Joanna I
Joanna I,
1326–82, queen of Naples (1343–81), countess of Provence. She was the granddaughter of King Robert of Naples, whom she succeeded with her husband, Andrew of Hungary. The murder (1345) of Andrew at the queen's behest brought the wrath of Andrew's brother, Louis ILouis Ior Louis the Great,
1326–82, king of Hungary (1342–82) and of Poland (1370–82). He succeeded his father, Charles I, in Hungary, and his uncle, Casimir III, in Poland.
..... Click the link for more information. of Hungary. Louis twice invaded Naples; each time Joanna fled, and in 1352 she made peace with Hungary. Joanna married twice more but remained childless and adopted young Charles of Durazzo (later Charles IIICharles III
(Charles of Durazzo), 1345–86, king of Naples (1381–86) and, as Charles II, of Hungary (1385–86); great-grandson of Charles II of Naples. Adopted as a child by Joanna I of Naples, he later lived at the court of Louis I of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information. of Naples) as her heir. When Pope Urban VI, angered by Joanna's support of the antipope Clement VII, urged Charles to dethrone her, she disinherited Charles in favor of Louis of Anjou (see Louis ILouis I,
1339–84, king of Naples (1382–84; rival claimant to Charles III), duke of Anjou, count of Provence, second son of John II of France. He founded the second Angevin line in Naples. As a regent for his nephew, Charles VI of France, he was noted for his rapacity.
..... Click the link for more information. , king of Naples). Charles conquered (1381) Naples, imprisoned the queen, and was granted the kingdom by the pope. Joanna died by Charles's orders. Her successive adoptions caused chronic warfare between the two claimants (continued by their heirs); thus began the decline of French hegemony in Italy.