
himself died and Charlotte succeeded him as Queen at the age of
twenty-two. Helena
lived (1432-58). |
 |
1445-54
De-facto in charge of the Government Queen Margaret d'Anjou of England
1455-82 Leader of the Lancastrian Party
1460-61 Acting Regent of England
|
| She dominated her husband, Henry VI, and was very determined to keep him on throne
during the War of the Roses. She headed the
Lancastrian forces, and also controlled the government during her husbands fits of insanity (1445-53).
When he became incapable of reigning in 1453 shortly after the birth of
their frst child, Edward of Lancaster, she presented a bill to the
parliament which would have named her regent, but it was defeated and the
following year she appointed Richard of York as Protector. Her husband was deposed by
the Yorkists
in 1461, and she and her son fled to Scotland and then to France.
The following year she
invaded Northumbria, but it did not achieve anything, so she once
again returned to France. Gathering her forces, she again landed in England
in 1470, and this time her army prevailed and Henry was
replaced on the throne of England. But soon after the
Lancastrian forces were defeated by Yorkists at Tewkesbury, in the battle in
which her son was killed. When Edward IV regained the throne, her husband was soon put to death. Margaret herself was captured and imprisoned in
Tower. Edward IV eventually ransomed her to King Louis XI and she was
allowed to return to France, where she spent rest of her life in
seclusion. She lived (1429-82). |
 |
1448
"Holder of the Royal Authority" Dowager Queen Dorothea zu Brandenburg of Denmark
1448-52 Mistress of Örebro, Närke and Värmland (Sweden)
1481-90 Regent of Slesvig-Holsten (Schleswig-Holstein) |
|
The "royal authority" was vested in her after the death of her first
husband, Christoffer 3 of Bayern. She contrasigned and authorized the decisions made by the Council of State which reigned the country. Later same
year she married the new king Christian I of Oldenborg and often acted as regent
during his many warfares. She also had Abrahamstrup, Kalundborg, Lolland-Falster
Slesvig and Holsten, Närke and Värmland (Sweden) as
security for lones she granted her husband. A month before his death, Christian
granted her Slesvig-Holsten as a personal fief, and after his death she acted as
regent for son, Frederik, (later king) in the Dukedoms. She lived (1430-90).
|
|
1451-61
Governor
Queen Juana Enriquez de
Mendoza of Navarra
1461-62 Governor of Cataluña (Spain) |
| Very influential
during the reign of her husband, Juan II of Aragón, who took over the
crown of Navarra after the death of his first wife Queen Blanca I
(1391-41). After he tortured Don Carlos, his son by Blanca to death in
1461 the nobles of Cataluny offered the crown to various neighbouring
kings and princes who held to e principality for brief periods until 1479
when Juan won the battle. She was daughter of Fadrique Enríquez de Mendoza
and Marina de Ayala, mother of one son and three daughters, and lived
(1425-68). |
 |
1458-64 Queen Regnant
Charlotte
of Cyprus and Titular Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia |
As she succeeded
her father, Jean II, the Grand Caraman, the
Turkish ruler of Caramania, seized the opportunity afforded by a weak
government in Cypern to capture Courico, the last
Latin outpost in Armenia, which had been in the possession of the
Lusignans since the reign of Pierre I. In 1453 the
Ottoman Turks had expanded to the shores of the Bosphorus and invested
Constantinople by sea and land. While
she had the support of the nobility,
her half-brother Jacques the Bastard, had
the sympathy of the Cypriot population, and had been led to believe that
his father wished him to succeed to the throne. But the barons were too
strong for him, and Jacques, although archbishop, was not allowed to take
part in the coronation. In 1459 Charlotte married her cousin, count Louis
of Savoy, and Jacques broke into open rebellion and took refuge in Cairo.
Presenting himself to the sultan, who was suzerain of Cyprus, Jacques
complained that, though next male heir to the throne, he had been driven
from the island, and appealed successfully for help to recover his
inheritance.
In 1460, with a fleet of eighty Egyptian galleys, Jacques landed at
Larnaca. The Cypriots, hating the Savoyards whom Charlotte's husband had
brought to the island, received him gladly, and he was soon master of the
island. Charlotte and her husband took refuge in the castle of Kyrenia,
where they were blockaded for three years. The castle, which was not
actively attacked, was finally surrendered by the treachery of its
commandant. Queen Charlotte with her husband fled
to Rome, where she died in 1487 after bequeathing her sovereignty to the
house of Savoy. Her half-brother was renowned for
his political amorality. She lived (1436-87). |
 |
1458-59
Regent Dowager Despotess Jelena Paleologina of Serbia
|
| She
was the widow of Lazar II Brankovic (1456-58) and regent for son Stefan
Brankovic. In 1459 Stefan Tomasevic was despot, but the same year the
Ottoman Turks finally conquered Serbia. Died as nun in 1473.
|
|
1460-63
(†) Regent Dowager Queen
Mary of Guelders
of Scotland (United Kingdom) |
| After
the death of her husband,
of James II, she was regent for her son, James III,
and her adviser, James Kennedy, bishop of St. Andrews. After their deaths,
James was seized (1466) by the Boyd family, who ruled Scotland until 1469.
In that year James married Margaret, daughter of the Danish king, and
began to rule personally. Maria de Gelders
was daughter of Duke Arnold Gelders and Catherine
of Cleves and lived (1432-63). |
|
1461-64
Titular Queen Blanca II of Navarra (Spain) |
|
She was proclaimed Queen on the death of her brother, Carlo, but was
imprisoned by her father Juan II,
King of Aragon since 1458, who then became King of Navarra,
and was succeeded by
her younger sister, Leonor
in 1479. Blanca II was married to Enrico IV of Castilla and Léon, until
their mariage was annulled in 1454. She lived (1424-64). |
 |
1463-78 Dowager Queen Katarina Vukic Kosaca of Bosnia-Serbia
|
|
When the kingdom was occupied by the Ottomans in 1461, her husband Stjepan
Tomasevic (1461-63) was killed and her son and daughter brought up in the
Islamic faith. She escaped and lived in exile in Rome where she died. As the
legal representative of the Bosnian Kingdom, she left it to the Holy See. She
lived (1424-78).
|
 |
1464-83 Politically Influential Queen Elizabeth Woodville of
England (United Kingdom)
1475 "Guardian of the Keeper of the Realm" |
|
In 1464 she was married privately to King Edward IV, who reigned (1461-70
and 1471-83). Apparently she was a greedy, unscrupulous woman who insisted on
the King showering lands and wealth on all her relations. In 1470 her husband
was in exile and she had to take sanctuary at WestMinister. In 1475 her infant
old son, the later Edward V, was appointed "Keeper of the Realm" and she was
named his guardian during her husband's absence from the country. When her
husband died she attempted to play a part in the regency but instead her
marriage was delclared invalid and she took
sanctuary again. The most extraordinary point in her career was reached
when the wily Richard III tempted her to come to his Court again and she
went through some sort of reconciliation with him. Henry VII never trusted
her and, in 1487, she went to reside in the nunnery at Bermondsey on a
pension. She was daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, of the house of Luxemburg,
and had first been married Sir John Grey of Groby, a Lancastrian, who fell
at St. Albans in 1461. By him she had two sons. With Edward she had 10
children, among whom was Elizabeth of York, who married Henry VII and the
"Princes in the Tower", Edward V and his brother, Richard, Duke of York,
who were murdered, apparently, by their uncle, Richard III. She lived
(1437-65). |
 |
1470-82
Regent Princess Madeleine de France of Andorra and Foix-Beárn (France)
1479-83 and 1483-84 Regent of Navarra (Spain) |
|
She was regent for Francesco in Foix-Beárn and Andorra 1470-83 after her
husband, Count Gaston V's death. In 1479 her son succeeded his paternal
grandmother in Navarra. Madeleine was daughter of Charles VII of France and
Isabeau of Bavaria and lived (1443-86). |
 |
1471-75 Regent Infanta
Joana of Portugal |
| She left one
convent to act as regent for her father, king Afonso V (1438-81) and
afterwards returned to another monastery. She was later declared a
Saint, and lived (1452-90). |
 |
1473-74
Regent Dowager Queen Catherine Cornaro of
Cyprus
1474-89 Queen Regnant of Cyprus and Titular Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia
1489-1510 Sovereign Countess of Alonso (Italy) |
|
When her husband King
Jacques II died, she was
appointed Queen until the birth of an heir, with
a council of regency among whom were her
uncles, but her son King
Jacques III
only lived one year. The Venetians acquired increased importance,
but their pretensions were resented by the Cypriot
nobility, who designed to place on the throne Alfonso,
a natural son of Ferdinand of Napoli.
The Latin archbishop, Fabricius, who was the leader of Alfonso's party, arrived
in Cyprus with two armed galleys and a letter from the Pope denouncing
her
uncles Andrea Cornaro and Marco Bembo
as murderers of her husband, and they were killed.
But the conspiracy was not supported by the Cypriots.
On the arrival of a Venetian fleet at Famagusta to demand satisfaction for the
murder of
her uncles, the conspirators sought safety in flight.
She was allowed to remain Queen of Cyprus, but had no real power, since
all the principal offices of the kingdom were in the hands of the Venetians.
After 15 years she was persuaded ther
to leave Cyprus. To compensate her she was allowed to retain the title of Queen,
with an ample allowance. In 1489 she embarked for Venice, and
remained in exile at Alonso for the remainder of her life. She lived (1454-1510).
|
 |
1474-1504 Queen Isabel
I de Trastamara of Castilla and León (Spain) |
|
She was the daughter of Juan II of Castile and León by his second wife,
Isabella of Portugal. In 1469 she married Fernando de Aragón. She succeeded
her brother
Enrico IV,
but Alfonso V of Portugal, who
supported the claim of her brother's daughter, Juana la Beltraneja, attacked
Castile and León but was defeated by the Castilian army in 1476. Three years
later her husband became King Fernando V the Catholic of Aragón. This union of the two main
Spanish kingdoms laid the foundation of Spain's future greatness. They had five
children, including Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII of
England, and Juana the Mad. Isabella and her husband (known together as "the
Catholic monarchs") are remembered for initiating the Inquisition in 1478, for
completing the reconquest of Spain from the Moors and for their ruthless
expulsion of the Spanish Jews, both in 1492. That same year they sponsored
Christopher Columbus's voyage, which led to the creation of the overseas Spanish
colonial empire, bringing great wealth and power to Spain. She lived (1451-1504). |
 |
1479-80
Queen
Leonor Trastmara
of Navarra (Spain) |
|
Daughter of Blanca II and succeeded to the throne in 1464, but the kingdom was
occupied by her father Juan II de Arágon. Married to Count Gaston IV de Foix and lived (1420-80) |
 |
1483-1512
Queen Regnant
Catalina de Grailly of Navarra, Co-Princess of Andorra, Duchesse
de Gandie, Montbauc, Pegnafiel, Countess de Foix, Bigorre,
Ribagorza and Viscomtesse de Béarn (Spain)
1512-17 Queen (restored)
|
|
Also known as
Catharine de
Foix-Grailly, she
succeeded brother, King Francesco
and until 1492 she fought over the throne with her uncle, Juan de Foix.
1483 she married Jean II d’Albert
and ruled jointly with
him. In 1512 the Duke of Alba occupied Pamplona and
the following year the Cortes of Navarrra proclaimed Fernando the Catholic
as king of Navarra, but she managed to reclaim her throne.
Succeeded by son, Enrique II, and
lived (1468/70-1517).
|
 |
1483-90
Regent Princess Anne de Beaujeu
of France
1503-ca. 09 Regent of Bourbon etc. |
|
The
eldest daughter of Louis XI, she was a clever and politically
able woman, who at the age of 22 was able to step in, with her husband
Pierre de Bourbon, to control the unrest in the country which threatened the
rule of the young King Charles VIII. She appeased the rebellious nobles and
removed the old King's favourites, but refused the requests of the States
General to control taxation, and became involved in civil war with Bretagne and
with the Duc d'Orléans, later Louis XII. Pierre died in 1503 but Anne, who was
also Dame de Thouars, continued to govern the Bourbon domains which
belonged to her daughter Suzanne. One of many powerful women of the period, at
the end of her life she was engaged in disputes with Louise de Savoie over
succession to the Bourbon lands. Anne lived (1456-1522). |
 |
1490
Dowager Queen Beatrix of
Aragón of Hungary |
|
After
the death of King Matthias Corvinius (1458-90) she was de facto regent in
the interregnum. She did her utmost to prevent her stepson, John Corvinius'
succession to the throne.
Determined to have a word in the
kingdom's government
she used her considerable wealth to help Vadislav of
Bohemia, a son of a sister of King Lazlo of Hungary. She married the new
king - who became king Laslo VI (1490-1516), but she gradually realised
that she had been deceived, after nine years her husband managed to
divorce her, her possessions were confiscated and she spend the rest of
her life in Napoli.
Also known as Beatrice, was daughter of King Ferrante of Napoli (1431-94)
and Isabelle de Clermont, she did not have any children, and lived (1457-1508). |
|
|
1495-96 Co-ruler Queen Consort
Giovanna "IV"
of Napoli (Naples) (Italy) |
|
She was daughter of Ferrante I of Naples (1458-94)
and his third wife Infanta Infta Juana of Aragon (†9.1.1517),
and married to her nephew, King Ferrante (Ferdinand)
II (1469-95-96), who succeeded her
brother, Alphonso II, who abdicated because of the approaching invasion of Charles VIII of France and the
general dissatisfaction of his subjects. Ferrante II
fled to Ischia, but when the French king
left Naples with most of his army, in consequence of the formation of an
Italian league against him, he returned, defeated the French garrisons,
and the Neapolitans, irritated by the conduct of their conquerors during
the occupation of the city, received him back with enthusiasm; with the
aid of the great Spanish general Gonzalo de Cordova he was able completely
to rid his state of its invaders shortly before his death
in 1496. Giovanna lived (1478-1518). |
 |
1504-55 Queen
Juana la Loca of Castilla, Des Asturias and Galicia
1516-55 Queen of Aragón (Spain) |
| She succeeded her mother, Isabel I in 1505 and father Fernando in 1516. Her
father had nominated her as heir of all his possession with her son
as regent, because of her mental instability. Her husband Felipe I was king
and regent 1504-06 and her son, Carlos I (and V of the Holy Roman
Empire) became king in 1516. Juana lived (1479-1555). |
 |
1507-15
and 1518-30 Stadtholder Margareta von Habsburg of the
Netherlands |
| Her
brother, King Felipe of Spain, appointed her regent of the Netherlands. She was daughter of
Emperor Maximilian and Duchess Marie of
Bourgogne. Divorced from her first husband Charles VI, her second husband,
Juan, the Crown Prince of Aragón and Castilla, died shortly after their
marriage in 1497. In 1501 she married Duke Philiberto II of Savoie,
who died three years later. She was also Countess of Artois, Bourgogne,
Charolais and Franche-Comté (1482-1530), as Marguerite II.
She had no children, and lived (1480-1530) |
 |
1513-14 Regent
Dowager Queen Margaret Tudor of Scotland |
| After her
husband, James IV of Scotland, was killed, she became regent for her infant
son, James V, but her marriage in 1514 to Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of
Angus, led to the loss of the regency to John Stuart, duke of Albany,
who soon obtained custody of the king, and Margaret fled to England.
She returned in 1517, during Albany’s absence, and shortly thereafter
she became estranged from Angus. James was proclaimed king in 1524 but
was for several years virtually a prisoner of Angus. In 1527, Margaret
obtained a divorce from Angus and soon married Henry Stuart, later Lord
Methven. The following year James escaped from Angus and joined his mother and
Methven, and they were for a time his chief advisers. A plan of
Margaret’s for a meeting between her brother Henry VIII of England and her son led James to
accuse her of betrayal in 1534. They were further estranged by James’s
refusal to allow her to divorce Methven. She lived (1489–1541). |
 |
1513 Regent
Queen Catherine of Arágon of England |
| She was
appointed regent during her husband, King Henry VIII's warfare in France.
Katherine gave birth to a number of still-born children, the only one
who survived was Queen Mary I Tudor. In 1533 Henry divorced her and
broke with the Catholic church, and she lived in confinement until her
death. She was daughter of Queen Isabel I of Castilla and Ferdinand of
Arágon and initially heir to her father, but her sister, Juana La Loca,
inherited both Countries. Catherine lived (1485-1536) |
 |
1521-22
Regent Queen Anna Jagiellonka of Austria
1539 Regent of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia
|
| The daughter of
king Wladislaw II Jagiello of Hungary and Bohemia and Anne
de Foix-Candale. Since 1521 a wife of Ferdinand von Habsburg, Archduke of
Austria, since 1526 Anna and Ferdinand were king and Queen of Austria, Hungary
and Bohemia. She lived (1503-47).
|
 |
1528, 1529-33,
1535-36, 1538-39 Regent Queen Isabel de Portugal of Spain |
| Regent during
her husband emperor Carlos (V) of the Holy Roman Empire (1516-56)'s travels in the Empire. A strong
willed woman, though delicate, she ruled the country and her children
with a strong hand. Though a rarity in arranged marriages it is believed
Charles and Isabella shared a strong love for one another. When she died following a miscarriage, Charles was heartbroken. He
collected all the paintings that were done of her and had more
commissioned to keep the memory of her alive. She was granddaughter of
Ferdinand and Isabel I and mother of 6 children - among others king
Felipe II (Husband of Queen Mary of England). She lived (1503-39) |
 |
1530-55
Stadtholder Maria von Habsburg of the Netherlands |
| At
17, she married King Lajos II Jagello of Hungary, who was 15. Four years
later, the Turks over-ran half his kingdom, including the capital,
Budapest. Louis was killed at the battle, and Maria fled west,
taking the Hungarian treasury with her. Her brother, Karl V, appointed
her Governor of the Netherlands after the death of their aunt,
Margaretha. Maria
was
grand-daughter of Duchess Marie of Burgundy, had no children, and lived (1505-58) |
|
|
1533-38
(†) Regent Dowager Grand Duchess Yelena Vasilevna Glinskaya of Russia |
| Regent
for
son Ivan IV the Terrible until her death. She
deposed a member of the regency-council, Prince George III of Dimitrov,
and had him executed, because she feared his rights to the throne of Muscovy. Dmitrov
thereafter became
permanently attached to Muscovy (Moscow). She lived (Ca. 1506-38). |
 |
1540-51
Regent Dowager Queen Isabella of Poland of Bohemia (Hungary)
1551-59 Ruler of Siebenbürgen
1556-59 Regent |
|
For son Janos II , King of parts of Hungary 1540-51 until his abdication. He
later became pretender 1556-70, after the Ottomans had occupied most of
the country. Isabella
died 1559. |
 |
1544 Regent
Queen Katherine
Parr of England
|
|
When
her third husband, Henry VIII went to war with France, he made her
regent. He
was very sick, old, very fat, but she was able to and distract
him from his many illnesses by her lively intellectual discussions, and
she wrote two books on theology. She had also brought her stepchildren
to Court and became close friends with all of three: the Princess Mary,
who was close in age to Katherine, the Princess Elizabeth, whose
intellect nearly matched Katherine's, and Prince Edward, the fragile
heir to the throne. After Henry's death in 1547, she married Thomas
Seymour, Lord Sudley, and died shortly after giving birth to her first
child, a daughter named Mary, the year after. She lived (1512-48). |
 |
1552-67 HM
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
1558-87 Titular Duchess of Touraine (France) |
| Mary became
Queen of Scotland when she was just six days old. At age five she was
sent to France to be brought up in the French court, and eventually
married King Francis II, who died the next year, where after Mary
returned to Scotland where a series of politically unwise love affairs
and her continued adherence to Catholicism in a Protestant country led
to trouble and a revolt against her. Forced to flee to England for
refuge, she now faced the fears of Queen Elizabeth I who saw her as a
rival to her throne. Elizabeth kept Mary under a form of imprisonment
for the next 19 years. Watched closely, she was implicated in a series
of conspiracies against Queen Elizabeth, and was executed. She
lived (1552-87) |
 |
1553
Jane, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the
Faith, Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England and Ireland |
| Lady Jane Grey
was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII through her mother, Lady
Frances Brandon, daughter Mary, the younger of King Henry VIII's two
sisters. On May 21, 1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who
exercised considerable power at that point in the minority of King
Edward VI, joined with Jane’s father, Duke of Suffolk, in marrying her
to his son, Lord Guildford Dudley. Edward VI accepted Jane as his heir
and on his death she was proclaimed Queen on July 10 and the Council of
the Realm recognized her claim. The rightful heir, Edward's sister, Mary
Tudor, had the support of the populace, and on July 19 even Suffolk, who
by now despaired of success in the plans for his daughter, attempted to
retrieve his position by proclaiming Mary Queen. Jane was later beheaded
(as was her husband) in 1554 having lived (1537-54) |
 |
1553-58 HM
Mary I Tudor, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender
of the Faith
1553-54 Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England and
Ireland |
|
Mary was the
daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Mary restored papal
supremacy in England, abandoned the title of Supreme Head of the Church,
reintroduced Roman Catholic bishops and began the slow reintroduction of
monastic orders. In 1554, the Queen married Philip, son of Spanish king
Charles V (later king of Spain Felipe II), who became joint sovereign.
England obtained no share in the Spanish monopolies in New World trade
and the alliance with Spain dragged England into a war with France.
Dogged by ill health, Mary died later that year possibly from cancer,
leaving the crown to her half-sister, Elizabeth I. Mary lived (1516-58). |
 |
1554-60 Regent
Dowager Queen Marie de Guise of Scotland |
| Married to
James V of Scotland and regent for her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots.
The daughter of Claude de Lorraine, duc de Guise, she was also known as
Mary of Lorraine. Before her marriage to James V in 1538, she had been
married to Louis d'Orléans, Duc de Longueville, who died in 1537. When
James died in 1542, shortly after his daughter's birth, James Hamilton,
Earl of Arran, became regent. By 1554, with French aid, Marie de Guise
had replaced the ineffectual Arran as regent, and she made no secret of
her desire to bring France and Scotland together. Meanwhile,
Protestantism was spreading rapidly in Scotland, and Marie, though at
first conciliatory toward the reformers, began a campaign of
suppression. In 1559 the Protestants, exhorted by John Knox, rose
against the regent and declared her deposed. She received French aid,
but the Protestants, allied with the English, proved the stronger force.
The civil war was concluded shortly after Marie's death by the Treaty of
Edinburgh (1560), which ended the French domination of Scotland and
opened the way for the establishment of the Protestant church. She lived
(1515-60). |
 |
1554-55 Regent
Infanta Juana of Spain |
| She acted as
regent for brother, Felipe II who had been appointed regent of Spain by
their father, Carlos I (Emperor Karl V), but who was in England some of
the time with his wife, Mary I Tudor. Juana had returned to Spain after
two years of marriage to the Crown Prince of Portugal, leaving her son,
Sebastao behind. In 1555 their father abdicated in favour of Felipe.
Juana lived (1537-73). |
 |
1555-1572
Queen Regnant Juana III d’Albert of Navarra and Co-Princess
of Andorra, Duchess d'Albert (France and Spain) |
|
Also
known as Jeanne d'Albert, she had the additional titles of Comtesse de
Foix (etc.) and Périgod, Viscomtesse de Limoges, Comtesse de Rodez,
d'Armagnac, Perche, Fezensac, de L'Isle-Jourdain, Porhoët, Pardiac,
Viscomtesse de Lomagne, Fezenzaguet, Brulhois, Cressey, d'Auvillars,
Baroness de Castelnau, Caussade,
Montmiral and Dame de La Flêche and Baugé. Married to
Guillaume, duc de Clèves. Her son became king of France and trough him
the post of Co-prince has passed on the
Presidents of the French Republic. She lived (1528-72)
. |
 |
1557-62 Regent
Dowager Queen Catarina von Austria of Portugal and the Algaves |
| Widow of João
III who was succeeded by grandson Sebastião (1557-78) Her husband died
without leaving instructions about a regency. A hastily convened council
of nobles declared that it had been his wish that Queen Catarina should
undertake the office and she was duly appointed. She was daughter of
Juanna I la Loca and Emperor Maximillian. After Sebastião came of age
at 14, she retired to a convent and lived (1507-78) |
 |
1558-1603
Elizabeth I Tudor, Queen of England, France and
Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Supreme Head on Earth of the
Church of England and Ireland |
| Daughter of
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, succeeded her half-sister Mary. Elizabeth
returned England to Protestantism while still managing to secure order.
She also lay the foundation for the vast British Colonies in India and
America. Since Elizabeth never married as marriage could have created
foreign alliance difficulties or encouraged factionalism at home,
Parliament pressured on the Queen to deal with the question of the
succession, she was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, and lived
(1533-1603) |
 |
1558-61 Regent
Infanta Maria de Austria of Spain |
| Regent for
brother Felipe II during his travels in the Empire. She was married to
Maximillian II von Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor. Their son, Archduke
Albrecht of Austria, Duke of Teschen, married the daughter of Felipe;
Isabella. Maria lived (1528-1603) |
 |
1559-67
Stadtholder Margareta de Parma of The Netherlands
1572-86 Regent of Abruzzo (Italy) |
| Natural
daughter of Emperor Charles V. She was Regent of Firenze 1536-38 and
1559-67. She was an able administrator but resigned after the Duke of
Albas crushing of the Dutch opposition against the Spanish rule. She was
married to the Duke of Parma and mother of a son, and lived (1522-86). |
 |
1560-63 Regent
Dowager Queen Catherine de' Medici of France
1562-89 Sovereign
Duchess of Valois, Countess Auvergne and Boulogne |
| She was Countess
of Urbino in Italy 1519-21. In 1533 she married to Henri, Duke of
Orleans, who became the French king in 1547. As Queen she was very
influential in bringing aspects of Italian culture to France, such as
their theater and food. After her husband's death, she gained political
power as regent for her sons (she had ten children). An ambitious woman,
she actively involved herself in the political intrigues of the court,
always trying to increase royal power. At first Catherine tried to
reconcile France's opposing Catholic and Protestant factions as their
violent disputes threatened national unity. But instead she initiated
the massacre in 1570 of Protestants (the massacre of St Bartholomew).
Succeeded mother, Madeleine de la Tour, as Countess of Auvergne and
father Lorenzo II de Medici as Countess of Urbino. She lived
(1519-89) |
 |
1575-86 Rex
Poloniae Anna Jagiellonka of Poland |
Daughter of King
Zygmunt I the Old of Poland and Bona Sforza, and was Queen and co-regent
with her husband Stefan Batory, but she was not politically influential
and only titular "king". After the death of her husband, she
introduced nephew Zygmunt Vasa of Sweden (the son of her sister) on the
throne. Anna was a follower of the Contra-reformation, and lived
(1523-96).
|
 |
1588-94 Regent
Queen Dowager Sophie von Mecklenburg-Schwerin of Schleswig-Holstein
(Slesvig-Holsten) (Denmark and Germany)
1588-1631 Royal County Sheriff of Lolland-Falster
Len and Ravnsborg
Len |
| Widow of
Frederik 2., she was regent for son Christian 4. in Slesvig-Holsten
1588-94. She was engaged in a power struggle with the Regents of
Denmark, The Council of State, which had Christian declared of age in
1593, but she did not give up her position in the Duchies before the
following year. She then withdrew to Lolland-Faster, where she managed
her estates extremely well and became very rich and she lend her son a
lot of money for his warfares. She lived (1557-1631). |
|
|
1598 De
facto reigning Zarina Irina Godunova of Russia |
| The widow of
Fyodor I Ivanovich, she took the throne for ten days (7-17 January),
before she retired to a convent to become a nun. After a brief
interregnum, her brother Boris Godunov, was elected to succeed her. She
died 1603. |
 |
1598-1621
Sovereign
Duchess
Isabella Clara Eugenia von Habsburg of Luxembourg and Franche-Comté
1621-33 Governor of the Southern Low Countries
(Belgium-Luxembourg) |
| Daughter
of King Felipe II of Spain and Elisabeth de Valois. In 1598 she married
Archduke Albrecht of Austria (son of Maximilian II of Germany) and
they became joint Governors of the Southern Netherlands, which was in
theory an independent state, but in reality dependent on Spain. After
Albrechts death the Duchies reverted to the Spanish crown, and she was
appointed governor. She had not children and lived (1566-1633) |
 |
1603-12 Regent
Dowager Duchess Margherita de Austria of Mantua and Monferrato
(Italy)
1612-29 Governor of Lisboa (Portugal)
1633-42 Vice-reine of Portugal |
| First regent in
Mantova for son, who died in 1612, she was later appointed Governor of
Lisbon and Vice-Queen of Portugal by her brother King Felipe IV of Spain
and Portugal (1605-21-65). In 1640 the Spanish were driven out of
Portugal by the Duke of Bragança, King João IV and she was taken
prisoner. Her aunt was Isabella Clara Eugenia von Habsburg of the
Southern Netherlands. Margarita lived (1589-1655). |
|
1605
(†) Regent Dowager Grand Duchess Maria Grigorevna
Maluta-Skuratova of Russia |
| For
Fedor II who ruled for 6 month. They were both killed. She lived (ca.
1560-1605)
. |
 |
1606
De-Facto Ruler Zarina Marina Mniszech of Russia (18.-25. May) |
| Daughter
of Jerzy Mniszech, Voivode of Sandomierz in Poland. In 1605 the False
Dmitri I, Russian pretender, married her, in a failed attempt to
establish a firm foothold in Moscow. She was the first crowned zarina in
Russian history, but the fact that she was catholic and her husband's
favouritism toward Poland aroused the opposition of the boyars, led by
Prince Vasily Shuiski. Dmitri was killed, and Shuiski was made czar as
Vasily IV. In 1607 another Dmitri appeared. Aided by the Poles after
Marina identified him as her husband, he marched on Moscow and had some
success, but in 1610 he was killed.She even produced an heir , Ivan Dmitrievich. Then
she was married to ataman Ivan Zarudzki. After 1610 she
fought for Russian throne. She was probably killed in russian jail, and
lived (around 1588-1614). |
 |
1610-17 Regent
Dowager Queen Marie de' Medici of France
1612-19 Governor of Normandie
1619-39 Countess d'Anjou |
| Daughter
of Francesco de' Medici, grand duke of Toscana and became the second
wife of King Henri IV in 1600. After his assassination she became regent
for her son Louis XIII. She reversed the policies set by her husband.
Having remained in power for three years beyond the king's majority,
Marie was forced into exile after the murder of Concini in 1617. In 1619
her partisans rose in revolt, but she was reconciled to her son in 1622.
After the rise to power of her former favourite, Cardinal Richelieu, she
attempted to regain influence by urging the king to dismiss his
minister of state; instead Louis forced his mother into a new exile at
Compiègne, whence she fled to the Netherlands in 1631, never to return
to France. One of her children was the politically influential
Henrietta
Maria, Queen of Charles I of England. Marie lived (1573-1642) |
|
|
1613-19 Regent
Dowager Grand Duchess Ksenia Ivanovna Shestova of
Russia |
| For Mikael
Romanov (1613-45), who was elected czar, but left the direction of the
state affairs to her, who had left the convent where she had been placed
by Boris Godunov. In 1619 her husband, Philaret Romanov, returned from
his banishment to Poland, was elected patriarch, and assumed the reigns
of government. Also known as Martha, she
lived (1596-1631).
|
 |
1629-30
Princess Regnant Katharina von Brandenburg of Transylvania
(Hungary/Romania) |
| She
became ruler after the death of her husband, Bethlen Gábor (or
Gabriel), who was elected prince af the assassination of Báthori Gábor
in 1613. A Protestant, though tolerant toward all religions, he
had allied himself with the Protestant Frederick, the Winter King
of Bohemia and overran Hungary in 1619 and was elected its king the
following year. After Frederick's defeat at the White Mountain, Gábor
signed with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II the Treaty of Nikolsburg, by
which he renounced the royal title but retained control of seven
Hungarian counties and received the rank of prince of the empire. He
continued his relations with the Protestant powers opposing the emperor
in the Thirty Years War, but kept the interests of Transylvania
paramount. He was a wise administrator and encouraged the development of
law and learning. Katharina was succeeded
by brother-in-law Istvan Bethlen, who died 1630. In Transylvania she was
known as Brandenburgi Katalin, and lived (1602-44). |
 |
1632-1654
Queen Kristina of Sweden |
|
When
she succeeded her father Gustav II Adolf at the age of 6, a regency
under Axel Oxenstierna reigned until she assumed full royal power in
1644. Throughout her reign, she attempted to increase the authority of
the Crown, and in this she was supported by the lower estates against
the nobility and the Council of the Realm. The Thirty Years' War,
however, had led Sweden into an economic crisis that Christina was
unable to resolve. Highly intelligent, she was interested in
intellectual pursuits and was influenced by the French philosopher René
Descartes, who lived in Stockholm in 1649-50. Christina never married,
and in 1654 she abdicated in favour of her cousin Karl of Pfalz. She
moved to Rome and later announced that she had converted to Roman
Catholicism. She lived (1626-89). |
|
1643-51 Regent
Dowager Queen Anne d'Austrice of France |
| She was Infanta
of Spain and
the eldest daughter of Felipe III of Spain, and married Louis XIII, King
of France, in 1615.
After some political maneuvering she attained full powers as Regent and
as such she placed the well-being of France before anything else. She
ignored the representatives of the Catholic party and made Cardinal
Mazarin Prime Minister. Both continued the policies laid out by
Richelieu, which decided against a peace treaty with Germany and The
Netherlands. At one stage, Anne even went to war against her brother,
King Felipe IV of Spain, and in negotiations refused to make any
compromises. In 1648 the revolution called "the Fronde" began
and would last until 1653. This rebellion started in Paris and was
supported by the higher nobility as well as by the common people who had
had enough of war and the ever increasing taxes. The rebels blamed
Mazarin and not only demanded his removal but also wanted him expelled
from France. In 1661 Mazarin died and Louis XIV took over control of the
country. From then on Anna was given only representative roles. In 1666
she died of cancer, after having lived (1601-66). |
|
|
1646-62
Regent Dowager Empress Yudokia Lukyamanova Strenzeva of Russia |
| Acted
a regent for son Alexei from July until her death one month later.
|
 |
1649-67
De Facto Co-Ruler Queen Ludowika Maria Gonzaga of Poland
1655-67 Sovereign Duchess of Opole and Racibórz |
| Very
political influential and de facto co-ruler after her marriage to Władysław
IV Waza (1595-1632-48) and during the reign of his younger brother, king
Jan II Kazimierz Waza (1609-48-68). Maria Ludvica Gonzaga lived
(1611–67). |
 |
1652-74 Sovereign
Duchess Marie Jeanne de Savoie-Nemours of Nemours (France)
1659-1724 Duchess of Aumale
1675-84 Regent Dowager Queen of Savoia (Italy) |
| Also known as
Marie-Giovanna-Babtiste, she succeeded father, Charles Amédée de
Savoie-Nemours of Aumale in Nemours and uncle in Aumale. After the death
of her husband Carlo-Emmanuelle II of Savoia, she was regent for son
Victor-Amedée of Sardegnia (1666-1732). She lived (1644-1724) |
 |
1656-62 Regent
Dowager Queen Luisa Perez de Guzmão e Gómez de Sandovial of
Portugal |
| After the death
of her husband, João IV, she became regent for son, Alfonso VI
(1656-67), who was mentally deficient and was deposed by her
brother, Pedro II. Luisa was daughter of the Duke of Medina Sidonia and
lived (1613-66) |
 |
1660-72
and 1697-98 President of the Guardian Government Dowager Queen of
the Realm Hedvig-Eleonora von Holstein-Gottorp of Sweden |
| In 1654 she
married king Karl X Gustav (1622-54-60), and the following year she gave
birth to her only child, the later Karl XI. After her husband's death,
she became Reigning Dowager Queen of the Realm (Riksänkedrottning) with
two votes in the guardian-government for her son. Even after her son
married Ulrika Eleonora the older of Denmark (1656-93), she kept the
position as the leading Lady in the realm. After her son's death she was
again Regent
grandson Karl XII. After her retirement she put all her energy in
her dowries, and became very rich and build elaborate castles. She lived
(1636-1715) |
 |
1665-75
Regent Dowager Queen Maria Ana de Austria of Spain |
| Widow
of Felipe IV and regent for
son Carlos V (b. 1661).
Her reign was hampered by her dependence upon her Jesuit advisors and
her preference for her Austrian advisors. She was preoccupied with
combating Louis XIV of France's attacks on the Spanish possessions in
the Netherlands. Court nobles, lead by Don Juan José de Austria gained
the upper hand, and eventually forced her to resign. After
his death in 1679 she again gained political influence. She lived
(1635-96) |
 |
1682
Regent Dowager Empress Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkaina of Russia |
|
For
Feodor III. She was deposed by her stepdaughter. She lived
(1651-94). |
 |
1682-86
Tzarevna Regnant Sofiya Aleksyevna Romanova of Russia
1686-89 Autocrat |
|
Grand
Duchess Sophia was the daughter of Tsar Alexis and his first wife, Maria
Iliyanova Miroslavkaya. She was also the sister of Fyodor III, who
succeeded to the throne in 1676. She was an adept intriguer and
outmaneuvered her stepmother, Natalia Naryshkaina, and gained the
regency when Fyodor died in 1682. Sophia's attempt in 1689 was to seize
the Russian throne for herself was repulsed by Peter, who confined her
to the Novo-Devichy convent in Moscow. An uprising in her name by the
guards regiments in 1698 impelled Peter to have her shorn as a nun and
put under heavy guard (in convent). She lived (1657-1704).
|
 |
1689-94 HM
Mary II Stuart, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender
of the Faith, Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England and
Ireland |
| She was the
daughter of King James II. In November 1677 she was married to her
cousin, Willem van Oranje, who was Stadtholder of Holland. During the
quarrel between James II and Willem, Mary sided with her husband. Hence,
she agreed to support Willem's invasion of England in November 1688.
James fled the country in December, and two months later Mary arrived in
London. At once Mary rejected proposals, advanced particularly by the
Earl of Danby, that she become sole ruler to the exclusion of her
husband, and on April 11, 1689, she and her husband, who became known as
William III were crowned joint sovereigns of England. While her husband
was directing military campaigns in Ireland and on the Continent, Mary
administered the government in her own name, but she relied entirely on
his advice. In the periods when William was in England she willingly
retired from politics. She was, however, actively concerned with
ecclesiastical appointments. Mary gave birth to at least three
still-born children, she died of smallpox, and was succeeded by her
husband, who later was succeeded by her sister, Anne. Mary lived
(1662-94) |
 |
1690-93 Member
of the Council of State Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark of
Sweden |
|
Married to Karl XII and mother of 7
children. 1685 three of the sons died and in 1687 she had a miscarriage.
In 1690 her husband appointed her head of an eventual regency
government, but she died three years later. Her youngest daughter,
Ulrika Eleonora the younger, was reigning Queen 1718-20 in succession to
her oldest brother, Karl (1682-97-1718), who first reigned under a
council of regency. Ulrika Eleonora the Older lived (1656-93).
|
 |
1700-01 Member
of Regency Council Dowager Queen María Ana de Baviera-Neoburgo y
Hesse-Darmstadt of Spain and the Indies |
| She considered
herself the "principal minister" of her husband, Carlos II
(1665-1700), after their marriage in 1691, and she was politically very
influential. After her husband's death, she was member of The Governing
Board from 1.-16. November. The Board had no formal chairman, but she
had the "preferred vote". In 1700 Felipe V of Bourbon
became king - he was great-grandson of Felipe IV, who reigned (1621-65),
and became king after a war of succession between the Habsburg and
Bourbon heirs to the throne. Born as Maria Anna zu Pfalz-Neuburg, she
lived (1667-1740). |
 |
1702-1714 H.M.
Anne Stuart, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender
of the Faith, Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England and
Ireland
1708 Lord High Admiral of England |
| Succeeded
brother-in-law, William, who had been joint ruler with her sister, Mary
II. Married to Danish Prince Jørgen (George), she gave birth to 17
children. Probably only six were born alive and only one survived
infancy - William, Duke of Gloucester, who died in 1700 at the age
of 12. Her reign saw the union of the parliaments of Scotland and
England (1707), and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13).
Until 1711 she was greatly influenced by her close friend and
confidante, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, who was
supplanted by a new favourite, her cousin, Abigail Masham, and the Whigs
were replaced by a Tory administration. Her relative,
Electress Sophia of Hanover was appointed heir in 1701, but she died a
few months before Anne, and her son therefore became king Georg I. Queen
Anne lived (1665-1714) |
 |
1702-08
Regent Dowager Duchess Hedvig Sofia of Sweden of Holstein-Gottorp
(Germany) |
|
Married to Friedrich
von Holstein-Gottorp (1671-1702) in 1698. She stayed in Gottorp for
about one year and in 1700 her only child, Karl Friedrich (1700-39),
was born, and two years later her husband was killed in battle. She was
proclaimed regent while the guardianship was given to her brother, Karl.
XII. She was Hereditary Princess of Sweden until her death, and
her son stayed in Sweden until 1718, and was generally considered to be
heir to the throne - instead his aunt, Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was
chosen as reigning Queen, after the death of her brother, Karl XII. Karl
Friedrich's son Carl Peter Ulrich later became Czar Peter of Russia.
Hedvig Sofia was daughter of Karl XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Older, and
lived (1681-1708) |
 |
1704-05 Regent
Infanta Caterina de Braganza of Portugal |
| For brother Dom
Pedro II (1648-83-1706), who was ill. She was the widow of Charles III
of England (1660-85), and lived (1638-1705). |
 |
1708-09 Regent
Queen Louise von Mecklenburg-Güstow of Denmark-Norway |
| She was regent
during her husband, Frederik 4's journey to Italy. She had been married
the later king since 1695. Her husband was first married to the
"left hand" with Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg and after her
death to Comtesse Anna Sophie Reventlow. The Queen became more and more
engaged in her pietistic faith. She was mother of two surviving children
and three other children who all died as infants, and lived (1667-1721). |
 |
1711-37
Sovereign Duchess
Anna Ivanovna in Livonia of Kurland
and Semigallia (Latvia)
1730-40 Imperatitsa Regnant Anna Ivanovna of Russia |
| Her
husband, Friedrich-Wilhelm of Kurland, died after two months of
marriage in 1711, leaving her as reigning Duchess. 19 years later the
Privy Council offered
her the
Russian throne on certain conditions which reduced the autocratic
powers, but unrest ensued and she was made to repudiate the
restrictions. Having become a full autocratic Empress, she dissolved the
supreme privy council.
She had patience and common-sense but preferred to sign official
documents unread and leave the ruling to two Germans, Field Marshall Muennich and Count Ostermann. However, these were soon eclipsed by the
Empress's lover, Ernst Buehren, or Biron, whom she brought to Russia.
She had a taste for guns and enjoyed shooting through windows at birds
in her garden. Lazy and easily bored, she surrounded herself with
gossiping women, dwarfs and hunchbacks.
Zarina
or Zaritsa Anna lived (1693-1740)
|
 |
1711
Regent Dowager Empress Eleonora-Magdalena zu Pfalz-Neuburg of
Austria-Hungary (Österreich-Ungarn) |
| Regent
for grandson Karl VI until his arrival from Spain in order to succeed
his brother, Joseph I. |
 |
1711-14 Stadtholder
and General-Captain Elisabeta Cristina von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
of Aragón, Catalunya and Valencia (Spain)
1735 Politically Influential in Austria |
|
1708 she married her husband, Carlos
III of Spain, who was only in control of Aragón, Cataloña and Valencia
during the succession-war between the Habsburgs and Borbons, and acted
as regent during his absences. In 1711 he succeeded his brother, Josef I
and became Emperor Karl VI of the Holy Roman Empire, and left for
Austria. After the victory of the Bourbons, she joined her husband. In
1716 she gave birth to a son, who died soon after, the following year
the later Empress Maria Theresia was born and two other daughters
followed. It was only in 1735 that she gained political influence,
forming a party against the Spanish Council in Vienna, but also her
daughter, kept her away from the government. She lived (1691-1750)
|
 |
1714-41
Member of the Council of State Princess Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden
1714 Regent
1718-20 Queen Regnant
1731 and 1738 Regent
|
| Generally
known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, she succeeded her brother Karl XI.
Abdicated because she came at odds with the Parliament and was succeeded
by husband Friedrich von Hessen (1676-1720-51). she acted as regent
both for brother and later for husband, who was succeeded by a son of a
sister of hers. She lived (1688-1741). |
|
1714-21 (†)
Governor Ann Andros of Alderny (United Kingdom Crown Dependency) |
| She followed
George Andros as governor and was succeeded by John Andros, who became
the first officially hereditary governor of the island, which at the
time was a separate crown dependency. It has later been subordinated to
Guernsey in the Chanel Islands, but still has its own government. |
|
1722-29 (†) Governor
Ann Le Mesurier of Alderny (United Kingdom Crown Dependency in the
Chanal Islands) |
| She succeeded
John Andros. |
 |
1725-27
Imperatitsa Regnant Catherina I of Russia |
|
Yekatarina
was born as Maria Skavronaskaya in Livonia. In 1701 she married a
Swedish dragoon, who soon afterwards went with his regiment to Riga, and
never returned. After the capture of Marienburg by the Russians, she
became the mistress first of General Bauer, with whom she lived at
Moscow, then of Prince Menschikoff, and finally of Peter the Great, who
first married her privately near Warsaw, and later publicly in 1712 at
St. Petersburg. She then embraced the Eastern Orthodox religion, and
took the name of Yekatarina. On the death of Peter in 1725, she was
proclaimed czarina. Zarina or Zaritsa Catherina died of
intemperance, and lived (ca. 1684-1727). |
 |
1725-41
Stadtholder Archduchess Maria-Elisabeth von Habsburg of the
Southern Low Countries (Belgium-Luxembourg) |
| Daughter of
Leopold I, and appointed by her uncle, Emperor Karl VI. Her niece became
Empress and Queen of Austria-Hungary (Österreich-Ungarn). Maria-Elisabeth lived (1680-1741) |
 |
1729, 1732 and
1736-1737
Guardian of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and His Majesty's
Lieutenant within the same during His Majesty's absence
Queen Caroline von Brandenburg of United Kingdom of Great Britain, Co-Heiress
of Sayn-Altenkirchen
|
|
She
was the power behind the throne during the whole reign of her husband,
Georg II (1727-37). She acted as regent on during his trips to
Hannover. She aided the career of the British statesman Robert Walpole.
Caroline was joint heiress of Sayn-Altenburg, trough her mother,
Eleonore Erdmuthe Louise von Sachsen-Eisenanch (d. 1696), whose mother,
Johanette, reigned 1636-1701. In 1741 Caroline's nephew, Carl Wilhelm
Friedrich inherited the county, but in 1783 his son, Alexander, and her
son, Georg III decided to share the inheritance. Caroline lived
(1683-1737).
|
|
1730-33 Sovereign
Dame Susan Le Gros Le Pelley of Sark (English Crown Dependency) |
| Also known as La
Dame du Serq, she bought the fief after the death of the former owner,
the Englishman James Milner, from his executor. She was daughter of the
former Juge, Jean Le Gros, and widow of Nicolas Le Pelley, her cousin who
had died in 1719. Her purchase which was an indication of the wealth
derived from her late husband's privateering ventures, initiated a line
of Le Pelley Seigneurs that lasted for some 120 years until 1852. As the
Le Pelley family had long been prominent in the public and commercial
life of Guernsey, their acquisition of the fief further strengthened
Sark's association with Guernsey, and the consequent weakening of the
ties with Jersey. The new Dame decided to remain in the Le Gros family
house at La Perronerie, which was extensively rebuilt as the new
Seigneurie, and a Colombier (Pigeon-house), the exclusive privilege of
the owner of a fief hubert, was erected in the grounds to mark the
house's newly acquired status. In the winter of 1731 the island suffered
its worst outbreak of smallpox. Constituting about ten percent of the
whole population. She was succeeded by her son Nicholas who died
childless in 1742, and the Seignory passed to his younger brother Daniel
who died in 1752. |
 |
1731
Sovereign Princess Louise-Hippolyte Grimaldi of Monaco
, Duchesse
de Valentinois, d'Estouteville, de Mazarin et de Mayenne, Princesse
de Château-Porcien, Marquise des Baux, de Chilly et de Guiscard,
Comtesse de Carlades, de Ferrette, de Belfort, de Thann, de
Rosemont, de Thorigny et de Longjumeau, Baronne
de Buis, de Saint-Lô, de la Luthumière et de Hambye,
d'Altkirch et de Massy, Dame
de Saint-Rémy,de Matignon, d'Isenheim |
| She
died in childbed and her husband became Jean I until 1733 when he
abdicated in favour of their son, Honoré III (1720-33-95). She lived
1697-1731. |
 |
1740-80
Empress Maria Theresia, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess
of Austria,
Duchess Moravia and Schlesia, Queen of Croatia
and Dalmatia, Princess of Transylvania and Grand Duchess of
Siebenbürgen, Duchess of Gelders, Limburg, Jülich, Luxembourg,
Brabant, Quilon, Bar and Franche-Comté, Margravine of Higher-Elsass,
Breisgau, Lower-Elsass and Antwerpen, Countess of Flanders,
Hainault, d'Artois, Boulonge, Namur, Ponthieu, Picardie, d'Eu,
Vermandôis, Charolais, Macon, Montbeliard, Zutphen, Nevers and Rethel
and Baroness d'Ilês, Bar-sur-Seine etc |
| She
was ruler of most of Central Europe, large parts of the Balkans and
Belgium and Luxembourg. Her father, Emperor Karl VI, drew up an
agreement, the Pragmatic Sanction, in order ensure the succession for
Maria Theresia and her husband. Not educated in statecraft, and married
to a weak but much beloved husband, Franz Stephan of Lorraine, she
succeeded her father in 1740. She fought the war of succession against
Friedrich II of Prussia, France, Spain and Bavaria. Between 1737 and
1756 she gave birth to sixteen children. She was healthy and strong and
would appear at the opera a few hours before the birth of a child, then
be driving through the streets a few hours afterwards. She loved
dancing, skating and horse riding, supervised the education of her
children and planned internal reforms for her countries. After 1748
Maria Theresia was given time to implement internal reforms. Justice and
taxation were centralized, nobles' privileges abolished and indirect
taxation introduced. The reorganized army would later enable Austria to
survive the Seven Years' War. She lived (1717-80) |
 |
1740-41
Regent Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia |
|
She
was daughter of Catherina Ivanovna and Carl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Her son, Ivan VI succeeded her aunt, Zaritsa Anna. She was given the
title of Gand Duchess and she was regent for her infant son, who was
deposed by Elisabeth. They both died in prison, and her younger children
lived in seclusion in the provincial town of Horsens in Denmark, where
her sister in-law, Juliane-Marie von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel was
Queen. Anna lived (1718-46). |
 |
1741-62
Imperatitsa Regnant Elisabeth
Petrovna of Russia |
| Her
full title was Yelisabeth, Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias,
Tsarisa of Moscow, Kiev, Wladimir, Novgorod, Kazan, Astrakhan, Poland,
Siberia, the Chersonnese Taurics, and Georgia, Lady of Pskov, Grand
Duchess of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia and Finland, Princess
of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigallia, Samogitia, Bielostock,
Carelia, Tver, Yongoria, Perm, Vlatks, Bolgaria, and of other lands,
Lady and Grand Duchess of Lower Novgorod, Tchernigov, Riasan, Polotsk,
Rostov, Yaroslav, Belosero, Oudoria, Obdoria, Condia, Vitebsk, Mstislav,
and all the Northern Region, Lady and Sovereign of the lands of Iveria,
Cartalinia, Kabardinia and the
Provinces of Armenia, Lady of the Circassian and Mountain princes, Lady of Turkestan, Supreme Defender and
Guardian of the Dogmas of the (Russian Orthodox) Church. Zarina or
Zaritsa Elisabeth was daughter of Peter I the Great and was succeeded by
sister’s son, Peter III (of Holstein-Gottorp). She lived (1709-62) |
 |
1742-50 Regent
Queen Mariana de Austria of Portugal |
| In 1742 her
husband, Joâo V was hit by a stroke and assisted by advisors, she
conducted the government until his death eight years later, during a
period of economic stagnation and decay of the state institution. She
was daughter of Emperor Leopold I of Austria, was mother of five
children, and lived (1683-1754). |
 |
1744-46
Governor and Stadtholder Anna-Maria von Habsburg of the Southern
Low Countries (Belgium and Luxembourg) |
| She
was sister of Empress Maria-Theresa and married to her brother-in-law,
Prince Karl von Lothringen. She died in childbed and lived (1718-46) |
 |
1746-60
Councillor
of State Queen Maria-Amalia von Sachsen-Poland of The Two Sicilies
(Italy) |
| She became a
member of the Council of State after the birth of her first son, after 9
years of marriage. Her son Carlo became son of Spain, the younger,
Fernando, King of Napoli. |
 |
1746-58 De-facto
Ruler Queen Barbara Bragança of Spain |
| She was very
powerful during the reign of her husband Fernando III (d. 1759).
Daughter of King João V of Portugal and Maria Ana de Áustria, who was
regent of Portugal (1642-50). Maria Barbara lived (1711-58). |
 |
1759 Regent
Dowager Queen Isabel Farnesio de Parma of Spain |
| Born as
Elisabetta Farnese, she was regent until her son, Carlos III arrived in
Spain after the death of her stepson Fernando III. In 1727 he inherited
Parma from her father and in 1735 he became king of Duo Sicilie. She has
been very powerful during the reign of her husband Felipe V (1714-46). |
 |
1762-96
Imperatitsa Catharina II the Great of Russia
1762-81 Queen of Sibiria (Sibirskoye Tsartvo)
1793-96 Princess of Jever (Germany) |
|
Zarina
Yekatarina II was born as Princess Sophia Augusta zu Anhalt-Zerbst and
was also Countess Regnant of Jever
in Germany and apparently also regent of Holstein-Gottorp. Her
refinement and love of study contrasted with her husband, Peter of
Holstein-Gottorp's vulgarity and intemperance; neglected by him, she
ingratiated herself with some of the nobles. Her intrigues were
discovered by Peter and, on ascending the throne in 1762, he threatened
to repudiate her, whereupon she imprisoned him and had him strangled.
The subsequent murder of Ivan, the next heir, left Catherine in
undisputed possession of the throne. She supported progressive ideas,
such as reforms in law, education, and provincial and municipal
administration, but she ruled as an autocrat and suppressed Polish
nationalists, which led to Poland's partition, and took the Crimea and
parts of the Black Sea coast from Turkey. In 1762 Siberia was created a
separate Kingdom in a Personal union with Russia until it was
incorporated in the Empire. She was also famous for her long succession
of young lovers. In 1793 she inherited Jever from brother and appointed
her sister-in-law as administrator. Catharina lived (1729-96) |
 |
1768-1806 De-facto
ruler, Queen Consort Maria Caroline von Habsburg-Lorraine of The Two
Sicilies (Italy)
1777 Councillor of State |
|
She was daughter of Empress Maria-Theresia
of Austria and very influential during the reign of her husband,
Ferdinando di Borbone who became King of Napoli when his father
succeeded as king of Spain. When she gave birth to a male heir in
1777, she became a member of the Council of state. Under Maria's influence
Ferdinando joined her brother in opposing the French Revolution, which
resulted in the invasion of Naples. Ferdinando escaped to Sicily
leaving his kingdom to become a Republic controlled by France. By
June 1799 he had gathered his forces and returned to crush the
opposition and regain his throne. In 1806 Naples was captured by
Napoleon, and he installed his brother, Joseph, as King. This
forced Ferdinando to abdicate and leave once more for Sicily. He
returned to Naples again after Napoleon's downfall. In 1816 Naples
and Sicily were united when the kingdom of the Two Sicilies was formed. By
1820, dissatisfaction with the monarchy resulted in an uprising which Ferdinando
quelled by reluctantly agreeing to a new constitution. However, in
1821 he called on Austrian forces to overthrow the reactionary
government. She lived (1752-
|
 |
1772-84 De-facto
Regent Dowager Queen Juliane-Marie zu Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel of
Denmark and Norway |
| She initiated a
coup d'Etat against the "premier" count Struense who had an
affair with the Queen, Caroline-Mathilde of England, and total influence
on the insane King Christian 7. Her son, Hereditary Prince Ferdinand and
Premier Høegh-Guldberg became official leaders of the Government with
her as the power behind the scenes. In 1784 they were removed by her
stepson, Crown Prince Frederik (6). Her sister-in-law was Grand-Duchess
Anna Pavlovna, regent of Russia 1740-41 for her oldest son, Zar Ivan,
and after she was executed, her younger children lived in Denmark.
Juliane-Marie lived (1729-96) |
 |
1774-77 Regent
Queen Maria Ana Vittoria de Borbon of Portugal |
| Wife of King José
I (1750-77), who showed no interest in affairs of state and was
dominated by Sebastião José Carvalho e Mello, Duke of Pombal. In 1774
her husband was declared insane, and she became regent, and began
gradually to erode the power of the Duke of Pombal. Her husband was
succeeded by their daughter, Maria I. Maria Ana Vittoria was daughter of
king Felipe V of Spain and Isabel Farnesio, and lived (1718-81). |
 |
1777-1816 Queen
Maria I of Portugal
1808-1816 Queen of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the
Algarves |
| Her full title
was The Most High, Serene and Potent Lady Dona Maria I, by the grace of
God, of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, and
above and below the Seas of Africa, Lord of Guinea, of the Conquest,
Navigation and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and the Indies,
Most Faithful Queen. She was granted the title of Princess of Beira
by her grandfather, King Dom João V at birth, and became Princess
of Brazil in 1750. She succeeded her father, but became mentally
unstable and was forced to accept a Regency from 1792. Left Portugal
with her family on the invasion of her kingdom by the French, in
November 1807. Landed at Rio de Janeiro in March 1808. She was married
to her uncle, The Most High, Serene and Potent Lord Dom Pedro III, King
of Portugal etc, their son, Infante Dom Jose (1761-88) was married to
her sister, Infanta Dona Maria (1746-1829). Maria da Gloria lived
(1734-1816) |
 |
1780-93/98
Co-Governante-General Princess Maria-Christina Johanna Josefa
Antonia von Habsburg-Lothringen of the Southern Low Countries (Belgium
and Luxembourg) |
| She
was Duchess of Teschen 1765-98 together with husband, Albrecht of
Sachsen, Duke of Teschen (1765-98) and Governor of Hungary (1766-80).
Daughter of Maria Theresa.
Maria-Christina lived (1742-98)
|
 |
1803-07
Regent Dowager Queen Marie-Louise de Bourbon of the Kingdom of
Etruria (Toscana)
1817-24 Duchess Regnant of Lucca (Italy) |
| Widow of
Ludovico I de Borbone-Parma, who was king of Etruria (1801-03), she was
regent for son, Carlo Ludovico II, who was deposed. He succeeded her as
Duke of Lucca and in 1847 he inherited Parma from the French ex-Empress,
Maria-Luigia von Habsburg. She lived (1782-1824) |
|
From
1804 Regent Dowager Queen Nino Bagratuni of Mingreli (Georgia) |
| For
King Lewan V. Mingreli was one of the new principalities that emerged
after the fall of Byzantinum in 1453. |
 |
1808-15 Regent Queen Caroline
Bonaparte of Napoli (Italy)
|
| She was the
actual leader of the government during her husband, Joachim Murat's
participation in the fighting in France. They were Duke and Duchess of
Berg 1806-08. She lived (1782-1839) |
 |
1810
Regent Queen Hortense de Beauharnais of The Netherlands
1813-37 Titular Duchess of Saint-Leu
|
| In
1810 her husband, Louis Bonaparte abdicated as king in favour of their
second surviving son, Napoleon Louis (b. 1804) after four years on the
throne, and appointed her as regent, before going into exile. The
following year she gave birth to a fourth son who was put in the care of
his paternal grandmother, Madame de Souza. After
Napoleon I's surrender, she received the title of Duchesse de Saint-Leu,
and lost the rank of Queen. Her husband only received the title of Count
de Saint-Leu. In 1814 she and Louis Napoleon were divorced. Her third
son Louis Napoleon was later first elected President and then became
emperor Napoleon III of France. Hortense was daughter of Vicomte
Alexander de Beauharnais and the later Empress Joséphine (see below),
and she spend the years from five to 10 on Martinique when her parents
separated. She lived (1783-1837). |
 |
1812-13
Regent Empress Marie-Louise von Habsburg-Lothringen of France
1814-47 Sovereign Duchess of Parma e Piacenza and Gaustella
(Italy) |
|
Regent
during her husband, Napoleon Is war in Russia. After he was deposed and
they were divorced, she was Duchess regnant of Parma-Piacenza e
Gaustalla in Italy (1815-47). She was
born as H.I.R.H. Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Hungaria. Mother
of one son, The King of Rome, who died in battle. She lived (1791-1847).
|
 |
1814-15 Regent
Queen Marie Sofie Frederikke zu Hessen-Kassel of Denmark |
| Regent during
her husband, Frederik 6.s participation in the Congress of Vienna after
the Napoleonic wars. She was mother of 8 children, but only two
daughters survived and her husband therefore was succeeded by nephew in
1839. She lived (1767-1852). |
|
1819-29
Queen Sofia of Guria (Georgia) |
| She
was widow of Mamia V. In 1830 the state was annexed by Russia |
|
1821-22 Member
of the Council of State, Queen Maria Teresa d'Asburgo-Este of
Sardegna and Piemont (Italy) |
| In 1788 she
married the later King Vittorio Emanuele I de Savoia of Sardinia
(1759-1824), who succeeded his brother, who abdicated in 1802. During
the Napoleonic Wars the family lost much of their territories. In 1821 a
riot broke out and she became a member of the Inner Council, and
accepted to act as regent if needed. Two years later her husband
abdicated in favour of his younger brother, she moved to her son-in-law
in Modena, where she died. She was daughter of Archduke Ferdinand Karl
Anton von Habsburg and Maria Beatrix d'Este, Duchess of Modena, Massa e
Carrara, mother of a son, who died young, and four daughters, and lived
(1773-1832). |
 |
1826-28 and
1832-53 Queen Maria II da Gloria of Portugal and the Algarves |
| Also 18th
Duquesa de Bragança. Her full title was The Most High, Serene and
Potent Lady Dona Maria II, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of
Portugal and the Algarves, and above and below the Seas of Africa, Lord
of Guinea, of the Conquest, Navigation and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia,
Persia, and the Indies, Most Faithful Queen. Her father abdicated in her
favour - to become Emperor of Brazil - and her aunt became regent for
her. But Maria's uncle, Dom Miguel, was proclaimed King in 1828. She was
reinstated after a bloody civil war. She first married Duke August von
Leuchtenberg, Prince of Portugal (1810-25) and then Prince Ferdinand zu
Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (whose cousin, Prince Albert, was married to Queen
Victoria of United Kingdom), who became king consort in 1837 and was
regent for their son after her death. Maria lived (1819-53) |
 |
1826-28 President
of the Council of Regency Infanta Isabel Maria de Bragança of Portugal and the Algarve |
| Her full title
was H.H. The Serene Princess and Senhora Infanta Dona Isabel Maria da
Conceição Joanna Gualberta Anna Francisca d'Assis Xavier de Paula e de
Alcántara Antónia Raphaela Michaela Gabriela Joaquina Gonzaga de
Bragança e Bourbon and she was regent for her niece. She newer married
and lived (1801-76) |
 |
1830 Regent
Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen of United Kingdom and Ireland
|
| Apparently
regent after her husband, William IV succeeded to the throne in 1830.
She was mother of two daughters, Charlotte (1819) and Elizabeth
(1820-21) and three stillborn children. Born as Adelheid zu
Sachsen-Coburg-Meiningen, and lived (1792-1849). |
 |
1833-68 Her
Catholic Majesty Isabel II, by the Grace of God, Queen of Spain and
the Indies |
| Her other titles
were Queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, the Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem,
Navarra, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Mallorca, Menorca, Sevilla,
Cardeña, Córdoba, Cócega, Murcia, Jaén, the Algarve, Algerias,
Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, the East and West Indies, , and the
Oceanic Colonies, Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Brabant
and Milano, Countess of Habsburg, Flanders, Tirol and Barcelona, Lady of
Vizcaya and Molina. She was married to Don Franciso of Spain, titular
king, mother of around 14 children of whom only her son, Alfonso XII,
and four daughters survived. She was deposed 1868, abdicated 1870, and
lived (1830-1904). |
 |
1833-40 Regent
Dowager Queen Maria Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias of Spain |
| Widow of
Fernando VII, she was regent for daughter Isabel II. She liberalized the
constitution and sanctioned certain anticlerical measures. In 1833 she
secretly married Fernando Muñoz, which made her highly unpopular when
discovered. The following year Don Carlos instigated the first Carlist
War. He was defeated in 1837, but the war was not officially concluded
until 1839. In the meantime María Cristina was pressured into
appointing a Progressionist minister and accepting a new compromise
constitution. In 1840 the Progressionist leader, General Baldomero
Esparto revolted, forcing her to resign and leave the country. Esparto
then took over as regent. She later made an attempt to return, but
failed, and retired in exile to France in 1854. She
lived (1806-78)
|
 |
1837-1901
H.M. Victoria, By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith and
Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of
England and Ireland (20.6.1837
- 22.01.1901)
1876-1901 Empress
of India (28.04.1876-22.01.1901) |
| She
presided over the British Empire and vast colonies. Her titles included
the role of Sovereign of The Channel Islands and Lord of Mann. Also
Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Braunschweig and Lüneburg. Married to
Prince Albert of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, and mother of nine children. She
lived (1818-1901) |
|
1852-53
Dame
Marie Alliére-Collings
of Sark (Crown Dependency of the British Monarch) |
| The discovery in
1833 of copper and silver loads in Little Sark led to the formation of
the Sark Mining Company. To finance the venture the Seigneur got Crown
permission to mortgage the island to John Alliére, a Guernsey man grown
wealthy through privateering. The results were disappointing and by the
time the mines were abandoned in 1847 the Seigneur was deeply in debt.
The Le Pelley mortgage could not be financed from the meager rates and
tithes paid in Sark. In 1852, with Crown permission, Peter Carey Le
Pelley sold the fief to Marie, widow of T.G.Collings; she had inherited
the mortgage from her father John Alliére. La Dame du Serq, as she was
also known, died within a year and her son the Reverend W.T.Collings
became Seigneur. |
|
1853-57
Regent Dowager Queen Katarina Cavcanadze of Mingreli (Georgia)
|
| For
Nikolaus (1853-67), who the last ruler before the Russian
conquest. |
 |
1859, 1864 and
1870 Regent Empress Eugènie de Guzmán Lopez de Zuñiga
Royas y Kirkpatric of France |
| She was regent
during her husband, Emperor Napoleon III Bonapartes' warfares against
Prussia. Her full name was Eugenia-Maria Ignacia Augustina de Guzmán
Lopez de Zuñiga Royas y Kirkpatric, 10th Condesa de Moya de Ardalesy de
Osera, Condesa de Teba, Abitas, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Vizcondesa de
la Calzada etc. Her sister, Doña Paca, was 9th Condesa de Montijo, 11th
Condesa de Penarañda etc. They succeeded their father, Don Cipriano de
Guzman Lopez de Zuñiga Royas y Leiva, in 1839. Their mother was the
American Mary Kirkpatrick. Empress Eugenie's son died young and
her titles were inherited by her sister's children and the present
holder of these and many other titles are the 18th Duquesa de Alba.
Eugenie's husband was President of France (1848-52) and Emperor
(1852-70). She lived (1825-1920). |
 |
1885-1902
Queen Regent H.M. Doña María Cristina de Habsburgo-Loreno y
Habsurgo-Este of Spain |
| She
was Regent of Spain and its colonies, first during the vacancy of the
throne and pending the gestation of a posthumous heir - her son Alfonso
XIII (1886-1931-41), who was born 6 months after the death of her
husband Alfonso XII. María Cristina was born as Her Imperial and Royal
Highness Archduchess of Österreich-Ungarn, Princess of Este and had been
Royal Abbess of Prague until their marriage in 1879, and lived
(1859-1929). |
 |
1890 Regent
Queen Emma zu Waldeck-Pyrmont of the Netherlands and Luxembourg
1890-98 Dowager Queen Regent of the Netherlands |
| Emma acted first
as regent for her terminally ill husband King Willem III of the
Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg (14.-23.11.1890), and after he
died, for her only daughter who succeeded to the Throne at the age of
10. Luxembourg passed to another branch of the Nassau-family. Emma was
an able administrator and became extremely popular. She lived
(1858-1934) |
 |
1890-1948
H.M. Wilhelmina, By the Grace of God Queen
of the Netherlands (23.11.1890-04.09.1948) |
| Also
Princess of Oranje-Nassau etc, etc, etc.
Netherlands at the time included Oostindia (Indonesia), Dutch Guyana
(Suriname) and The Nederlanse Antillen. Her mother, Emma zu
Waldeck-Pyrmont, acted as regent 1890-98. During World War II she was
leader of the exile-government in
London. Wilhelmina was married to Duke Heinrich zu Mecklenburg-Mecklenburg-Schwerin
(Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands)
and abdicated in favour of her only surviving child, Juliana, taking
the title of Princess. She lived (1880-1964) |
 |
1908
Lieutenant-Representant HRH Grande Duchesse Maria-Anna da
Bragança
of Luxembourg (19.03-18.11)
1908-1912 Grande Duchesse Regent (18.11-14.06) |
| She
was regent during the illness of her husband, Gand Duke Guillaume
(19.3.08-25.12.), and the minority of her daughter Grand-Duchess Marie-Adelheide
(25.2-14.6). She was born as Infanta of Portugal and Princess of Bragança,
mother of six daughters, and lived (1861-1942). |
 |
1912-19
H.G.H. Marie-Adélheïde, By the Grace of God Grande Duchess
of Luxembourg (25.02-14.01) |
| Her
Grand Ducal Highness Maria-Adelheide was also Duchess of Nassau,
Countess-Palatine and Electress of the Rhine, Countess of Sayn,
Hadenburg, Königstein, Krazenborgen and Dietz, Burgravine of
Hammerstein, Dame of Mahlberg, Wiesbaden, Idstein, Merenberg, Limburg
and Eppstein.The
first 4 months her mother acted as regent, she abdicated in favour
of her sister in 1919 and entered a convent in Bavaria. She lived
(1894-1924). |
 |
1915-17
De-facto Regent Imperatitsa Alexandra Fedorovna of the Russian
Empir |
| The
Czarina was de-facto in charge of the government business during her
husband, Zar/Emperor Nicolai’s time as commander-in-chief during World
War I, but she obtained his endorsement of her decisions. In 1918 the
whole family - including the four daughters and son were executed during
the revolution. She was born as Princess Alix von Hessen und beim Rhein
and lived (1872-1918). |
 |
1919-64
HRH. Charlotte, By the Grace of God Grande Duchesse of
Luxembourg (15.01-12.11)
1940-44 Leader
of the Government-in-Exile from Montreal (10.05-10.09) |
| She
succeeded her sister, Maria Adelaide. During World War II she was leader
of the exile-government in Canada. In
1961 her son, Jean, was appointed regent and in 1964 she abdicated
in his favour. Married to Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma and mother of
six children. She lived (1896-1985). |
 |
1920
Regent H.M. Dowager Queen Olga of Greece (18.11-11.12) |
| Born
HIH Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna Romanova of Russia, she was
acting head of state after her grandson Alexander I (1917-20) had died
after a monkey bite, until her son Contantinos I returned to take over
the throne a second time - he reigned (1913-17) and (1920-22). She lived
(1851-1926). |
 |
1927-74 Dame
Sibyl Mary Beaumont Hathaway of Sark (Chanel Island)
|
| Also known as La
Dame du Serq, she succeeded her father William Collings as the 21st
Seigneur of the Sark. Her second husband, Robert Hathaway
(1888-1954) became Seigneur in the right of his wife in accordance with
the ancient custom, but Sibyl remained firmly in charge. She was also
President and member of a number of committees of the Chief Pleas. She
appointed her youngest daughter Jehanne Bell as Deputy Seigneur
1946-68. She was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and granted the title Dame
Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Sibyl outlived all but two
children and was succeeded by her grandson. She lived (1884-1974) |
 |
1947
and 1948 Princess-Regent Juliana of the Netherlands
1948-80 By
the Grace of God Queen of the Netherlands |
|
Queen Juliana was also Princess van Oranje Nassau, Duchess van
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
etc, etc, etc. The Netherlands at the time
included Suriname (independent 1975) and the Nederlandse Antillen. She
acted as regent during her mother, Queen Wilhelmina's illness. Married
to Prince Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld. Later abdicated in favour of
her oldest of four daughters, Queen Beatrix, and has since been known as
HRH Princess Juliana of the Netherlands.
She lived (1909-2004).
|
|
|
1952-
H.M. Elizabeth II of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Defender of the
Faith, Head of the Commonwealth |
| Until 1953 her
title was Queen of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Overseas
Dominions. She is head if state in 15 countries apart from Great Britain
and as Head of the Commonwealth she is
the front person of the organization of many other former British
colonies and territories. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is the mother of three sons and a daughter. Married to Phillip Mountbatten,
former Prince of Greece. (b. 1926-)
|
 |
1972-
H.M. Margrethe the Second, by the Grace of God, Denmark's
Queen |
Supreme
Commander of the Defence Forces and Head of the Evangelical-Lutheran
Church. The Rigsfælleskab - or
Commenwealth of the Realm - includes the external territories of
The Faero Islands and Greenland. Queen
Margrethe succeeded her father, Frederik 9, and married to Count Henri
de Laborde de Monpezat, Prince Henrik. Margrete þorhildur Alexandrine
Ingrid is mother of two sons. (b. 1940-)
|
 |
1980-2013
H.M. Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, By the Grace of God, Queen
of the Netherlands |
| Queen
Beatrix is also Princess van Oranje-Nassau, Princess van
Lippe-Biesterfeld etc, etc, etc. The Kingdom
of The Netherlands includes the external territories of Aruba and The
Nederlandse Antillen. She succeeded upon the abdication of her mother, Queen
Juliana,
and abdicated in 2013 in favour of her eldest son.
Married to Prince
Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer von Amfeld (1926-2002), and mother of
3 sons. (b. 1938-). |
Last update 3 0.04.13
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