Helen of Anjou | |
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Helena and her son, King Stefan Milutin, a fresco from Gračanica monastery
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Queen consort of Serbia | |
Tenure | around 1245 – 1276 |
Born | about 1236 |
Died | 8 February 1314 Church of St. Nicholas, Shkodër |
Burial | Gradac Monastery |
Spouse | Stefan Uroš I |
Issue |
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Religion | Roman Catholic, then Serbian Orthodox |
Signature |
Helen of Anjou (Serbian: Jelena Anžujska/Јелена Анжујска, pronounced [jɛ̌lɛna ǎnʒuːjskaː]; c. 1236 – 8 February 1314) was the Queen consort of the Serbian Kingdom, as spouse of King Stefan Uroš I. Her children were later kings Stefan Dragutin and Stefan Milutin.
Her origin is not known for certain; she was born in ca 1236, and the biography of Archbishop Danilo states that "she was of a French family" and a continuator of the work that "the family was of royal or imperial blood".John Fine, Jr. states that she was "of Catholic and French origin, probably of the House of Valois". According to Europäische Stammtafeln, she descended from a side branch of the Byzantine emperor's family and the Hungarian royal house, in which case she may have been the daughter of John Angelus of Syrmia and a sister of Maria Angelina, wife of Anselm de Keu (Anseau de Cayeux), Captain General in Albania for Charles I of Naples. Charles I mentioned her as a relative in a letter dated 1273. She may have been the granddaughter of the sister of Baldwin II of Constantinople.