Joanna II of Naples - Marriages

Marriages

Joanna married her first husband, William, Duke of Austria in Vienna in the autumn of 1401 when she was 28 years of age. He had been rejected as a husband by her cousin, Hedwig of Poland. Joanna did not have any children by William, who died in 1406 after five years of marriage. It was sometime after his death, that she acquired a lover by the name of Pandolfello Alopo, whom she appointed Grand Chamberlain. Alopo was the first in what would become a series of lovers and male favourites. He later caused the downfall of the influential condottiero Muzio Sforza, who held the important office of Gran Connestabile which had provoked the jealousy of Joan's favourite. In early 1415, she became affianced to John of Aragon, a son of King Ferdinand I of Aragon, and 25 years her junior. The betrothal was shortly afterwards annulled, which left Joanna free to choose another husband.

On 10 August 1415, she married a second time, to James of Bourbon, Count of La Marche, in order to gain the support of the French monarchy. The marriage contract stipulated that upon his marriage to Joanna he would be granted the title of Prince of Taranto. Not having received the promised title, James had Alopo killed and forced Joanna to name him King of Naples. In an attempt to assume complete power, he imprisoned Joanna in her own apartments in the royal palace; however, she was later released by the nobles. His behaviour earned him the hate of the Neapolitan barons and the populace. In 1416, a riot exploded in Naples against James, and he was compelled to send back his French administrators and to renounce his title. In this period, Joanna began her relationship with Giovanni Caracciolo, better known as Sergianni, who later acquired an almost total power over the court. On 28 August 1417, she reconquered Rome, and the following year in 1418, James left Naples for France.