Charles III of Naples
| Charles III | |
|---|---|
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|
| King of Naples | |
| Reign | 12 May 1382 – 24 February 1386 |
| Predecessor | Joanna I |
| Successor | Ladislaus |
| King of Hungary and Croatia | |
| Reign | 1385 – 24 February 1386 |
| Predecessor | Mary |
| Successor | Mary |
| Born | 1345 Naples, Kingdom of Naples |
| Died | 24 February 1386 (aged 41) Visegrád, Kingdom of Hungary |
| Spouse | Margaret of Durazzo |
| Issue More |
Joanna II of Naples Ladislaus of Naples |
| House | Anjou-Durazzo |
| Father | Louis of Durazzo |
| Mother | Margaret of Sanseverino |
Charles the Short or Charles of Durazzo (1345 – 24 February 1386) was King of Naples and titular King of Jerusalem from 1382 to 1386 as Charles III, and King of Hungary from 1385 to 1386 as Charles II. In 1382 Charles created the order of Argonauts of Saint Nicholas. In 1383 he succeeded to the Principality of Achaea on the death of James of Baux.
He was the only child of Louis of Durazzo and his wife, Margaret of Sanseverino. Louis of Durazzo was a younger son of John, Duke of Durazzo who was the youngest son of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary. Charles's date of birth is uncertain: he was born in 1354, according to historian Szilárd Süttő, and in 1357, according to Nancy Goldstone.
Louis of Durazzo rebelled against his cousins, Joanna I of Naples, and her husband, Louis of Taranto in the spring of 1360, but he was defeated. He was also compelled to send the child Charles as a hostage to Queen Joanna I's court in Naples. After Charles's father died in prison in the summer of 1362, Queen Joanna ordered that Charles was to be treated "with all honours due to the royal household and to maintain him in a royal state".
Charles's distant cousin, Louis I of Hungary, who had not fathered a son, decided to invite Charles to Hungary. Charles came to Hungary in 1364 or 1365. King Louis initially planned to arrange a marriage between Charles and Anne, who was a daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. However, the negotiations of their marriage were broken off because the relations between Louis I and Charles IV had deteriorated. Next, Louis proposed a marriage between Charles and Charles's cousin, Margaret of Durazzo, who was the youngest daughter of Queen Joanna's younger sister, Maria of Calabria. Although the queen was opposed to the marriage, Pope Urban VI granted the papal dispensation that was necessary for the marriage on 15 June 1369. Their marriage took place in Naples on 24 January 1370.
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