Historical Hungarian scandals – 3+1 things you may not have known!

You might think scandals and gossiping are new inventions, but they are not. People have amused themselves by fantasising about the life of royals and nobles who, to be honest, did cause a fair amount of scandal. Hungarian history is full of such stories; here you can read four of the most amusing ones.

1. King Matthias Corvinus – love life and death

King Mathias Corvinus is a crucial figure in Hungarian history. All Hungarians know about him and, strengthened by the popular kids show about his just and honourable nature, he is among the most popular kings of Hungary. Nevertheless, his affairs and love life caused some problems for his kingdom.

His first wife, Catherine of Podebrady, died just 3 years after they got married, during childbirth. Matthias supposedly only married her so that her father would get him out of prison in Prague.

According to the legend, Matthias’s true love was Ilona the Beautiful (Szép Ilona), who met the king while he was travelling in disguise.

When she found out that the man she had fallen in love with was the king, she died because of the extreme sorrow she felt. She felt hopeless and thought that a relationship with the king would never work out, and this sadness cost her her life.

Matthias nevertheless did not become a hermit and continued to pursue various women, often causing trouble, for example in Silesia, for ‘paying too much attention to the daughters and even wives of people’. He had a 5-year-long affair with Barbara Edelpöck, from which his only son, John Corvinus was born. However, he sent her away, separating her from her son, and married Beatrice of Naples. Beatrice was extremely beautiful and very intelligent, so it is not surprising that Matthias eventually fell in love with her. He even involved her in politics and decision-makings, often causing outrage for siding with her instead of his advisors.

However, once it turned out Beatrice could not have children, Matthias needed to focus on making sure that John Corvinus could follow him on the throne without any problems.

Beatrice hoped that she could keep the throne after Matthias’s death since she was crowned the Queen of Hungary, so she disapproved Matthias’s efforts to make John ready to be king. Perhaps this disagreement between them towards the end of Matthias’s life is what led to the gossip that Beatrice contributed to the death of Matthias.

Although the king had been sick for longer periods of time, so a natural cause of death is a perfectly plausible explanation, poisoning cannot be ruled out. However, considering Beatrice’s power lasted only as long as her husband’s life (she lost all her influence, including the throne, after his death), so it is unlikely that she had anything to do with his death. This does not prevent the spread of this particular gossip, though.

2. Count Gyula Andrássy – father of Sissi’s child?

Austrian Empress Elisabeth liked Hungary and Hungarians, and Hungarians think of her fondly, too. Some say she was born already with a tooth, which traditions say means she is destined for extraordinary things and a great fortune. Well, she did become Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, although her life was cut relatively short by illnesses and an assassination. However, she was not spared from gossip and sharp tongues during her life.

She was said to have developed a romantic relationship with Count Gyula Andrássy, Hungarian statesman and later prime minister. Admittedly, they were close and had a great intellectual friendship.