Historica Wiki
Historica Wiki
Advertisement
Frederick of Naples

Frederick of Naples (19 April 1452-9 November 1504) was King of Naples from 7 September 1496 to 1 August 1501, succeeding Ferdinand II of Naples and preceding Louis XII of France. He was the last King of Naples of the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastamara.

Biography[]

Rise to power[]

Frederick of Naples prince

Frederick as a prince

Frederick of Naples was born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples on 19 April 1452, the son of Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Clermont. He succeeded his nephew Ferdinand II of Naples as King in 1496, having tricked Lucrezia Borgia into blackmailing his half-brother Raphael of Naples into dropping his claim to the throne; Lucrezia believed that Raphael had attempted to poison Frederick, an event that was staged. Frederick went on to keep Lucrezia and her child Giovanni Borgia as hostages after having her appointed "special ambassador"; he had her guarded in a room and fed well, but he expected for her to report on her family's moves, for her to give all of her loyalty to Naples, and for Borgia to not attack his secret ally, Caterina Sforza, unless he wanted his sister to be harmed.

Reign[]

He was crowned on 26 June 1497, but King Louis XII of France also laid claim to the throne of Naples, and he invaded in 1499. Frederick called upon his cousin, Ferdinand II of Aragon, to reclaim Naples from the French, but King Ferdinand, after repelling the French, decided to keep the kingdom for himself. Frederick was forced to implore the generosity of the King of France, who made him an annuity of 30,000 pounds on the Duchy of Anjou. Frederick died in Tours, France in 1504.

Advertisement