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Beatrice of Naples
Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia
Tenure	1476–1490
Coronation	12 December 1476, Székesfehérvár
Tenure	1491–1502
Born	16 November 1457 Naples
Died	23 September 1508(1508-09-23) (aged 50) Naples
Spouse	Matthias Corvinus Vladislaus II of Hungary
House	Trastámara
Father	Ferdinand I of Naples
Mother	Isabella of Clermont

Beatrice of Naples (16 November 1457 – 23 September 1508), also known as Beatrice of Aragon (Hungarian: Aragóniai Beatrix; Italian: Beatrice d'Aragona), was twice Queen of Hungary and of Bohemia by marriage to Matthias Corvinus and Vladislaus II. She was the daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Clermont.

Biography

Beatrice received a good education at her father's court in Naples. She was engaged in 1474 and married Matthias in Hungary 22 December 1476: she was crowned Queen of Hungary in Székesfehérvár.

The marriage secured an alliance between Hungary and Naples: In 1480, when an Ottoman fleet seized Otranto in the Kingdom of Naples, at the earnest solicitation of the pope he sent the Hungarian general, Blaise Magyar, to recover the fortress, which surrendered to him on 10 May 1481. Again in 1488, Matthias took Ancona under his protection for a while, occupying it with a Hungarian garrison. Beatrice exerted some influence in the policy of Hungary. She also had a cultural importance by introducing the Italian renaissance into the court of Hungary, an interest she shared with Matthias: she encouraged his work with the Bibliotheca Corviniana, built the palace Visegrád as a residence for the court, and created an academy. She wished to participate in policy: in 1477, she accompanied Matthias during the invasion of Austria, and in 1479, she was present during the peace treaty between Matthias and Vladislaus II.

In 1479, their relationship became tense when Matthias awarded his illegitimate son John (János) Corvinus with a fief and invited John's mother, Barbara Edelpöck, to court. Matthias died before Beatrice ever conceded that his son János should be the rightful heir. Upon his death in 1490, Beatrice managed to keep a power position by the support of the Hungarian nobility and continue as queen of Hungary by marriage to the next monarch. After the death of Matthias Corvinus, she wrote a letter to Simon Keglevich; she addressed this letter to king Simon Keglevich, then only the commander of Matthias Corvinus. She offered him to become as a mother to his children. He declined this offer; he delivered this letter to the parliament, and he became the ambassador of the parliament to the king. She presided as a royal representative at the parliament where the next king was elected, with the Hungarian crown placed at her side. It is believed she could not control Janos and was claimed illegitimate by her second husband but these claims all cannot be verified nor can they be completely ignored.

Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary wrote in the same year 1490 many letters with the same text to many of the Hungarian nobility. He wrote that Beatrice had written to him, that Matthias Corvinus and Beatrice had decided that Stephen Zápolya, the father of John Zápolya, should become the next duke of Austria after Matthias Corvinus. Beatrice married her second husband, Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, in 1491. Beatrice had great support by the Hungarian nobility, and the nobility had demanded of Vladislav that he marry her. This marriage was yet again childless. Formally, the marriage was questioned, as her spouse was not granted a divorce from his first wife by the pope. Her husband claimed that he did not regard the marriage as legal, and that he had been forced to marry her against his will, and in 1493, a commission was issued to investigate. In 1500, the pope declared the marriage to be illegal, and Beatrice was forced to pay the costs of the trial. Beatrice returned to Naples, where she arrived in 1501, and in 1502 Vladislaus could marry Anne of Foix-Candale. Beatrice died in Naples.

Ancestry

Notes

1. "Matthias I | king of Hungary".

References

• J. Macek, Tři ženy krále Vladislava, Mladá fronta, Praha, 1991
• kol. autorov, Encyklopédia Slovenska, Veda, Bratislava, 1977

v t e Royal consorts of Bohemia
Přemyslid	c. 870–1198 (Duchesses) Ludmila of Bohemia Drahomíra Biagota Emma of Mělník Božena Judith of Schweinfurt Ida of Wettin Adelaide of Hungary Świętosława of Poland Wirpirk of Tengling Lukarta of Bogen Helbirga of Austria Richeza of Berg Adelaide of Hungary Gertrude of Babenberg Judith of Thuringia Elizabeth of Hungary Elisabeth of Greater Poland Hellicha of Wittelsbach 1198–1306 (Queens) Adelaide of Meissen Constance of Hungary Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen Margaret of Austria Kunigunda of Halych Judith of Habsburg Elizabeth Richeza of Poland Viola of Teschen
Non-dynastic	1306–1310 Anne of Bohemia Elizabeth Richeza of Poland
Luxembourg	1310–1437 Elizabeth of Bohemia Beatrice of Bourbon Blanche of Valois Anne of Bavaria Anna von Schweidnitz Elizabeth of Pomerania Joanna of Bavaria Sophia of Bavaria Barbara of Cilli
Habsburg	1437–1457 Elizabeth of Luxembourg
Non-dynastic	1457–1471 Joanna of Rožmitál
Jagiellonian	1471–1526 Barbara of Brandenburg Beatrice of Naples Anne of Foix-Candale Mary of Hungary
Habsburg	1526–1780 Anne of Bohemia and Hungary Maria of Austria Anna of Tyrol Elizabeth Stuart Eleonora Gonzaga Maria Anna of Spain Maria Leopoldine of Austria Eleonora Gonzaga Margaret Theresa of Spain Claudia Felicitas of Austria Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Maria Amalia
Habsburg-Lorraine	1780–1918 Maria Luisa of Spain Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este Caroline Augusta of Bavaria Maria Anna of Savoy Elisabeth of Bavaria Zita of Bourbon-Parma
also titled Queen of Bohemia

• 1457 births
• 1508 deaths
• Queens consort of Bohemia
• 15th-century Neapolitan people
• Queens consort of Hungary
• Austrian consorts
• Remarried queens consort
• 15th-century Italian architects
• 15th-century Italian nobility
• 15th-century Italian women
• Daughters of kings