Tenure 1075 – Ca. 1089 Name Helena Hungary, House Arpad dynasty) Died 1091 | Father Bela I of Hungary Siblings Ladislaus I of Hungary Mother Richeza of Poland | |
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Issue Radovan, Klaudija, Vinica Spouse Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia (m. 1063–1089) Children Prince Radovan, Princess Klaudija Parents Bela I of Hungary, Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary Similar People Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia, Ladislaus I of Hungary, Bela I of Hungary, Geza I of Hungary, Mieszko II Lambert | ||
Helen of Hungary, also known as Helen the Fair (Croatian: Jelena Lijepa; Hungarian: Ilona) (d. 1091), was a queen consort of Croatia.
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Family
Helen was born as a Hungarian princess and was the daughter of Árpád dynasty's king Bela I, sister to Ladislaus I of Hungary, granddaughter of Polish king Mieszko II Lambert, and a great-granddaughter of Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria.
Marriage
Helen became queen of Croatia during her marriage with Croatian king Dmitar Zvonimir, a distant relative whom she married in 1063. They had a son named Radovan, who died in his late teens or early twenties, and daughters named Claudia and Vinica.
Helen had excellent family connections, being an aunt to Irene, the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Helen was very popular with the Croats, and they often called her Jelena Lijepa ("Helen the Beautiful"). She is thought to have been an influential consort.
Upon the death of Zvonimir, Helen was said to have been quietly plotting the inheritance of the Croatian Crown for her brother, the King of Hungary, which caused a decade of war and instability in the kingdom. Helen died around 1091.