After the Compacts had been formally recognized at Iglau in Moravia, Sigismund proceeded to Prague and was accepted as king. He died in the following year (1437) and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Albert of Austria, whom the estates chose as their king. Albert died after he had reigned over Bohemia less than two years. Though it was known that Albert's widow Elizabeth would shortly give birth to a child, the question as to the succession to the throne again arose; for it was only in 1627 that the question whether the Bohemian crown was elective or hereditary was decided for ever. The nobles formed two parties, one of which, the national one, had George of Podebrad (q.v.) as its leader. Ulrich of Rosenberg was the leader of the Roman or Austrian division of the nobility. The two parties finally came to an agreement known as the "Letter of Peace" (_list mirny_). Those who signed it pledged themselves to recognise the Compacts, and to support as archbishop of Prague, John of Rokycan, who had been chosen by the estates in accordance with an agreement made simultaneously with the Compacts, but whom the Church of Rome refused to recognize. On the other hand, the national party abandoned the candidature to the throne of Prince Casimir of Poland, thus paving the way to the eventual succession of Albert's heir. On the 22nd of February 1440 Queen Elizabeth gave birth to a son, who received the name of Ladislas. The Bohemians formally acknowledged him as their king, though only after their crown had been declined by Albert, duke of Bavaria. Ladislas remained in Austria under the guardianship of his uncle Frederick, duke of Styria, afterwards the emperor Frederick III., and Bohemia, still without regular government, continued to be the scene of constant conflicts between the rival parties of the nobility. In 1446 a general meeting of the estates of Bohemia together with those of Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia--and so-called "lands of the Bohemian crown"--took place. This meeting has exceptional importance for the constitutional history of Bohemia. It was decreed that at the meeting of the estates their members should be divided into three bodies--known as _curiae_--representing the nobles, the knights and the towns. These _curiae_ were to deliberate separately and only to meet for a final decision. An attempt made at this meeting to appoint a regent was unsuccessful. The negotiations with the papal see continued meanwhile, but led to no result, as the members of the Roman party used their influence at the papal court for the purpose of dissuading it from granting any concessions to their countrymen. Shortly after the termination of the diet of 1446 George of Podebrad therefore determined to appeal to the fortune of war. He assembled a considerable army at Kutna Hora and marched on Prague (1448). He occupied the town almost without resistance and assumed the regency over the kingdom. The diet in