[May 12] Joan I, queen of Naples

Parents: Charles, duke of Calabria, and Marie of Valois

Date of Birth: 1328

House: Capet-Anjou
Spouse: (1) Andrew, duke of Calabria, then (2) Louis, prince of Taranto, then (3) James IV, king of Majorça, then (4) Otto, duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen

Predecessor: Robert

Reign: 1343 – 1382

Summary: Joan was the granddaughter of Robert, king of Naples, and as such she was second-in-line after her father, Charles. Her mother was the sister of Philip VI of France and thus Joan was both French and Neapolitan. When she was seven, she was betrothed to another member of the house of Anjou, Andrew, whose claim to the throne of Naples was nearly as strong as her own. When her grandfather died in 1343, he bequeathed the whole of the kingdom to Joan, not even mentioning her husband. The crown was to pass to her sister, Maria, if she were to die without issue. Joan was crowned the sole monarch of Naples in 1344 but after a petition from her mother-in-law, she allowed Andrew to be crowned king consort the next year. Unfortunately for Andrew, he was murdered in 1345 before he could receive his crown. She was pregnant at the time of his murder and the queen quickly found a new spouse in her cousin, Louis. Joan's reign was off to a politically hostile start.

Her reign was dominated by rivalries between the Neapolitan and Hungarian branches of the House of Anjou. The murder of Andrew, of the Hungarian branch, brought a Hungarian army to Naples. Joan only survived by fleeing to France and then selling her rights to Avignon to the pope, thereby ensuring his support. A new trial was arranged regarding Andrew's assassination and Joan was acquitted. Louis was finally crowned king consort in 1353. When the Western Schism broke out within the Papacy, Joan supported the French, adopting Louis, yet another cousin and the son of King John II of France, as her heir. This choice caused the legitimate pope, Urban VI, to declare her a heretic and he forfeited her kingdom to Charles of Durazzo, her niece's husband. Joan decided to remove Louis from the succession and replace him with another Louis, this one the brother of King Charles V of France. But Charles Durazzo felt increased safety in this decision because Louis could not mount a proper attack at the time. Durazzo went on to become king of Naples in 1381 as Charles III, in opposition to Joan who was still alive at the time. Joan's fourth husband, Otto, failed to hold off the Hungarian troops as they marched on Naples. She finally was forced to surrender the city to Charles in August 1381. Fearing an uprising, Charles had Joan killed in 1382 for her murder of Andrew. Her death prompted a century of recurring warfare in Naples over the lawful succession to the throne. She left no children

Date of Death: 12 May 1382

Successor: Charles III

Other Monarch Deaths:

Silvester II, pope of Rome (1003)

Sergius IV, pope of Rome (1012)

Thomas, despot of Morea (1465)

Adolf Frederick II, duke of Macklenburg-Strelitz (1708)