Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Sicily

Elizabeth of Carinthia (1298–1352) was Queen of Sicily by marriage to Peter II of Sicily. She was the regent of Sicily during the minority of her son Louis, King of Sicily from 1348 until her death in 1352.

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Elizabeth of Carinthia
Queen consort of Sicily
Tenure	25 June 1337 – 15 August 1342
Born	1298
Died	1352 (aged 53–54)
Spouse	Peter II of Sicily ​ ​ (m. 1323; died 1342)​
Issue	Constance, Regent of Sicily Eleanor, Queen of Aragon Beatrice, Countess Palatine Euphemia, Regent of Sicily Louis I the Child Frederick IV the Simple Blanche, Countess of Ampurias
House	Gorizia
Father	Otto III of Carinthia
Mother	Euphemia of Silesia-Liegnitz

The daughter of Otto, the penultimate duke of Carinthia and lord of Carniola from the House of Gorizia, she married Peter II of Sicily in 1323 and became the Queen of Sicily. During her time as Queen, Elizabeth ensured that the royal lineage of the Aragonese in Sicily continued. Two sons eventually ascended the throne, Louis of Sicily and Frederick IV of Sicily. Elizabeth was the regent for her young son Louis from 1348 until her death in 1352.

Politically, the decades leading up to Elizabeth's reign were full of conflicts between Frederick III, King of Sicily, and Robert of Naples who had the backing of the papacy in Avignon. Famine, warfare and plague were widespread in Europe during the mid-fourteenth century, which had a devastating impact on Sicily in particular, due to its economic expansion and prosperity in the two centuries prior. Elizabeth's reign occurred during a period where Italian citizens were disheartened and anxious, which caused tension among the local populace. The island was also marked by turbulent relations between the throne and Sicily's noble families, eventually degenerating into a civil war. These internal rivalries between the noble families required the coming of age of Elizabeth's sons to resolve the fighting.