Tancred , King of Sicily Tancred ( died 20 February 1194 ) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194 . He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III , Duke of Apulia , the eldest son of King Roger II , and of Emma , daughter of Achard II , Count of Lecce ( and wife of Ruggero III de Hauteville ( Puglia ) , Duce di Apulia ) . He inherited the title " Count of Lecce " from his grandfather , and is consequently often referred to as " Tancred of Lecce " . A member of the de Hauteville family , however due to his illegitimate status , he was known by the surname , Fitz Rogers , son of Roger . He is credited with being the founder of the modern Rogers family . On 9 March 1161 , Tancred joined his uncle Simon , Prince of Taranto , in invading the palace , detained the king and queen , William I and Margaret , and their two sons , and incited a massacre of Muslims . Originally , the older of these two sons , Roger IV , Duke of Apulia , was destined to be crowned in place of William , but soon the populace supported the accession of Simon himself . Before Simon could put himself forward as a candidate , however , the rebellion had broken down and the people were restless . The insurrectionists were forced to free the king and retreat to their castles . Pardon was given them on condition of exile and many , including Tancred , took the offer . In 1174 Tancred led a large fleet to Egypt on behalf of William II . The Sicilians landed near Alexandria but when they realised that their expected allies would not be coming ( due to King Amalric I of Jerusalem ' s death ) and with Saladin ' s army approaching they returned to their ships and sailed home . As soon as William II died , in 1189 , Tancred rebelled and seized control of the island , and he was crowned King Tancred I of Sicily early in 1190 . His coup was backed by the chancellor Matthew d ' Ajello and the official class , while the rival claims of Roger II ' s daughter Constance and her husband , Henry VI , King of the Romans , were supported by most of the nobles . Tancred was a good soldier , though his tiny stature earned him the nickname " Tancredulus " from the poet chronicler Peter of Eboli . Despite a measure of popular support , his rule faced daunting challenges right from the start . In 1190 Richard I of England arrived in Sicily at the head of a large crusading army on its way to the Holy Land . Richard immediately demanded the release of his sister , William II ' s Queen Joan , imprisoned by Tancred in 1189 , along with every penny of her dowry and inheritance . He also insisted that Tancred fulfil the financial commitments made by William II to the crusade . When Tancred balked at these demands , Richard seized a monastery and the castle of La Bagnara . Richard was joined in Sicily by the French crusading army , led by King Philip II . The presence of two foreign armies soon caused unrest among the locals . In October the people of Messina revolted , demanding that the foreigners leave the island . Richard responded by attacking Messina , which he captured on 4 October 1190 . After the city had been looted and burned , Richard established his base there and decided to stay the winter . He remained at Messina until March 1191 , when Tancred finally agreed to a treaty . According to the treaty ' s main terms : After signing the treaty Richard and Philip finally left Sicily for the Holy Land . It is rumoured that before he left , Richard gave Tancred a sword he claimed was Excalibur in order to secure their friendship . Having at last rid himself of the crusaders , Tancred next confronted the threat from the north . In April 1191 in Rome , Henry and Constance were crowned Emperor and Empress by Pope Celestine III , and now the pair turned south to claim the Kingdom of Sicily in the name of Constance , who was the posthumous daughter of Roger II of Sicily by his third wife Beatrix of Rethel and therefore the legitimate heiress to the throne . Constance accompanied her husband at the head of a substantial imperial army that descended into the Regno . The northern towns of the kingdom opened their gates to Henry , including the earliest Norman strongholds Capua and Aversa . Salerno , once Roger II ' s mainland capital , sent word ahead that Henry was welcome and invited Constance to stay in her father ' s old palace to escape the summer heat . Naples offered the first resistance of the whole campaign , withstanding a siege with the help of Margaritus of Brindisi ' s fleet , until much of the army had succumbed to malaria and disease . Eventually the imperial army was forced to withdraw from the kingdom altogether . Constance remained in Salerno with a small garrison , as a sign that Henry would soon return . Once Henry had withdrawn with the bulk of the imperial army , the towns that had supposedly fallen to the empire immediately declared their allegiance to Tancred , for the most part now fearing his retribution . The populace of Salerno saw an opportunity to win some favour with Tancred and delivered Constance to him in Messina , an important prize given that Henry had every intention of returning . However , Tancred was willing to give up his negotiation advantage , that is , the empress , in exchange for Pope Celestine III legitimising him as King of Sicily . In turn , the Pope was hoping that by securing Constance ' s safe passage back to Rome , Henry would be better disposed towards the papacy , and he was still hoping to keep the empire and the kingdom from uniting . However , imperial soldiers were able to intervene before Constance made it to Rome , and they returned her safely across the Alps . Henry had left garrisons along the frontiers of the Regno . Tancred now sought to win over the towns by extensive grants of privileges . At Gravina ( June 1192 ) he reinforced his papal support by surrendering the royal legateship over Sicily . In 1192 and 1193 he personally led successful campaigns against the Apulian barons . But his death , at Palermo ( 20 February 1194 ) , a few days after that of his young son and co - king , Roger III , opened the way for Hohenstaufen rule in Sicily . His wife Sibylla of Acerra did establish a regency for her second son William III , but Henry VI returned to Italy later that year , his army financed by the lucrative ransom of Richard I . Naples surrendered in May , almost without a blow , and the rest of the Regno followed . Sybilla and the loyal Margaritus prepared to defend Palermo , but the citizens admitted the emperor on 20 November 1194 . Tancred ' s family fell into Henry ' s hands , and William III , rumoured castrated and blinded , seems to have died in Germany in 1198 . < br >