Robert, Prince of Taranto

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

Robert II of Taranto (1299/1319 – 10 September 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, 1343/1346-1364).

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. 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 (1315 – 1387 in Naples and buried there), Princess of Achaia, the daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (widow of Guy de Lusignan (c. 1316 or 1315-1316 – soon before 24 September 1343 and buried in Nicosia), Constable of Cyprus (1336 – 1338) and Titular Prince of Galilee ca 1320), 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. However, Robert's younger brother Philip II of Taranto succeeded as the legitimate heir. He died in Naples and was buried there.

Ancestry

Family of Robert, Prince of Taranto

16. Louis VIII of France               8. Charles I of Naples                       17. Blanche of Castile               4. Charles II of Naples                             18. Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence               9. Beatrice of Provence                       19. Beatrice of Savoy               2. Philip I of Taranto                                   20. Béla IV of Hungary               10. Stephen V of Hungary                       21. Maria Laskarina               5. Mary of Hungary                             22. Köten               11. Elizabeth the Cuman                       1. Robert, Prince of Taranto                                         24. Louis IX of France               12. Philip III of France                       25. Marguerite of Provence               6. Charles, Count of Valois                             26. James I of Aragon               13. Isabella of Aragon                       27. Violant of Hungary               3. Catherine of Valois                                   28. Baldwin II of Constantinople               14. Philip of Courtenay                       29. Marie of Brienne               7. Catherine of Courtenay                             30. Charles I of Naples               15. Beatrice of Sicily                       31. Beatrice of Provence

Robert, Prince of Taranto House of Anjou-Taranto Cadet branch of the Capetian House of Anjou Born: 1299/1319 Died: 10 September 1364
Preceded by Philip I of Taranto	Lord of the Kingdom of Albania 1332	Succeeded by John of Gravina as Duke of Durazzo
	Prince of Taranto 1332–1346	Succeeded by Louis of Taranto
Preceded by Catherine of Valois	— TITULAR — Latin Emperor of Constantinople 1346–1364	Succeeded by Philip II of Taranto
Preceded by John of Gravina	Prince of Achaea 1332–1364
	Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos 1336–1357	Succeeded by Leonardo I Tocco