Philip III "the Bold" of France (30 April 1245-5 October 1285) was King of France from 25 August 1270 to 5 October 1285, succeeding Louis IX of France and preceding Philip IV of France. He is best-known for leading the Aragonese Crusade against Pere III of Aragon in a failed attempt to enforce his son Charles of Valois' claim on the throne of Aragon.
Biography[]
Philip was born on 30 April 1245, the son of King Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence. The strong personalities of his parents crushed him, and his father's policies dominated him, as he had big shoes to fill when his father died on crusade in Tunis in 1270; Philip returned to France from crusading with his father, and he was crowned at Reims. Philip III often took the suggestions of others, with Pierre de La Broce and Charles of Anjou being his main advisers. In 1271, he annexed the County of Toulouse to the Kingdom of France, and he sought to add Aragon to his lands by launching the Aragonese Crusade in 1284 in favor of his son Charles of Valois, whom the Pope had chosen as the new King of Aragon after Pere III of Aragon invaded Sicily (the lands of Philip's uncle Charles of Anjou). Philip was defeated by the Aragonese forces, and he died of dysentery at Perpignan in 1285.