The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501)
House of Anjou
In 1382, the Kingdom of Naples was inherited by Charles of Durazzo, King of Hungary, great grandson of King Charles II of Naples. After this, the House of Anjou of Naples was renamed House of Anjou-Durazzo, when Charles married his first cousin Margaret of Durazzo, member of a prominent Neapolitan noble family.
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Claim to the throne Title Charles I(Carlo I) 30 March 12827 January 1285Conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from Manfred as a part of the war between the Hohenstaufen dynasty & the Papacy Following the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, the island of Sicily was lost to Peter III of AragonKing of Sicily, Naples and Albania (Re di Sicilia, Napoli e Albania)Charles II, the Lame(Carlo II, lo Zoppo) 7 January 12855 May 1309Son of Charles IKing of Naples(Re di Napoli)Robert, the Wise(Roberto, il Saggio) 5 May 130920 January 1343Son of Charles IIJoanna I (Giovanna I) 20 January 134312 May 1382 Granddaughter of Robert IQueen of Naples(Regina di Napoli)Louis I (Luigi I) 18 August 134826 May 1362Husband of Joanna I Grandson of Charles II; member of the House of Anjou-Taranto Potential claimant to the throne through the male line if Joanna died childless, but he and his line also died out.Jure uxoris King of Naples (Re di Napoli) After Joanna's death without legitimate issue, the heirs were her nieces, only one (Margaret) of whom left issue (with Charles, a member of the Durazzo branch of the House of Anjou). The next ones in line were the Durazzo branch itself (the Taranto branch, of which Louis I was part, had been extinguished), whose prominent figure, Charles, was Joanna's enemy. Charles III, the Short(Carlo III, il Breve) 12 May 138224 February 1386 Great-grandson of Charles II and second cousin of Joanna I of Naples Member of the House of Anjou-DurazzoKing of Naples(Re di Napoli) Ladislaus, the Magnanimous(Ladislao, il Magnanimo) 24 February 1386Early 1390 Son of Charles III
House of Valois-Anjou (disputed)
Joanna of Naples had refused to name her enemy Charles of Durazzo as heir to the Neapolitan throne despite him ending up succeeding her anyway. If Charles' line was ignored, the subsequent heirs would be the descendants of Margaret, Countess of Anjou, a daughter of Charles II of Naples; the line pointed to the kings of France of the House of Valois. Joanna chose this line, though she named as heir, her second cousin once removed, Louis of Valois-Anjou, the second son of King John II of France, in order to avoid a personal union with France.
As Charles III had already seized the Neapolitan throne, initially the House of Valois-Anjou only had an empty claim. One of their members, Louis II, succeeded in ruling Naples for a time.
Time as claimant instead of actual rule will be shown in italic.
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Louis I of Anjou(Luigi I) 13821384Adopted son and heir of Joanna IGreat-great-grandson of Charles II through female lineCould not establish himself in Naples before his deathKing of Naples(Re di Napoli)Louis II(Luigi II) 1384 13891417 1399Son of Louis I (adopted son of Joanna I)Crowned in 1389Actually ruled in Naples only from 1390 until 1399Louis III of Anjou(Luigi III) 14171434Son of Louis IIHe was recognised as Joanna II's heir in 1423.
House of Anjou (restored)
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Ladislaus, the Magnanimous(Ladislao I, il Magnanimo) Late 13996 August 1414 Son of Charles IIIKing of Naples(Re di Napoli)Joanna II(Giovanna II) 6 August 14142 February 1435 Daughter of Charles IIIQueen of Naples(Regina di Napoli)
House of Valois-Anjou (restored) Joanna II recognised Louis III of Anjou as heir in 1423, however he died in 1434 before succeeding to the throne. His brother René of Anjou succeeded to the claim and became king upon Joanna's death in 1435.
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title René, the Good(Renato, il Buono) 2 February 1435 2 June 1442Son of Louis IIKing of Naples(Re di Napoli)
House of Trastámara
Before Louis of Anjou, Queen Joanna II's adopted heir had been Alfonso V of Aragon. His father, Ferdinand I of Aragon had inherited both Aragon and Sicily from his maternal uncle Martin I of Aragon. Martin, in turn had claimed the throne of Sicily following the extinction of the Sicilian branch of the House of Barcelona, thereby bringing Sicily under the Aragonese crown. Alfonso refused to be disinherited and conquered Naples from René of Anjou in 1442. Although both Sicily and Naples were once again under the rule of the single monarch since the Sicilian Vespers, Alfonso passed the Aragonese throne (including Sicily) to his brother John, while Naples went to his illegitimate son Ferdinand.
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Alfonso I, the Magnanimous(Alfonso I, il Magnanimo) 2 June 144227 June 1458Adopted son of Joanna II; conqueredKing of Aragon, Sicily and Naples(Re di Aragona, Sicilia e Napoli)Ferdinand I(Ferdinando I) 27 June 145825 January 1494Illegitimate son of Alfonso IKing of Naples(Re di Napoli)Alfonso II(Alfonso II) 25 January 149423 January 1495Son of Ferdinand IFerdinand II(Ferdinando II) 23 January 14957 September 1496Son of Alfonso IIFrederick(Federico) 7 September 14961 August 1501Son of Ferdinand I
Union with France (1501–1504)
Upon his death in 1480, René of Anjou transferred his claim to his nephew, Charles IV, Duke of Anjou. Charles died in 1481 and willed his claim to Louis XI of France. Louis' son Charles VIII attempted to take Naples by force, but failed and died childless in 1498.
Charles VIII was succeeded by his 2nd cousin once removed Louis XII. Louis had no claim to the Neapolitan throne, but as successor to Charles VIII in France he nevertheless wanted to succeed him in Naples as well.
Naples was conquered in 1501 and became part of a personal union with the Kingdom of France. The local government was ruled by a French viceroy.
House of Valois-Orléans
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Louis III (Luigi III) 2 August 150131 January 1504Succeeded to Charles VIII on the French throne; conquered Naples
Union with Spain (1504–1647)
Ferdinand II of Aragon won Naples from France in the Treaty of Granada. Naples thus entered a personal union with the Crown of Aragon, which lasted for over two centuries. The Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile were also in personal union, which eventually became the Kingdom of Spain under the Bourbon Dynasty. The kings of Spain appointed Spanish viceroys to govern Naples for them. The royal houses were: House of Trastámara (1504–1516) House of Habsburg (1516–1647)
House of Trastámara
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Ferdinand III (Ferdinando III) 31 January 150423 January 1516Conquered Naples from Louis XII Joanna III (Giovanna III) 23 January 151612 April 1555Daughter of Ferdinand III
Joanna III was kept confined under alleged insanity during her whole reign.
House of Habsburg
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Charles IV (Carlo IV) 14 March 151625 July 1554Son of Joanna IIIPhilip I 25 July 155413 September 1598Son of Charles IVPhilip II 13 September 159831 March 1621Son of Philip IPhilip III 31 March 16211647Son of Philip II
Neapolitan Republic (1647–1648)
House of Guise
Officially a Republic, Naples was governed for a short time by the Duke of Guise, under the title of "Doge of Naples".
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Henry of Guise(Enrico di Guisa) 22 October 1647 5 April 1648Claimed a lineage with the House of Valois-AnjouDoge of Naples(Doge di Napoli)
Union with Spain (1648–1713)
Naples returned to its former status; in personal union with the Crown of Aragon and the Spanish monarchy.
House of Habsburg
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) TitlePhilip III 164817 September 1665Son of Philip IICharles V 17 September 16651 November 1700Son of Philip III
House of Bourbon
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Philip IV1 November 170011 April 1713Great-nephew of Charles V
Kingdom of Naples (1713–1799) Under the terms of the Peace of Utrecht the crown of Naples passed to the Austrian Habsburgs.
House of Habsburg
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) TitleCharles VI11 April 17131734/1735Great-grandson of Philip II
House of Bourbon
In 1734 Spanish troops conquered the Kingdom of Naples, which was surrendered to Charles of Bourbon under the Treaty of Vienna (1738).
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Charles VII(Carlo VII) 2 June 17346 October 1759Son of Philip IV;confirmed King with a treaty (1738). Abdicated, 1759 to assume the throne of Spain.King of Spain, Naples and Sicily(Re di Spagna, Napoli e Sicilia) Ferdinand IV(Ferdinando IV) 6 October 175923 January 1799Son of Charles VIIKing of Naples and Sicily(Re di Napoli e Sicilia)
Parthenopean Republic (1799)
Dictators Nº PortraitName(Birth–Death)Term of OfficePolitical Party Ref.1Jean Étienne Championnet(1762–1800) 21 January 1799 24 February 1799 Military Championnet was appointed to defend the Roman Republic, but despite the French Directory's directives, he also conquered Naples and created the Parthenopean Republic. After a short dictatorship, he was deposed and imprisoned by France itself.2Étienne Macdonald(1765–1840) 24 February 1799 3 June 1799 MilitaryAfter Championnet's deposition, MacDonald ruled Naples for some months, before moving his forces in Northern Italy. Naples was then reconquered by the Bourbons' loyalists.
Kingdom of Naples (1799–1816)
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Ferdinand IV(Ferdinando IV) 13 June 179930 March 1806Son of Charles VIIKing of Naples and Sicily(Re di Napoli e Sicilia)
House of Bonaparte
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Joseph I(Giuseppe I) 30 March 18068 July 1808Appointed by Napoleon I of France, abdicated 1808 to assume the throne of Spain.King of Naples(Re di Napoli)
House of Murat
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Joachim-Napoleon(Gioacchino Napoleone) 1 August 180822 May 1815Brother-in-law of Joseph IKing of Naples(Re di Napoli)
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Portrait Coat of Arms Name Reign Relationship with Predecessor(s) Title Ferdinand IV(Ferdinando IV) 22 May 18158 December 1816Son of Charles VIIKing of Naples and Sicily(Re di Napoli e Sicilia) Naples was merged with Sicily to form Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
See also List of monarchs of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies List of consorts of Naples List of viceroys of Naples List of monarchs of Sicily Kings of Naples family tree
References