Prince of Achaea

The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent state, initially being a vassal state subservient of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, which had supplanted the Byzantine Empire, and later of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. During the Angevin period, the princes were often absent, being represented in the Principality by their baillis, who governed in their name.

The principality was one of the longest-lasting of the Latin states in Greece, outliving the Latin Empire itself by 171 years. It did not come to an end until 1432, when the Byzantine prince Thomas Palaiologos inherited the last remnants of the Principality through marriage to the daughter of the last prince, Centurione Zaccaria. With the Principality gone, the title of Prince of Achaea became vacant. However at 1453 during the great Morean revolt of 1453-1454, John Asen Zaccaria, the son of Centurione from his first marriage revived the Principality. He was confirmed as Prince by the Kingdom of Naples, the legitimate overlords of the Principality since 1267 and by Venice, though on 1455 John was forced to exile. The title was revived more than two centuries later, with Antonio di Tocco, a descendant of Thomas Palaiologos, proclaiming himself as the titular Prince of Achaea in 1642. The sequence of titular princes that began with Antonio di Tocco lasted until the death of his descendant Maria Maddalena Capece Galeota in 1933, whereafter the title became vacant once more.