Having lived in turbulent times (dynastical struggles with frequent changes on the throne and continual Ottoman threat and expansion), Nicholas adjusted himself to the current circumstances, sometimes changing sides and alliances radically. After supporting King Albert's widow Elizabeth of Luxembourg and her little son Ladislaus the Posthumous in 1439, Nicholas soon took the side of the new king Vladislaus I Jagiellon. When the king lost his life in the Battle of Varna in 1444, Nicholas became a member of the royal council. On the election of Matthias Corvinus in 1458, he, like many other noblemen in the kingdom, did not recognize him as king at once, but later, as soon as they peacefully settled the dispute between them.