Biography
Constantine was born in Constantinople as the eighth of ten children to Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbian prince Constantine Dragaš, and probably granddaughter of the Bulgarian emperor Ivan Alexander. He was extremely fond of his mother and added her surname (Dragases) next to his own dynastic one when he ascended the imperial throne. He spent most of his childhood in Constantinople under the supervision of his parents. During the absence of his older brother in Italy, Constantine was regent in Constantinople from 1437–1440.
Read more about this topic: Constantine XI
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