Robert, Prince of Taranto

Who was Robert, Prince of Taranto?

Robert II of Taranto, of the Angevin family, Prince of Taranto, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea, Titular Emperor of Constantinople.

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. Because of his youth, 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 Naples, on 9 September 1347 he married Marie of Bourbon, Princess of Achaia, the daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, but the marriage was childless. When he died on 10 October 1364, his widow attempted to keep the principality for herself and her son from her previous marriage.