Władysław III of Poland Władysław III ( 31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444 ) , also known as Władysław of Varna was King of Poland from 1434 , and King of Hungary from 1440 , until his death at the Battle of Varna . Władysław III of Varna is known in Hungarian as I . Ulászló ; in Polish as Władysław Warneńczyk ; in Slovak as " Vladislav I " ; in Czech as " Vladislav Varnenčík " ; in Bulgarian as " Vladislav Varnenchik ( Владислав Варненчик ) " ; in Lithuanian as " Vladislovas III " ; in Croatian as " Vladislav I . Jagelović " . Royal title . Latin : " Wladislaus Dei gracia Polonie , Hungarie , Dalmacie , Croacie etc . rex necnon terrarum Cracouie , Sandomirie , Syradie , Lancicie , Cuyauie , Lithuanie princeps supremus , Pomeranie , Russieque dominus et heres etc . " English : " Vladislaus by God ' s grace king of Poland , Hungary , Dalmatia , Croatia , and lands of Kraków , Sandomierz , Sieradz , Łęczyca , Kuyavia , Supreme Prince of Lithuania , lord and heir of Pomerania and Ruthenia " Biography . Władysław was the first - born son of Władysław II Jagiełło and Sophia of Halshany . He ascended the throne at the age of ten and was immediately surrounded by a group of advisors headed by Cardinal Oleśnicki , who wanted to continue to enjoy his high status at court . In spite of that , the young ruler and his ambitious mother were aware that there was opposition to them . Despite the agreements signed between Władysław Jagiełło and the Polish magnates to ensure the succession for his sons , the opposition wanted another candidate for the Polish throne – Frederick of Brandenburg , who was betrothed to Hedwig , Jagiełło ' s daughter by his second wife . However , the conspiracy was resolved by the death of the princess , rumoured to have been poisoned by Queen Sophia . The young king ' s reign was difficult from the very outset . His coronation was interrupted by a hostile nobleman , Spytko of Melsztyn . On the next day , the customary homage of the townsfolk of Kraków did not take place due to a dispute between the temporal and spiritual lords of Mazovia over their place in the retinue . Neither did Wladyslaw have much to say later about matters of state , which were run by the powerful cleric and chancellor Zbigniew Oleśnicki . The situation did not change even after the Sejm ( Polish parliament ) had gathered in Piotrków in 1438 , and declared the fourteen - year - old king to have attained his majority . This situation continued until 1440 , when Władysław was offered the crown of Hungary . However , accepting it would have led to numerous problems . Hungary was under a growing threat from the Ottoman Empire , and some Polish magnates did not want to agree to the king of Poland also being the monarch of Hungary , while Elisabeth , widow of the deceased King of Hungary , Albert II of Germany , attempted to keep the crown for her yet unborn child . Such inconveniences aside , Władysław finally took the Hungarian throne , having engaged in a two - year civil war against Elisabeth . He had received significant support from Pope Eugene IV , in exchange for his help in organising an anti - Turkish crusade . The eighteen - year - old king , although thus far a king solely by title , became deeply involved in the war against the Turks , having been brought up in standard of a pious Christian monarch and ideal Christian knight , and paid no heed to the interests of Poland and of the Jagiellonian dynasty . The " bulwark of Christianity " and other slogans put forward by the papal envoy Giuliano Cesarini , together with much more reasonable but only verbal promises of Venetian and papal fleets blockading the Dardanelles Strait s , along with an enticing vision of a promise of victory in this glorious crusade carried for the glory of God and against the Turks , persuaded Władysław to engage his freshly victorious forces ( long campaign ) for another season of war , thus breaching the ten - year truce with the aggressive and still powerful Ottoman Empire . Despite their alleged forthcoming help the Venetian fleet carried over the Turkish army from Asia into Europe and failed to sail to Varna , a surprising move that Władysław and his most senior military commander Hunyadi failed to anticipate . The treason by the Venetians placed the huge Turkish army ( 60 , 000 ) under sultan Murad II in close proximity to the unsuspecting crusaders ( 20 , 000 ) . Therefore , when the Battle of Varna began on 10 November 1444 , the Polish king and his multi - ethnic subjects did not sense that this would be for many of them their final fight . Facing the desperate circumstance the king , with experienced Hunyadi fighting and breaking the Sipahi cavalry , decided to gamble and attack the very person of the sultan , protected by the guard cavalry and formidable Janissary infantry . The young king was killed while personally leading his own royal Polish heavy cavalry , 500 - strong , company ( banner ) , his charge losing impetus and coming to a standstill amongst the unyielding Janissaries , amongst whom sultan Murad II was seeking safety . The Janissaries killed the king ' s bodyguard and beheaded Wladyslaw , displaying his head on a pole . Disheartened by the death of their king , the Hungarian army fled the battlefield . Neither the king ' s body nor his armor were ever found . Władysław III had no children and did not marry . The chronicler Jan Długosz , known for his antipathy towards the king and his father , alleged that there was something unusual about Wladyslaw ' s sexuality , though Dlugosz did not specify what : " ( … ) too subject to his carnal desires ( … ) he did not abandon his lewd and despicable habits " ( Polish : " zbyt chuciom cielesnym podległy ( … ) nie porzucał wcale swych sprośnych i obrzydłych nałogów ( … ) " ) . Wladyslaw was succeeded in the Kingdom of Poland by his younger brother , Duke of Lithuania , Casimir IV Jagiellon in 1447 , after a three - year interregnum . In Hungary he was succeeded by his former rival , the child - king Ladislaus the Posthumous . His life in Portugal according to a legend . According to a Portuguese legend Władysław survived the Battle of Varna ( although the Turks claimed to have his head , his body in royal armor was never found ) and then journeyed in secrecy to the Holy Land . He became a knight of Saint Catharine of Mount Sinai ( " O Cavaleiro de Santa Catarina " ) and then he settled on Madeira . King Afonso V of Portugal granted him the lands in Cabo Girão district of the Madeira Islands , rent - free for the rest of his life . He was known there as Henrique Alemão ( Henry the German ) and married Senhorinha Anes ( the King of Portugal was his best man ) , who gave him two sons . He established a church of Saint Catherine and Saint Mary Magdalene in Madalena do Mar ( 1471 ) . There he was depicted in a painting as Saint Joachim meeting Saint Anne at the Golden Gate on a painting by Master of the Adoration of Machico ( Mestre " da Adoração de Machico " ) in the beginning of the 16th century . According to the legend , he felt his defeat at Varna was a warning sign from God ( since he declared war on a false pretext , violating the truce with the Ottoman Turks ) . Thus he wandered as a pilgrim , seeking forgiveness , which he found in Jerusalem . For the rest of his life he would deny his identity . A delegation of Polish monks went to Madeira to question him and certified he was in fact the long lost king , now living in secrecy . He declined their suggestion to ascend the Polish throne again . Historical places . In honor and respect , there are a main boulevard and a residential district in Varna called " Vladislav Varnenchik " , and there has been a successful football team named Vladislav Varna in past times . There is also a park with a symbolic cenotaph of Wladislaus III in Varna , located in an ancient Thracian burial mound .