Beatrice of Sicily, Latin Empress

Beatrice of Sicily (1252 – 17 November/12 December 1275) was the Empress consort of Philip of Courtenay, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople.

Family

She was a daughter of Charles I of Sicily and Beatrice of Provence. She was also an older sister of Charles II of Naples.

Their paternal grandparents were Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. Their maternal grandparents were Raymond Berenguer IV of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy.

Marriage

Under the Treaty of Viterbo (27 May 1267), Baldwin II of Courtenay transferred much of the rights to the Latin Empire to Charles I.^[1] Charles was to be confirmed in possession of Corfu and some cities in Albania. He was also given suzerainty over the Principality of Achaea and sovereignty of the Aegean Islands, excepting those held by Venice and Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and Amorgos.

The same treaty arranged the marriage of Philip of Courtenay, heir apparent to the Latin Empire, and Beatrice, second daughter of Charles. If the marriage was childless, Philip's rights would be inherited by Charles I.^[1] Beatrice was approximately fifteen-years-old at the time of her betrothal.

On 15 October 1273, Beatrice and Philip were married in Foggia. The bride was twenty-one-years old and the groom thirty. Her father-in-law died days later. Philip was proclaimed emperor with Beatrice as his Empress. Their only known daughter, Catherine I of Courtenay, was born on 25 November 1274.

Beatrice died in late 1275. Her husband survived her by eight years but never remarried.

References

External links

• Her profile in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley