Career
She remains the only female head of state in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nothing is known for certain about Helen"s origin. Queen Helen"s family gained significant influence in state affairs during her husband"s reign, as well as the right to collect the tribute of Ston from the Republic of Ragusa in 1393.
The royal couple had a daughter named Stana, whose daughter Vladava married the nobleman Juraj Radivojević during Dabiša"s lifetime.
In 1394, Helen agreed to Dabiša"s decision to designate King Sigismund of Hungary as his heir. When Dabiša died on 8 September the following year, however, the leading noblemen – Grand Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, Prince Pavao Radinović, Duke Sandalj Hranić and Juraj Radivojević – refused to honor the agreement Dabiša had made with Sigismund.
Sigismund raised an army and marched to near-by Syrmia with the aim to claim the Bosnian throne, but the noblemen convoked a stanak and elected Helen as Dabiša"s successor. By mid-December, Helen had successfully consolidated her grasp on the throne.
Queen Helen fostered notably good relations with Ragusa.
The Republic regularly paid their tributes to her, while she relieved them of certain customs duties. As queen regnant, however, Helen was a mere puppet of the nobility. All her surviving charters specifically note that they had been agreed to by the major noblemen.
The emancipation of Bosnian nobility reached a peak during Helen"s reign.
Having become virtually autonomous, her vassals engaged in internal warfare which significantly weakened the kingdom, which was particularly evident in 1398. lieutenant seems that Helen"s family attempted to take further advantage of their royal relations and free themselves from vassalage to the House of Kosača to become second only to the monarch.
This may have been the reason for Helen"s deposition, which took place sometime between 3 April and 10 May 1398. They were thus forced to take refuge in Ragusa, but Helen remained in Bosnia, where she was treated with honor due to queen dowager.
During the reign of her successor, King Ostoja, she used the name Gruba (likely her "folk name", as opposed to one from the calendar of saints) and the title of queen, but without the official royal style ("by the Grace of God Queen of Serbs, Bosnia, etc").
Gruba is last mentioned in a letter sent by Ragusan authorities on 18 March 1399. She may have died of an epidemic that plagued Zachlumia at that time.