| Apostolic King ofHungary | |
|---|---|
| Magyarország apostoli királya | |
.svg) | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Apostolic Majesty |
| First monarch | Stephen I |
| Last monarch | Charles IV |
| Formation | 25 December 1000 |
| Abolition | 16 November 1918 |
| Residences | Buda Castle Bratislava Castle Castle of Diósgyőr |
| Appointer | Primogeniture Royal Diet |
| Pretender | Karl von Habsburg |
TheKing of Hungary (Hungarian:Magyarország királya) was therulinghead of state of theKingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (Magyarország apostoli királya) was endorsed byPope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all monarchs of Hungary.[1]
Before 1000 AD, Hungary was not yet recognized as a kingdom by the Pope and theruler of Hungary was styledGrand Prince of the Hungarians. The first King of Hungary,Stephen I. was crowned on 25 December 1000 (or 1 January 1001 in theproleptic calendar) with the crownPope Sylvester II had sent him and with the consent ofOtto III, Holy Roman Emperor.
Following KingStephen I's coronation, all the monarchs ofHungary and theÁrpád dynasty used the title "King". However, not all rulers of Hungary were kings—for example,Stephen Bocskai andFrancis II Rákóczi were proclaimed rulers as "High Princes of Hungary", and there were also three Governors of Hungary who were sometimes styled "regents",János Hunyadi,Lajos Kossuth[2] andMiklós Horthy.
From the 13th century on, a process was established to confirm the legitimacy of the King. No person could become the legitimate King of Hungary without fulfilling the following criteria:
This meant a certain level of protection to the integrity of the Kingdom. For example, stealing the Holy Crown of Hungary was no longer enough to become legitimate King.
The first requirement (coronation by the Archbishop of Esztergom) was confirmed byBéla III, who had been crowned byArchbishop Berthold of Kalocsa, based on the special authorisation ofPope Alexander III. After his coronation he declared that this coronation would not affect the customary claim of the Archbishop of Esztergom to crown the king. In 1211,Pope Innocent III refused to confirm the agreement ofArchbishop John of Esztergom and Archbishop Berthold of Kalocsa on the transfer of the claim, and he declared that only the Archbishop of Esztergom was entitled to crown the King of Hungary.
KingCharles I of Hungary was crowned in May 1301 with a provisional crown in Esztergom by the Archbishop of that city; this led to his second coronation in June 1309. At that time the Holy Crown was not used, and he was crowned in Buda by the Archbishop of Esztergom. However, his final third coronation was in 1310, inSzékesfehérvár, with the Holy Crown and by the Archbishop of Esztergom. Then the King's coronation was considered absolutely legitimate.
On the other hand, in 1439, the dowager queenElizabeth of Luxemburg ordered one of her handmaidens to steal the Holy Crown from the palace of Visegrád, and then promoted the coronation of her newborn sonLadislaus V, which was carried out legitimately in Székesfehérvár by the Archbishop of Esztergom.
A similar situation occurred withMatthias Corvinus, when he negotiated for return of the Holy Crown, which was in the possession ofFrederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. After it was returned, Matthias was legitimately crowned.
As in all the traditional monarchies, the heir descended through the male line from a previous King of Hungary. In accordance with Hungarian tradition, this right usually passed to younger brothers, before passing to the son of the previous King, which caused family disputes on many occasions. The founder of the first Hungarian royal house wasÁrpád, who led his people into theCarpathian Basin in 895. His descendants, who ruled for more than 400 years, includedSaint Stephen I,Saint Ladislaus I,Andrew II, andBéla IV. In 1301 the last member of theHouse of Árpád died, andCharles I was crowned, claiming the throne in the name of his paternal grandmotherMary, the daughter ofStephen V. With the death ofMary, the granddaughter of Charles I, in 1395, the direct line was interrupted again, and Mary's husbandSigismund continued reigning, after being elected by the nobility of the Kingdom in the name of the Holy Crown.
Later,Matthias Corvinus was elected by the nobles of the Kingdom, being the first Hungarian monarch who descended from an aristocratic family, and not from a royal family that inherited the title. The same happened decades later withJohn Zápolya, who was elected in 1526 after the death ofLouis II in thebattle of Mohács.
After this, theHouse of Habsburg inherited the throne, and ruled Hungary from Austria for almost 400 years until 1918. Admiral Horthy was appointed regent in 1920, butCharles IV of Hungary's attempts to retake the throne were unsuccessful. The monarchy of Hungary was formally abolished on 1 February 1946 on the establishment of theSecond Hungarian Republic.
Over the centuries, the Kings of Hungary acquired or claimed the crowns of several neighboring countries, and they began to use the royal titles connected to those countries. By the time of the last kings, their precise style was:"By the Grace of God, Apostolic King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania and Bulgaria, Grand Prince of Transylvania, Count of the Székelys".
The title"Apostolic King" was confirmed byPope Clement XIII in 1758 and used thereafter by all the Kings of Hungary.
The title of"King of Slavonia" referred to the territories between theDrava and theSava Rivers. That title was first used byLadislaus I. It was also Ladislaus I who adopted the title"King of Croatia" in 1091.Coloman added the phrase"King of Dalmatia" to the royal style in 1105.
The title"King of Rama", referring to the claim toBosnia, was first used byBéla II in 1136. It wasEmeric who adopted the title"King of Serbia". The phrase"King of Galicia" was used to indicate the supremacy overHalych, while the title"King of Lodomeria" referred toVolhynia; both titles were adopted byAndrew II in 1205. In 1233,Béla IV began to use the title"King of Cumania" which expressed the rule over the territories settled by theCumans (i.e.,Wallachia andMoldavia) at that time. The phrase"King of Bulgaria" was added to the royal style byStephen V.
Transylvania was originally a part of theKingdom of Hungary ruled by avoivode, but after 1526 became a semi-independentprincipality vassal to theOttoman Empire, and later to theHabsburg monarchy. In 1696, after dethroning PrinceMichael II Apafi,Leopold I took the title"Prince of Transylvania". In 1765,Maria Theresa elevated Transylvania to the status ofGrand Principality.
The"Count of the Székelys" was originally a dignitary of the Kingdom of Hungary, but the title was later used by the Princes of Transylvania. The title was revived during the reign of Maria Theresa who adopted it at the request of the Székelys.
Longest-reigning Hungarian monarchs[edit]
| Shortest-reigning Hungarian monarchs[edit]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||