WI: Palaiologos Sicily and Mallorca

What if Maria of Sicily gets married to Secondotto of Montferrat, Montferrat is of Byzantine Heritage and a claimant to Montferrat could a Palaiologian Sicily claim Roman Heritage?
 
What if Maria of Sicily gets married to Secondotto of Montferrat, Montferrat is of Byzantine Heritage and a claimant to Montferrat could a Palaiologian Sicily claim Roman Heritage?

Your better option (if it can be done) is Manuel II. A reasonable age, and Maria is only slightly older than his future wife Helen Dragases.

It'd be a bit of a stretch, but heritage certainly so. If they strengthened ties with the Morea, doubly so. It could reduce the Romans reliance on the Venetians, and provides a territory that is secure from the Ottomans. The issue is ensuring that Manuel isn't an Ottoman hostage. After that, any level of Palaiologian control will be hard to set up - but if it does, then you have the problem of succession. I don't know if being Porphyrogénnētos mattered at this point, but if Manuel is ruling as co-Emperor and King-Consort in Sicily, he'd need to leave a son in charge in Sicily, and perhaps have to father another child in Constantinople to be accepted. (I hope not).

Interesting idea though. A Sicilian Despot could be a lifeline for the Empire. If it can build up enough of a fleet to secure Corfu, and prevent Venice from accessing its territories in the Balkans, the Romans could have a resurgence. Which would be a change of pace from Maneul II OTL where he had to see the siege of Philadelphia, and the loss of Anatolia as a result.
 
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