Andrew, Duke of Calabria
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Andrew, (Endre) Duke of Calabria (30 October 1327 – September 18/19, 1345, Aversa) was the second surviving son of Charles I of Hungary and Elizabeth of Poland.
He was betrothed in 1334, at a young age, to his cousin Joan I of Naples, daughter of Charles, Duke of Calabria (eldest son of king Robert of Naples), who was three years his senior. Robert had taken the throne of Naples while his older brother's son Charles was occupied in winning Hungary, and wished to atone for his usurpation. He made Andrew Duke of Calabria, title of the heir to the throne, and on his death in 1343, his will instructed that Andrew and Joan be married and crowned monarchs of Naples in their own right.
This, however, sat ill with the Neapolitan people and nobles; nor was Joan content to share her sovereignty. With the approval of Pope Clement VI, Joan was crowned as sole monarch of Naples in August 1344. Fearing for his life, Andrew wrote to his mother Elizabeth that he would soon flee the kingdom. She intervened, and made a state visit; before she returned to Hungary, she bribed Pope Clement to reverse himself and permit the coronation of Andrew. She also gave a ring to Andrew, which was supposed to protect him from death by blade or poison, and returned with a false sense of security to Hungary.
Hearing of the Pope's reversal, a group of noble conspirators (the involvement of Queen Joan remaining unproved) determined to forestall Andrew's coronation. During a hunting trip at Aversa, Andrew left his room in the middle of the night and was set upon by the conspirators. A treacherous servant barred the door behind him; and as Joan cowered in their bed, a terrible struggle ensued, Andrew defending himself furiously and shrieking for aid. He was finally overpowered, strangled with a cord, and flung from a window.
The deed would taint the rest of Joan's reign, although she was two time acquitted by any charge in the trials that followed. Andrew's elder brother Louis I of Hungary several times invaded the Kingdom of Naples and drove out Joan, only to meet with reverses. Ultimately, 37 years later, Louis' kinsman Charles III of Naples conquered Naples with Hungarian aid and put Joan to death. She had been married three times more since Andrew
Andrew and Joan had one posthumous son, Charles Martel (Naples, 25 December 1345 – aft. 10 May 1348) who died young in Hungary.
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| Preceded by Sancha of Majorca |
Royal Consort of Naples 1343 –1345 |
Succeeded by Louis of Taranto |
