Constantine XVII Angelus

Emperor Constantine XVII
Birth 29 January 1590 Accession 8 April 1599 Death 27 November 1617 Titles Emperor of Pantocratoria, Caesar

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Constantine XVII was the son of the junior Emperor Constantine XV and Irene Palaeologa, the daughter of Emperor Constantine XIII and Empress Irene II. His father succeeded in having his nine year old child follow him as junior emperor ruling from New Constantinople.

His reign was fairly uneventful, especially when considered against that of his father. He had little influence outside of New Constantinople, although his support was courted by both sides of the rivalry between the junior emperor Demetrius VII and his son, the senior Emperor Constantine XVIII. Constantine XVII was still a child at the time, and wasn't of very much assistance to either side, both of which his court supported at various times through the efforts of his ministers, who were divided into Demetrine and Constantinian camps.

As a somewhat obscure junior emperor, Constantine was free to marry for love rather than politics, and so in 1610 married Maria, the daughter of a relatively unknown Knight of the Order of the Pantocrator. The two had a brief but happy marriage, which saw the birth of one surviving child, Irene, named after her grandmother and great grandmother. Constantine XVII's reign was cut short by a jousting accident in 1617. Despite his will, which stated that his daughter should succeed him as junior empress in her own right, he failed where his influential father had succeeded. Irene was not crowned as junior empress succeeding her father, but would eventually become the Empress Consort of the junior Emperor Constantine XX. It was through this marriage that the Angeli line would be continued.