Constance of Sicily (Italian: ''Costanza'', 1304/1306 – after 19 June 1344) was Queen of Cyprus and Jerusalem by marriage to

Henry II of Cyprus Henry II (June 1270 – 31 March 1324) was the last crowned Kingdom of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem (after the fall of Acre on 28 May 1291, this title became empty) and also ruled as Kingdom of Cyprus, King of Cyprus. He was of the Lusignan ...

and Queen of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

by marriage to Leo IV of Armenia.

Life

Constance was the daughter of

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Ara ...

and

Eleanor of Anjou Eleanor of Anjou (August 1289 – 9 August 1341) was Queen of Sicily as the wife of King Frederick III of Sicily, Frederick III of Sicily. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou by birth. She was the third daughter of King Charles II of ...

. Her siblings included Elizabeth, Duchess of Bavaria, Peter II of Sicily, Manfred of Athens and William II of Athens. Constance was originally betrothed to Prince Robert, youngest son of

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

and Joan I of Navarre. The engagement was broken when Robert died young in the summer of 1308. King Philip sent Constance's father a sorrowful letter announcing the news. Here is an excerpt from the letter: :"We are sure that your Majesty knows that the complicated negotiation about the intended marriage of the Princess Constance and our most beloved son Robert was designed to nurture perpetual peace and create an indissoluble union between our Royal Houses. But see, with what intense bitterness of heart we have to tell you this, destructive Death has lamentably snatched from us our son, whom we loved best of all. No fellow human being could be surprised if we were inwardly desolated by the sting of this bitter grief. But we give thanks to God that one of our own family, free of all stain, whom we have loved with our life, has been sent to Heaven."

Queen consort of Cyprus and Jerusalem

Constance was married on 16 October 1317 to

and Jerusalem, who was son of Hugh III of Cyprus. He was more than 30 years older than her. By this marriage Constance was Queen consort of Cyprus and Jerusalem. They were married for seven years until 31 March 1324 when Henry died. They had no children.

Queen consort of Armenia

On 29 December 1331 Constance married her second husband Leo IV, King of Armenia. The Papal Dispensation was issued the same day. Leo was strongly pro-Western because he favoured a union of the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

churches, which deeply displeased the native barons. His marriage to Constance further aroused

anti-Western sentiment Anti-Western sentiment, also known as anti-Atlanticism or Westernophobia, refers to broad opposition, bias, or hostility towards the people, culture, or policies of the Western world. This sentiment is found worldwide. It often stems from ant ...

and anti-Catholic sentiment in Armenia. Constance was Leo's second wife, as his first wife Alice of Korikos and her father

Oshin is a Japanese television, Japanese Asadora, serialized morning television drama (''asadora''), which originally aired on NHK from 4 March 1983 to 31 March 1984; it is the 31st ''asadora'' overall to be produced. The 297 15-minute episodes follo ...

were murdered on Leo's orders because Oshin had murdered Leo's aunt Princess Isabella to remove her from possibly inheriting

. In Armenia, Constance was frequently ill, suffering from constant coughing, fatigue, and dizziness. The king also neglected her, and all of her pregnancies ended in miscarriage. On 28 December 1341 Leo was murdered by his own barons. It was the day before the couple's tenth wedding anniversary. They had no surviving children.

Later life

Constance married her third and final husband John of Lusignan in 1343. This marriage was also childless. Constance's illness worsened and she died sometime after 19 June 1344, at the age of about 40. John remarried to Alice of Ibelin, by whom he had a son and heir, Jacques.

References

Sources

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Constance Of Sicily, Queen Of Cyprus Sicilian princesses Queens consort of Cyprus Queens consort of Armenia Queens consort of Jerusalem Remarried queens consort 14th-century births 1344 deaths 14th-century Cypriot people Year of birth uncertain House of Barcelona (Sicily) 14th-century Armenian people 14th-century Armenian women 14th-century Italian women 14th-century Sicilian people Daughters of kings