native lords. The veneration of their daughter, Elizabeth of Hungary, was confirmed by the Holy See during Andrew's lifetime. After Andrew's death, his sons, Béla and Coloman, accused his third wife, Beatrice d'Este, of adultery and never considered her son, Stephen, to be a legitimate son of Andrew. Early life Childhood and youth ( 1177–1197) Andrew was the second son of King Béla III and Béla's first wife, Agnes of Antioch. The year of Andrew's birth is not known, but modern historians agree that he was born around 1177, considering that Margaret, who was born in 1175 or 1176, was his elder sister, which, however, is far from certain. Andrew was first mentioned in connection to his father's invasion of the Principality of Halych in 1188. That year, Béla III invaded Halych upon the request of its former prince, Vladimir II Yaroslavich, who had been expelled by his subjects. Béla forced the new prince, Roman Mstislavich, to flee. After conquering Halych, he granted it to Andrew. Béla also captured Vladimir Yaroslavich and imprisoned him in Hungary. After Béla's withdrawal from Halych, Roman Mstislavich returned with the assistance of Rurik Rostislavich, Prince of Belgorod Kievsky. They tried to expel Andrew and his Hungarian retinue, but the Hungarians routed the united forces of Mstislavich and Rostislavich. A group of local boyars offered the throne to Rostislav Ivanovich, a distant cousin of the imprisoned Vladimir Yaroslavich. Béla III sent reinforcements to Halych, enabling Andrew's troops to repel the attacks. Andrew's nominal reign remained unpopular in Halych, because the Hungarian soldiers insulted local women and did not respect Orthodox churches. Consequently, the local boyars allied themselves with their former prince, Vladimir Yaroslavich, who had escaped from captivity and returned to Halych. Duke Casimir II of Poland also supported Vladimir Yaroslavich, and they expelled Andrew and his retinue from the principality in August 1189 or 1190. Andrew returned to Hungary after his defeat. He did not receive a separate duchy from his father, who only gave him some fortresses, estates and money. According to historian Attila Zsoldos, these landholdings laid in Slavonia. On his deathbed, Béla III, who had pledged to lead a crusade to the Holy Land, ordered Andrew to fulfill his vow. Andrew's father died on 23 April 1196, and Andrew's older brother, Emeric, succeeded him. Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197–1204) Andrew used the funds that he inherited from his father to