History
The kingdom of Naples comprised the Italian boot south of the Papal States. In its ruler, King Charles III, there existed a personal union with the principalities of Durazzo and Achaea.
In the early 11th century, Norman mercenaries, lead by the Hauteville brothers, defeated the Lombards and Byzantines, and carved out for themselves a sizeable feudatory. The Hautevilles conquered the island of Sicily, and received that crown from Pope Innocent II. The eventual heiress of the Hautevilles, Constance, married the Emperor Henry VI, and the kingdom was thereafter ruled by the Hohenstaufen house. That is, until 1266, when the Pope Clement IV took the French prince Charles of Anjou and gave him the crown instead. The Angevins (the heirs of Charles of Anjou) failed to conquer the island of Sicily, which passed from the Hohenstaufens to the royal house of Barcelona-Aragon. Nevertheless, the Angevins were a large house, and intermarried with many noble and royal houses (thus, a cadet branch inherited the crowns of Hungary and Poland), becoming dispersed throughout the royal courts and kingdoms of Europe. The four main branches of the house were: the Kings of Hungary, the dukes of Anjou (a junior branch of the French royal house), the Durazzo (of which King Charles III was the sole survivor), and the princes of Taranto, who were largely ignored.
In 1382, Queen Joan I of Naples died, leaving no surviving children. She herself had nominated Louis of Anjou as her heir, and he succeeded her in Provence (Marseille, Nice, and Toulon). However, Joan had a sister, Marie, whose daughter, Margherita married Charles, duke of Durazzo, the last surviving heir in the male line. Thus, when Queen Joan died, Charles of Durazzo inherited the kingdom of Naples, whilst the duchy of Provence was usurped by Louis of Anjou. Charles III died in 1384, and was succeeded by his son Ladislas, who died days later. The succession is currently disputed by:
Dramatis Personae
Charles III of Durazzo, King of Naples
Born 1345, he died in 1384, either by suicide or murder. A strong and forceful king, he was a hardened warrior and diplomat. Tall and handsome, his looks were somewhat responsible for his preference by Queen Joan, and consequently his ascension to the throne. His royal style was:"Charles III d'Anjou, By the grace of God, King of Naples, Jerusalem, Albania, Transylvania, Slavonia, Croatia, and Dalmatia, Prince of Durazzo, Achaia, Zara, and Split, Duke of Anjou and Provence, Lord of Corfu, et cetera."
Margherita of Durazzo, niece and heiress of Queen Joan I.
Born 1347, she died in 1384 after giving birth to twins at the royal court of Hungary. Weak and submissive, she was desperately in love with Charles, and did anything to keep him in power. She was the mother of:
Ladislaus I . Born in 1377, heir to the royal throne. Educated in Naples, he was shy and retiring, and had little aptitude for the life of a king. Sickly and ill, he went into a coma, and only ruled in name for four days.
Joanna of Naples , also called Giovanna. Born in 1371, she was betrothed to Edward d'Anjou, nephew of King Richard of England. Upon learning of her father's death, she left the English court, and went to Castille, where she is now the captive of King Juan. Her claims are not recognised neither by Rome or Avignon. She will be delivered to the Pope of Avignon by Castille, sometime soon.
Clemence and Marguerite. Twin girls, both born in Hungary in 1384. They remain under the custody of the Queen Dowager Erzsebet. Following Joanna, they are the co-heiresses of the Kingdom of Naples.
John I, King of Naples, formerly Duke of Gravina and Sorreto (born 1350), he is the late King's illegitimate brother, who waslegitimised and (most importantly) restored to the succession. He is married to Jeanne de Baux, duchess of Andria and Lecce, princess of Taranto, now Queen Joanna II, and great-granddaughter of King Charles II (through his second son, thus she has the best claim of all to the throne). He was previously married to Margherita d'Altavilla, by whom he has four daughters: -
Beatrice, Crown Princess of Naples, Duchess of Calabria and Apulia (born 1370), a tall and beautiful girl, she is witty and quick, and was a firm friend of the princess Joanna (her cousin). She has since married Rainald, son of Duke William II of Julich, who is Duke of Calabria and Apulia.
Marie (born 1371), Eleanor (born 1372) and Blanche (born 1374) are all young, rather dull, girls.
Marguerite d'Altavilla (born circa 1350), ex-wife of John of Gravina. Following the death of her patron, Queen Margherita, she retired from the court, and took up the veil. In this manner, her marriage to John was effectively annulled.
Luigi d'Altavilla, Seigneur of Calitri and Caggiano, chief advisor of King Charles, in his capacity as Mayor of the Palace. His daughter, Maria, has recently been offered as a wife for Toqtamish, Khan of the Golden Horde. His other daughter, Isabella, is a famed beauty, currently serving King John as his envoy in Bosnia-Serbia.
Queen Joanna II, formerly Jeanne de Baux, Duchess of Lecce and Andria, Princess of Taranto is a wealthy noblewoman, headstrong, and obstinate, second wife of Duke John of Gravina. She was the only child of Francois de Baux, duke of Andria, and Margareta, daughter of Philip I of Taranto and his first wife Thamar Komnene Dukaina. She exchanged her rights to the despotates of Epirus and Romania with the late King, in return for the duchy of Lecce and principality of Taranto.
The most recent addition to the court is Elizabeth of Slavonia, niece of the late King Lajos of Hungary, and second wife of King Charles. In her early thirties, she is tall and graceful, and has the full command of several languages. A keen diplomat, she is also pious, and has often considered taking up the veil. Despite this, she was a former mistress of King Charles, before he ascended to the throne, and has born him two sons. Serving for a short time as regent of Naples, she withdrew after King John's acession to Spoleto, where she holds her own court. She hopes to contract an advantageous marriage, either with the Elector Palatine or the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and make good her claim to Poland. She has renounced her rights, and those of her sons, to Naples to King John, and to Transylvania-Slavonia-Croatia-Dalmatia to her eldest son, Stephen.
Her eldest son, Stephen Pietro, was born in 1370, before his mother's marriage to Philip of Taranto. Raised in a monastery near Bari, he met his mother for the first time sometime after her widowment in 1374, when she was pregnant with his younger brother. Tall, athletic, and handsome, Stephen's legitimacy was the only bar to his eventual succession to the royal throne. Although his parents were married, this marriage was not recognised by Rome, due to the interdict on the kingdom of Naples, and thus his legitimacy will forever be tainted, and his place in the succession secondary to the heirs of Margherita of Durazzo. He styles himself "Stephen Pietro, By the grace of God, King of Poland, Translyvania, Slavonia, Croatia, Dalmatia, and Thessalonica, Prince of Salerno, Despot of Epirus, Romania, and Morea" although the only of these yet within his possession is the principality of Salerno in Naples, which he holds as a fief of King John.
His younger brother is the boy Jean Tristan, born in 1375. Still a child, he had befriended his shy half-brother Ladislaus, before the latter's death.
