Helen II of Croatia

Helen II the Beautiful (Croatian: Jelena or Jelena Lijepa; Hungarian: Ilona) was Queen consort of Croatia.

Biography

Helen was born a Hungarian princess and was the daughter of Árpád dynasty's King Bela I, sister to King Ladislaus I of Hungary, granddaughter of Polish King Mieszko II Lambert, and a great-granddaughter of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria.

She became Queen of Croatia during her marriage with Croatian King Dmitar Zvonimir, a distant relative whom she married in 1063. They had a son, Radovan, who died in his late teens or early twenties.

Helen had excellent family connections, being an aunt to Ladislaus' daughter Piroska (who adopted the name Irene after converting to the orthodox rite), the mother of future Byzantine Emperor Manuel I and the wife of the Emperor John II Komnenos.

Helen was very popular with the Croatians, and they often called her Jelena Lijepa (Helen the Beautiful). She is thought to have been a joint ruler with her husband Zvonimir, and they saw their kingdom expand during his 14-year rule until his death in 1089. Upon the death of King 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.

She is not to be confused with Helen I of Croatia, who was the wife of Mihajlo Krešimir II in the 10th century.

External links

• http://members.tripod.com/royalcroatia/zvonimir.htm