Sixth Crusade
A Marriage
Frederick was able to recover his reputation quickly, however. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was currently without a king—John of Brienne had been acting as regent, and his daughter Yolanda was to be Queen. Soon after the Fifth Crusade failed, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Hermann von Salza, suggested that Yolanda might marry Frederick. It was a momentous proposal, for now the Kingdom would be united with the Empire. John accepted on behalf of his daughter (she was only fourteen); they all went to Italy, where Frederick accepted the proposal. He was thirty-one.
Yolanda and Frederick were married in November of 1225, at Brindisi. It was a sad match. Within days, Yolanda complained to her father that Frederick had seduced one of her cousins. John complained, but Frederick ignored him. Soon after, he sent Yolanda to Palermo where she spent the rest of her short life. At seventeen she gave birth to a son, Conrad, and died six days later.
The marriage was a success in political terms, however, at least as far as Frederick was concerned. He now had a (legitimate) son. And he was the King of Jerusalem. All that remained was for him to fulfill his crusading vow, a vow that was now already ten years old.