Demetrius of Montferrat

[1] Demetrius was the son of Marquis Boniface of Montferrat by Margaret of Hungary, the widow of Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos (d. 1204).

Some of the most influential magnates of the kingdom conspired against the regency, plotting to replace the infant ruler with his half-brother, Marquis William VI of Montferrat.

The barons, led by Count Umberto II of Biandrate, shut the gates of the city before the emperor and issued several unreasonable demands.

Margaret was then instructed to overrule the terms and Henry crowned young Demetrius king on January 6, 1209, extracting oaths of homage from the Lombard barons.

The new Latin Emperor, Peter of Courtenay, was won over by the Lombard lords and invested William of Montferrat with the kingdom before leaving Italy.

Although William of Montferrat proved unwilling to dispossess his half-brother, he agreed to lead a crusade to the relief of Thessalonica in 1222, and prepared to set out, sending ahead Umberto of Biandrate.