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Henry VI (Hohenstaufen)

Type Figure Region Germany Time 1165–1197 Also known as Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI、King Henry VI of Sicily

Henry VI (1165–1197), eldest son of Frederick Barbarossa, co-ruled with his father from 1184, married Constance, heiress queen of Sicily, in 1186, an…

Timeline

  1. 1165–1184Swabian and German courts · GermanyTrained in knighthood and statecraft at his father's court, he co-ruled Germany with Frederick Barbarossa from 1184, was established as primary heir, and took part in imperial diets and the planning of Italian policy.
  2. 1186–1190Milan · LombardyIn 1186 he married Constance, heiress queen of Norman Sicily, at Milan, securing for the Hohenstaufen the succession to southern Italy; after his father joined the Crusades in 1189, he was appointed regent in Italy, maintaining imperial authority in Lombardy.
  3. 1190–1191Aachen · RhinelandOn learning of his father's drowning in 1190, he hurried back to Germany and competed with his brother Philip and others over the succession; he was crowned king at Aachen in 1191, crowned emperor the same year by Pope Celestine III, and led an army south to conquer Sicily.
  4. 1191–1197Palermo · SicilyHe captured King Richard I of England in 1194 and extracted a huge ransom; in 1196 at Worms he promoted the fundamental law of election to strengthen the hereditary tendency of the kingship; while preparing another crusade in 1197, he died suddenly near Messina at only 39, leaving an infant son Frederick II and a long imperial interregnum.

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