Charles III of Naples

Coat of arms of Charles III of Naples.

Charles III, King of Naples (1345 – February 24, 1386, Visegrad, Hungary), also known as Charles II of Hungary, Charles of Durazzo or Charles the Short, was King of Naples and titular King of Jerusalem from 1382 to 1386, King of Hungary (under the name of Károly II the Short), from 1385 to 1386, and Prince of Achaea from 1383 to 1386. He was the son of Louis of Durazzo and Margherita of Sanseverino. As the great-grandchild of King Charles II of Naples, he was a second cousin to Queen Joan I (both agnatically) and also adopted by her as a child, since he was the only male of the senior Angevin line of Sicily. Joan I was infatuated with him throughout her life. However, much to her displeasure, her romantic interest in him was never requited. In 1369 he married Margherita of Durazzo, the daughter of Joan's younger sister Marie, and his own first cousin. The conflict between Joan and Pope Urban VI caused the Pope (as feudal overlord of the kingdom) to declare her dethroned in 1381 and give the kingdom to Charles. He marched on the Kingdom of Naples with a Hungarian army, defeated the King Consort Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, and seized the city, the Queen, and the kingdom. He revenged the death of Joan's first husband, Prince Andre, whom she was suspected of killing, by having the Queen strangled in prison in 1382. Then he succeeded to the crown. However, Joan's adopted heir Louis I of Anjou took possession of her Counties of Provence and Forcalquier and marched on Naples to claim the kingdom, but was defeated by Charles. In 1382, he created the order of Argonauts of St. Nicholas. In 1383, he succeeded to the Principality of Achaea on the death of James of Baux. On the death of Louis I of Hungary, Charles claimed the Hungarian throne as the senior Angevin male, and ousted Louis' daughter Mary of Hungary in December, 1385. However, Elisabeth of Bosnia, widow of Louis and mother of Mary, arranged to have Charles assassinated at Visegrád on February 24, 1386. He was buried in Belgrade. His son Ladislas of Naples succeeded him in Naples, while the regents of Mary of Hungary reinstated her as Queen of Hungary. Names in other languages: Hungarian: (Durazzoi)III. Károly, Slovak: Karol III (Neapolský)

Children

Charles III and Margherita of Durazzo had three children:

• Maria of Durazzo (1369 - 1371).
• Joan II of Naples (23 June, 1373 - 2 February, 1435).
• Ladislas of Naples (11 February, 1377 - 6 August, 1414).

References

• (French) Armorial of the House Anjou-Sicily
• (French) House of Anjou-Sicily