Charlotte (28 June 1444 – 16 July 1487) was the Queen of Cyprus from 1458 until 1464. She was the eldest and only surviving daughter of King John II of Cyprus and Helena Palaiologina. At the age of 14, she succeeded to the Cypriot throne upon the death of her father. Her illegitimate half-brother, James, challenged her right to the crown. With the support of the Egyptians, he forced her to flee the island in 1463, and he was later crowned king. She made a military attempt to regain her throne, but was unsuccessful, and died childless in Rome.
Family and childhood
thumb|family of Vasilios Hamados, detail from Arhangelos Michael church at Pedoulas
Charlotte was born in Nicosia on 28 June 1444, the eldest and only surviving daughter of King John II of Cyprus and Helena Palaiologina. Her younger sister Cleopha died in June 1448, shortly before Charlotte's fourth birthday, leaving her the sole legitimate heir to the Cypriot throne and her father's titles. She had an illegitimate half-brother, James, born to her father's Greek mistress Marietta de Patras.
She was raised in the Byzantine tradition and spoke fluent Greek, which she learned from her mother. She could write French, Italian, and possibly Latin, but throughout her life spoke mainly Greek. Due to her outspoken manner, Pope Pius II called her the "Greek torrent".
Queen of Cyprus
thumb|left|Silver gros coins of Charlotte. Issued 1458–1460, Cyprus. Obverse: Crowned shield with Lusignan coat of arms, CARLOTA DI GRA REGNA. Reverse: Cross of Jerusalem, IERVZALM E D CHIPR. Diameter 25 mm, Weight 3.96 gr (69.5 Enetian grains).
Charlotte was named Princess of Antioch in 1456. The same year she married her first husband, John of Portugal. The marriage might have been intitiated by John's aunt Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, in order to acquire a naval base in the Mediterannean for safe passage of bands of Burgundian Crusaders into the Holy Land.
Charlottes husband tried to counterbalance the Greek Orthodox influence of his mother-in-law, Helena Palaiologina. But after a time the relationship between John and Helena became so strained that he and Charlotte moved to the home of Peter of Lusignan.
After a short illness (allegedly due to poisoning by Helena), he died in 1457 and was buried in the Church of St. Francis in Nicosia.
Now a young widow, Charlotte's loss was followed the very next year by the death of her father on 28 July 1458 . At the age of fourteen Charlotte thus became Queen of Cyprus and was crowned at St. Sophia Cathedral on 7 October 1458.
Charlotte's reign was not successful. She had a tenuous hold on the kingdom, as her right to the throne was constantly being challenged by her illegitimate half-brother James. On 7 October 1459, she married her second husband, Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva. This marriage had been arranged by the Genoese, who promised their assistance in retaining her crown against the claims by James. Her half-brother was crowned King James II. She took up residence at the Convertendi Palace in Trastevere. Pope Pius II, who was acquainted with her described Charlotte as "a woman of about twenty-four, of middle height: bright eyes, complexion betwixt dark and pale; speech smooth and flowing torrent like after the manner of the Greeks; French costume; manners becoming her royal blood". Al-Asraf supported Charlotte's cause, but the plan could not be carried out until she had custody of young Charlotte.
The former queen's opponents ensured this would never happen by imprisoning the little girl in Padua; she died there before her twelfth birthday in 1480. Afterwards, a marriage was suggested between Alonso and Catherine Conaro, but this also failed due to the interference of the Republic of Venice. Instead, around February 1485, in exchange for an annual pension of 4,300 florins, Charlotte ceded her claims to her cousin's son, Charles I of Savoy, the next in the legitimate line of succession.
Charlotte died on 16 July 1487, shortly after her forty-third birthday. Her body is buried in the chapel of Saint Andrew and Saint Gregory, St. Peter's Basilica; the funeral was paid for by Pope Innocent VIII.
thumb|[[Kyrenia Castle in Cyprus, where Charlotte was blockaded for three years]]
Marriages
Charlotte married twice:
- Infante John of Portugal, also known as John of Coimbra, (1431 or 1433 – between July and 11 September 1457) (son of Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra and grandson of King John I of Portugal), in May 1456 in Nicosia. He was made a titular Prince of Antioch. It is rumoured that his death was a murder due to poisoning, arranged by Queen Helena, leaving Charlotte free to make a second marriage.
- Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva (Geneva, 5 June 1436 or 1 April 1437 – Château-Monastery de Ripaille, August 1482). The couple were married on 7 October 1459, almost a year after Charlotte's coronation. Louis was her cousin: he was the second son and namesake of Louis, Count of Savoy by Anne de Lusignan, daughter of King Janus of Cyprus, and became a King of Cyprus from 1459 to 1462 and also a titular King of Jerusalem.
By her second husband Louis, Charlotte had;
- Hugh or Henry, who was born on 4 July 1464 in Rhodes. The boy died within a month of his birth.