Elvira of Sicily

Elvira of Sicily (died in 1231) was a member of the House of Hauteville who claimed the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily. She is known by an exceptional number of names, including Albinia, Elvira, Maria, Albidina and Blanche. Early life Elvira was the eldest daughter of Tancred, Count of Lecce, and Sibylla of Acerra. Her father, an illegitimate member of the royal family, seized the throne of Sicily upon the death of his cousin William II in 1189, thus dispossessing his aunt Constance, who had been heir presumptive as William II's closest legitimate relative. A war of succession ensued between Tancred and Constance's husband, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. King Tancred died in 1194, leaving the crown to his son, William III. William was deposed by Henry and Constance later that year. Elvira's defeated mother was promised the County of Lecce and the Principality of Taranto as compensation, but she and her children were soon arrested on the charges of treason. Elvira's brother died blinded in 1198, while she was taken with her mother and two sisters to Germany and imprisoned in Hohenburg Abbey. They either escaped or were set free following papal intervention. Pursuing claims