King Edmund I of Sicily

Prince Edmund was the son of King Henry III and Queen Eleanor of England.
In 1255 Edmund was invested ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily and Apulia by the Bishop of Rome, on behalf of Pope Innocent IV. Edmund renounced his claim to the crown of Sicily.

Suppose Edmund did not renounce his claim to the crown of Sicily. Suppose he reigns as King Edmund I of Sicily. What happens then?
 
In 1255, at the age of 8, Prince Edmuch, was invested ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily and Apulia by the Bishop of Romania, on behalf of Pope Innocent IV. In return his father undertook to pay the papacy 135,541 marks and fight a war to dislodge Manfred of Sicily from the kingdom. Upon Innocent's death, Pope Alexander IV confirmed Edmund's grant of Sicily.
IOTL - Henry's barons refused to contribute to what they called the "Sicilian business" and ultimately Henry was only able to pay 60,000 marks.

ITTL - After Henry put forward 60,000 marks, he promised to re-pay all "loyal" barons who "willingly" contribute to bringing the Kingdom of Sicily, under the reign of his son.
After pressuring the Barons, King Henry was able to pay the Papacy 140,000 marks.

With a large fleet and army, King Henry sent his son, protected by Henry's brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester to claim the kingdom of Sicily.

On 26th November 1255, with an army of 3,000 heavy cavalry, 1,000 light cavalry and 10,000 archers, Prince Edmund and Earl de Montfort, landed at Salerno, on the coast of Bay of Naples.

After a long day of battling, Manfred, the de facto, King of Sicily was brought before the young prince, who ordered his immideant execution, stating that as he had beenexcommunicated by Pope Innocent IV only a year before, it was their holy duty to send this man's eternal soul to hell, this effectively ending Hohenstaufen rule in Italy.

On 6 January 1256, Pope Alexander IV crowned the young prince, King Edmund I of Sicily, with Simon de Montfort, being created Prince Simon, Duke of Salerno (a former principality, whose last ruler Gisulf II, had died in 1077) along with crowning him King, Pope Alexander IV also arranged for the new king to marry, the only child of Manfred, Constance of Sicily who was coming up to the age of 7.

Together Edmund and Constance had eight children, forever marking the throne, for future Plantagenet role.
 
Top