Jadwiga, the Female King of Poland
A pioneer largely overlooked by history
Towards the end of the 14th century, King Louis I of Hungary governed a realm that spread from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, thus including Poland. He had a problem in that he had no male heirs but three daughters, and he needed to find a way of ensuring stability after he died.
His solution was to tie all three girls, while still very young, into marriage agreements with the most important rulers of Europe, and to sign a treaty, known as the Privilege of Koszyce, that would ensure that his daughters would be recognised as kings, not queens, of Poland and Hungary after his death.
His youngest daughter, Jadwiga, was only five years old when she was bound in a provisional marriage to the Austrian Prince William, who was himself only eight. Jadwiga was sent to Austria where she was immersed in culture and given the finest available education, including instruction in a range of languages.
Jadwiga’s rise to kingship came much sooner than intended, when her father died in 1382, her oldest sister having died before then. Her sister Mary was declared king of Hungary, leaving Jadwiga as the putative King of Poland, still aged only 10.
The effective power in Poland lay with the nobles who were far more interested in an…