WI: The Visconti and Sicily

OTL Giovan' Galeazzo I Visconti, Duke of Milan, was engaged for a time to Maria, Queen of Sicily. Maria got kidnapped by one of her regents, in order to prevent the marriage. She later married the Infante Martin of Aragon and Giovan' Galeazzo married his cousin, Caterina Visconti.

Now, before Maria and Giovan' Galeazzo were slated to get hitched, her dad, Fadrique III (the Simple) was engaged to Antonia Visconti (OTL countess of Württemberg). However, Fadrique died before the marriage could take place.

So, WI, with the right amount of handwavium (if necessary), either of these marriages goes through? Might Giovan' Galeazzo have better luck getting heirs by Maria than her OTL husband did (she had four kids, but only one son survived infancy it seems)? Might Antonia be able to give her husband a male heir for Sicily? And what if Fadrique dies while the little duke of Apulia (I think that was the heir to the throne's title) is still an infant?
 
OTL Giovan' Galeazzo I Visconti, Duke of Milan, was engaged for a time to Maria, Queen of Sicily. Maria got kidnapped by one of her regents, in order to prevent the marriage. She later married the Infante Martin of Aragon and Giovan' Galeazzo married his cousin, Caterina Visconti.

Now, before Maria and Giovan' Galeazzo were slated to get hitched, her dad, Fadrique III (the Simple) was engaged to Antonia Visconti (OTL countess of Württemberg). However, Fadrique died before the marriage could take place.

So, WI, with the right amount of handwavium (if necessary), either of these marriages goes through? Might Giovan' Galeazzo have better luck getting heirs by Maria than her OTL husband did (she had four kids, but only one son survived infancy it seems)? Might Antonia be able to give her husband a male heir for Sicily? And what if Fadrique dies while the little duke of Apulia (I think that was the heir to the throne's title) is still an infant?
When Gian Galeazzo considered the possibility of being engaged to Maria of Sicily (it never went as far as a formal engagement), Maria was already queen under a regency council: actually it was a faction of the regency council that proposed the marriage to GG. It was never a very serious thing, and anyway the crown of Aragon was 100% against it: when GG went to Pisa and assembled a fleet, an Aragonese fleet blockaded the harbour. Then Maria was kidnapped and brought to Sardinia, and no one said another thing about a Visconti suit.
Even leaving aside the speed of Aragonese reaction, there was not a lot GG could do to enforce his suit in Sicily: his father Galeazzo had recently dead, and his position in the Visconti lands was not strong. His uncle Bernabo' was against the marriage with Maria (he hoped to marry her to his son Giovanni, after the marriage planned for Antonia felt through) and GG was not in a position to openly oppose him. The marriage to Caterina, another of the many daughters of Bernabo', was also to secure his position in the ancestral lands.
 
When Gian Galeazzo considered the possibility of being engaged to Maria of Sicily (it never went as far as a formal engagement), Maria was already queen under a regency council: actually it was a faction of the regency council that proposed the marriage to GG. It was never a very serious thing, and anyway the crown of Aragon was 100% against it: when GG went to Pisa and assembled a fleet, an Aragonese fleet blockaded the harbour. Then Maria was kidnapped and brought to Sardinia, and no one said another thing about a Visconti suit.
Even leaving aside the speed of Aragonese reaction, there was not a lot GG could do to enforce his suit in Sicily: his father Galeazzo had recently dead, and his position in the Visconti lands was not strong. His uncle Bernabo' was against the marriage with Maria (he hoped to marry her to his son Giovanni, after the marriage planned for Antonia felt through) and GG was not in a position to openly oppose him. The marriage to Caterina, another of the many daughters of Bernabo', was also to secure his position in the ancestral lands.

Hence why I suggested Maria and a Visconti or her father and a Visconti. The second option, a match between Fadrique III and Antonia Visconti seems a touch more viable, since the ink was barely dry on the marriage contract when Fadrique dropped dead. Would be interesting to see the results of a Visconti internecine struggle when Bernabo's got the king of Sicily's forces on his side. Admittedly, I don't know fi this will make any difference in the final outcome of Giovan' Galeazzo against his uncle, but if it means that Fadrique can spawn at least one surviving son before he shuffles offm it could make Italian politics still more interesting in the Chinese sense
 
Hence why I suggested Maria and a Visconti or her father and a Visconti. The second option, a match between Fadrique III and Antonia Visconti seems a touch more viable, since the ink was barely dry on the marriage contract when Fadrique dropped dead. Would be interesting to see the results of a Visconti internecine struggle when Bernabo's got the king of Sicily's forces on his side. Admittedly, I don't know fi this will make any difference in the final outcome of Giovan' Galeazzo against his uncle, but if it means that Fadrique can spawn at least one surviving son before he shuffles offm it could make Italian politics still more interesting in the Chinese sense

Let's say that Antonia marriage is slightly less absurd than the marriage of either GG or Antonio to Maria. Even if Antonia gets immediately pregnant and her child is a male, there will be a very long regency, the heir must be very lucky to survive and Antonia will be very isolated (Milan is too far away). There is not a single chance that Fadrique will intervene on Bernabo' side: there was not even a civil war, GG bamboozled his uncle and took him prisoner, and after that the Barnabo's faction proved absolutely incapable to oppose any resistance (although the sons and the daughters of Bernabo' tried for twenty years to organize a league against GG or a plot to kill him. They and their father were not in the same league of GG for sure).
 
Let's say that Antonia marriage is slightly less absurd than the marriage of either GG or Antonio to Maria. Even if Antonia gets immediately pregnant and her child is a male, there will be a very long regency, the heir must be very lucky to survive and Antonia will be very isolated (Milan is too far away). There is not a single chance that Fadrique will intervene on Bernabo' side: there was not even a civil war, GG bamboozled his uncle and took him prisoner, and after that the Barnabo's faction proved absolutely incapable to oppose any resistance (although the sons and the daughters of Bernabo' tried for twenty years to organize a league against GG or a plot to kill him. They and their father were not in the same league of GG for sure).

Will the regency necessarily be THAT long? I mean if Fadrique lives to get married and father an heir, then he's already moved past his OTL death date. I assume there WOULD be a regency of sorts, butif Fadrique lived his maximum lifespan (on my phone, so don't have sources to hand), we could see a regency slashed from 18/21 years for a posthumous child to considerably less.

EDIT: Fadrique was only 36yo when he died, OTL. His longest lived sibling was around 50, so giving him an extra 10-12years doesn't seem too far fetched. Maybe Antonia could even give him an heir, and a couple spares?
 
What about having Maria of Sicily marry Charles III of Naples as her first husband..Charles III was a widower when Maria was available..
 
I was not able to find what Federico IV of Sicily died of. Maybe @Yanez de Gomera can help us.
If he had a heart condition, it is unlikely he may live another 10 years for example.
The regency in any case would not be 18 or 21 years: I'm not sure which rule was following Sicily or Aragon, but France for example had a majority at 14 years old, and 16 was generally recognized as majority age. Still the new theoretical heir must first survive his infancy (if it's not a boy, it doesn't work), and second survive the political snake pit that was the court of Palermo in those years. There are not a lot of information on Antonia, but I doubt she was a master politician: she'd get in Palermo very young, and without any close support, and her father would be dead in 1385 - there is no reason to believe Gian Galeazzo would not carry out his plots as IOTL.
Additionally there still is Peter IV of Aragon, who will not be made more friendly by the marriage of Federico and the birth of a male heir (he was the most likely contender for the throne when Maria was the only child of Federico) and had at least as many partisans on the island as Maria had given the ease with which she was abducted, taken to Sardinia and forced to marry Martin the younger.
 
According to the "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: "F. IV morì a Messina il 27 luglio 1377, per un cancro all'intestino o per una dissenteria, ma si sospettò anche che fosse stato avvelenato da Artale d'Alagona." 1995 edition, article by Salvatore Fodale, avaible online at the Treccani site.

So either bowel cancer, or dissentery as natural causes or a poison plot by Artale d'Alagona, who was the chief of an aristocratic faction and enemy of Manfredi Chiaramonte.

We must also note that in 1371 F. had been hit with a dagger in his belly by a French or Flemish assassin, whose possible accomplishes seem to have been protected by Alagona.

I think it is ppssible to handwave away the illness or poisoning, but I wouldn't bet on him living much longer...

In general however he seemed of precarious health and not so bright/possibly even mentally deficient; "simplex" is, after all, not a cognomen that a King would want to be remembered with.
 
I was not able to find what Federico IV of Sicily died of. Maybe @Yanez de Gomera can help us.
If he had a heart condition, it is unlikely he may live another 10 years for example.
The regency in any case would not be 18 or 21 years: I'm not sure which rule was following Sicily or Aragon, but France for example had a majority at 14 years old, and 16 was generally recognized as majority age. Still the new theoretical heir must first survive his infancy (if it's not a boy, it doesn't work), and second survive the political snake pit that was the court of Palermo in those years. There are not a lot of information on Antonia, but I doubt she was a master politician: she'd get in Palermo very young, and without any close support, and her father would be dead in 1385 - there is no reason to believe Gian Galeazzo would not carry out his plots as IOTL.
Additionally there still is Peter IV of Aragon, who will not be made more friendly by the marriage of Federico and the birth of a male heir (he was the most likely contender for the throne when Maria was the only child of Federico) and had at least as many partisans on the island as Maria had given the ease with which she was abducted, taken to Sardinia and forced to marry Martin the younger.

Okay, so Pedro's gonna most likely want to slide his feet under the table (regency or no). However, I wonder if Maria would be married off elsewhere if she has a surviving half-brother, although reason suggests Pedro will still want her to wed his son.

According to the "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: "F. IV morì a Messina il 27 luglio 1377, per un cancro all'intestino o per una dissenteria, ma si sospettò anche che fosse stato avvelenato da Artale d'Alagona." 1995 edition, article by Salvatore Fodale, avaible online at the Treccani site.

So either bowel cancer, or dissentery as natural causes or a poison plot by Artale d'Alagona, who was the chief of an aristocratic faction and enemy of Manfredi Chiaramonte.

We must also note that in 1371 F. had been hit with a dagger in his belly by a French or Flemish assassin, whose possible accomplishes seem to have been protected by Alagona.

I think it is ppssible to handwave away the illness or poisoning, but I wouldn't bet on him living much longer...

In general however he seemed of precarious health and not so bright/possibly even mentally deficient; "simplex" is, after all, not a cognomen that a King would want to be remembered with.

Okay, so Fadrique living another decade is a bit of a stretch. Does this mean (mentally defective aside) him being father to more than one kid is unlikely? And how much of OTL's shenanigans over Maria's regency/rule are likely to be repeated ATL for this little king (name suggestions? Fadrique? Luis? Pedro?)
 
But Baux could also have a daughter that would displace Maria..as the one that marries to the King of Aragon..aside from a son..

She COULD, but Maria still heads up the female succession queue. And I think Aragon's king might be more interested in marrying Martin el Humano or Juan el Cazador to Maria in the event she has a surviving brother.
 
I think if the Angevins have an issue that either Joanna or Louis that can marry Maria, they could pursue her hand, that is my plan in my new TL..
 
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