In this paper I intend to investigate the methods and strategies Charles I and Wenceslas III used to win and secure the Hungarian throne for themselves through comparison. In 1301, Andrew III of the Árpád Dynasty died, leaving no immediate male heir. The Hungarian lords searched for a new king; some of them invited Wenceslas III, a son of Wenceslas II, king of Bohemia; others elected Charles I, a grandson of the Anjou Charles II, king of Naples. The course of events in this royal competition has been well described in the scholarship. However, the prevailing approach has chiefly been to provide a chain of logically linked facts. Therefore, I will not focus on “what happened”, but rather delve into medieval political culture and the mechanisms of “international” politics by examining in what way, and by what means, both candidates to the throne worked to achieve their goal.