Helena of Bulgaria

Who was Helena of Bulgaria?

Jelena or Helena of Bulgaria was the daughter of Sratsimir of Kran and Keratsa Petritsa and the sister of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria.

On Easter day, 19 April 1332, Helena married King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia. The marriage was arranged as part of the peace agreement between Bulgaria and Serbia. This marriage provided one son Stefan Uroš V of Serbia and one daughter Irina. According to John V. A. Fine, she is the same "Irene" who was wife of Gregorios Preljub, the Serbian governor of Thessaly who died in late 1355 or early 1356. They were parents to Thomas II Preljubović, Ruler of Epirus from 1367 to 1384. Irene married secondly to Radoslav Hlapen, lord of Kastoria and Edessa.

Helena lived in Venice in 1350 and was a regent of Serbia between 1355–1356.

On her husband's death, Helena inherited part of Bulgarian lands between the lower Vardar and the Mesta. In addition, she also received the Chalcidic peninsula, basing her court at Serres. In 1359 Helena became a nun under the religious name Elisaveta. However, she continued to play an active role in politics.