Philippe III of France (1245-1285) - Find a Grave Memorial

French Monarch. Born the second son of Louis IX and Margaret of Provence he became heir to the French throne with the death of his elder brother, Louis, in 1260. Two years later, he was married to Isabella of Aragon with whom he had four children including the future Philippe IV. He accompanied his father on the Eight Crusade in 1270, during which the king died, and Philippe was proclaimed king. Leaving his uncle to conclude a treaty ending their Crusade, he returned to France, his wife was killed in a riding accident before his arrival. The success of his reign was the acquisition land holdings to the royal demesne usually by inheritance or annexation. He was less successful militarily. Expeditions against Castile and Sicily were failures. He was badly defeated at the Battle of Col de Panissars in October 1285, and succumbed to dysentery less than a week later. He was later summed up as being pious, charitable, moral, quick-tempered, not particularly clever, and an energetic hunter. His by-name, "the Bold," was apparently applied on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback rather than any personality trait.

Bio by: Iola