Isabella of Villehardouin

Isabella of Villehardouin (1260/1263 – 23 January 1312) was the reigning Princess of Achaea from 1289 to 1307. She was the elder daughter of Prince William II of Achaea and of his third wife, Anna Komnene Doukaina, the second daughter of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, the despot of Epiros.

First marriage

On 28 May 1271 Isabella married Philip of Sicily, son of Charles I of Sicily. This marriage had been pre-determined by the Treaty of Viterbo in May 1267 between Charles, the exiled Baldwin II of Constantinople and Isabella's father. Taking advantage of the precarious situation of the remains of the Latin Empire in the face of renascent Greek power, Charles gained suzerain rights over Achaea; furthermore, the heirs of Baldwin and William were to marry children of Charles, and Charles was to have the reversion of both the empire and the principality should the couples have no heirs.

Philip became titular King of Thessalonica in 1274, but he died on 1 January 1277, predeceasing his father. In line with the treaty, on the death of Isabella's father William, in 1278, it was her father-in-law Charles who succeeded to the throne of Achaea.

Remarriage and reign

Charles I died in 1285, to be succeeded by his son Charles II. In 1289, on Isabella's marriage to Florent of Hainaut, Charles II conferred on the couple the Principality of Achaea, on the condition that, if she survived her husband, Isabella would not remarry without Charles II's consent. Florent and Isabella had a daughter, Matilda.

As Prince, Florent negotiated the Treaty of Glarentsa with the Byzantine Empire in 1290.