William III of Sicily (
1190 -
1232). Son of Tancred of
Sicily. At the age of four, shortly after his father's death, was crowned king by
Pope Clestine III[?] in
Palermo. He would be the last of Sicily's Norman kings. His mother, Sibylla of Accera, acted as his regent. Stripped of his crown by, Henry VI, king of
Germany and emperor of
Rome, on December 25th of that seem year, during Henry's conquest of Sicily. Three days later, Henry VI had young William castrated, and jailed. Spent the next four years languishing in a German prison with his mother and three sisters. After Henry's death, he and his family were freed and allowed entry into
France. Not much is known of William afterwards. One theory is that he later returned to Sicily under the alias Tancredi Palamara. Henry's son,
Frederick II (king of Sicily 1208, king of Germany 1215, emperor of Rome 1220) discovered Tancredi Palamara in Messina and had him executed in 1232.