Charlotte of Naples

Charlotte of Naples (b. c. 1479/1480 – died 1506), also known as Charlotte of Aragon and Princess of Taranto, was the eldest daughter and eventual heiress of Federigo IV, King of Naples. Although her father was dispossessed of his kingdom, her descendants, the House of La Trémoïlle maintained their dynastic claim in exile.^[1]

Daughter of the Neapolitan king's first marriage to Anne of Savoy, a granddaughter of Charles VII of France, Charlotte was married to Guy XV, Count of Laval, head of one of Brittany's most powerful noble families.^[2]

Marriage

Following her mother's death which occurred shortly after her birth, Charlotte was raised in France and brought up at the French court. One of her suitors was Cesare Borgia, who wished to marry her.^[3] Charlotte refused him, and instead on 10 June 1500 married Guy de Laval, Count of Laval.

Claim to kingdom of Naples

In the year following Charlotte's marriage, her father lost his throne and freedom to France in war. Her brother, Ferdinand of Aragón, Duke of Calabria, fled to Spain in 1504, whence he did not return.^[4] On his death without legitimate descendants in Valencia in 1550, Anne was long dead and France had lost the crown of Naples to another branch of the Aragonese dynasty. Nonetheless her issue took up the fruitless pretence to the crown, while pursuing their interests in Brittany and France. Anne is posthumously attributed the title, Princess of Taranto, which had been borne by Neapolitan heirs apparent in the eighteenth century annals of Père Anselme.^[1]

Only one of her children, Anne (born in 1505) survived to adulthood and left offspring of her marriage, thus passing the Neapolitan royal claim and princely Taranto title to the La Trémoïlle family in France.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Père Anselme (1967) [1728]. "Des Pairs de France - Thouars: Généalogie de la Maison de La Tremoille" (in French). Histoire Genealogique et Chronologique de la Maison Royale de France, des Pairs, Grands Officiers de la Couronne. Paris: Compagnie des Libraires. pp. 169. 
2. ^ "Laval". Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition. 1911. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Kingdom_Of_Naples. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
3. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Kings of Naples
4. ^ "Kingdom of Naples". Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition. 1911.