Joanna of Naples had refused to name her enemy Charles of Durazzo as heir to the Neapolitan throne despite him ending up succeeding her anyway. If Charles' line was ignored, the subsequent heirs would be the descendants of Margaret, Countess of Anjou, a daughter of Charles II of Naples; the line pointed to the kings of France of the House of Valois. Joanna chose this line, though she named as heir Louis of Valois-Anjou, a junior member of the dynasty, in order to avoid a personal union with France. As Charles III had already seized the Neapolitan throne, initially the House of Valois-Anjou only had an empty claim. One of their members, Louis II, succeeded in ruling Naples for a time. Time as claimant instead of actual rule will be shown in italic.
House of Anjou (restored)
House of Valois-Anjou (restored)
Joanna II recognised Louis III of Anjou as heir in 1423, however he died in 1434 before succeeding to the throne. His brother René of Anjou succeeded to the claim and became king upon Joanna's death in 1435.
Before Louis of Anjou, Joanna II's adopted heir had been Alfonso, King of Aragon. He refused to be disinherited and conquered Naples from René of Anjou in 1442.
Union with France (1501–1504)
Upon his death in 1480, René of Anjou transferred his claim to his nephew, Charles IV of Anjou. Charles died in 1481 and willed his claim to Louis XI of France. His son Charles VIII attempted to take Naples by force, but failed and died childless in 1498. Charles VIII was succeeded by his distant cousin Louis XII. Louis had no claim to the Neapolitan throne, but as successor to Charles VIII in France he nevertheless wanted to succeed him in Naples as well. Naples was conquered in 1501 and became part of a personal union with the Kingdom of France. The local government was ruled by a Frenchviceroy.
House of Valois-Orléans
Union with Spain (1504–1647)
Naples became a personal union of the Kingdom of Aragon, under Ferdinand II. Over time, Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile merged to form the Monarchy of Spain, known colloquially as the "Kingdom of Spain", though the constituent crowns retained their own institutions, and were ruled officially as separate states in personal union rather than as a unified state. The local government was ruled by a Spanish viceroy. The royal houses were:
