How would a medieval monarchy handle the succession of an unborn heir?

by jackwell

I have been reading about Louis X of France and I would like some more information about the subject of unborn heirs.

Louis X died leaving a daughter of questionable paternity from his first marriage and a wife pregnant with a possible male heir. I would like to know:

  1. If a King had no living heir but was survived by their wife, was there a procedure to check for pregnancy before crowning the next in line?

  2. How would the Queen be protected against powerful people with an interest in her death?

  3. Have there been any similar cases?

Thank You

vonadler

There at least one different case - Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia.

Ladislaus' father, Albert died on the 27th of October 1439 and he himself was born on the 22nd of February 1440. Albert had willed all his estates to his unborn son on his deathbed, but the Hungarian diet (which also controlled Croatia), fearing an Ottoman invasion, elected King Vladislaus III of Poland King of Hungary and Croatia. They did this before the birth of Ladislaus. The Hussites of Bohemia refused to acknowledge any King at all.

Ladislaus' mother, Queen Elizabeth had him crowned King of Hungary with the royal crown of Hungary (St Stephen's crown) as a newborn and refused to acknowledge Vladislaus, triggering a civil war. Only the Austrian lands remained loyal, and the Queen assigned Ladislaus' distant cousin, Frederick III, King of the Romans (a title then reserved for the heir to the Holy Roman Empire) and later Holy Roman Emperor as the guardian of Ladislaus.