Robert of Taranto

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Arms of Robert of Taranto. They are the combination of the arms of Anjou and those of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

Robert of Taranto (1319–1364), of the Angevin family, Prince of Taranto (1332–1346), King of Albania (1332-1364), Prince of Achaea (1333-1346), titular Emperor of Constantinople (as Robert II, 1346-1364).

He was the oldest surviving son of Prince Philip I of Taranto and Empress Catherine II of Valois. His paternal grandparents were King Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Count Charles of Valois and his second wife, Empress Catherine I of Courtenay.

In 1332, as a result of an exchange with his uncle John of Gravina, Robert became Prince of Achaea. Due to his young age, authority was effectively exercised by his mother Catherine II of Valois until her death in 1346. At that point Robert inherited the throne of the Latin Empire, and was recognized as emperor by the Latin states of Greece. His actual power, such as it was, remained based upon his authority as prince of Achaea. In October 1347 he married Marie, the daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, but the marriage was childless. When he died on October 10, 1364, his widow attempted to keep the principality for herself and her son from a previous marriage. However, Robert's younger brother Philip II of Taranto succeeded as the legitimate heir.