Philip III the Bold ( French: Philippe III le Hardi) (April 3, 1245 - October 5, 1285) reigned as King of France from 1270 to 1285. A member of the Capetian dynasty, he was born in Poissy, the son of Louis IX of France and of Marguerite Berenger of Provence (1221 - 1295).
At the age of twenty-five he ascended to the throne. Indecisive, and dominated by the policies of his father, he followed the dictates of others, first of Pierre de la Broce and then of his uncle Charles I of Anjou, king of Naples.
In 1285, the last year of his reign, Philippe made an unsuccessful attempt to annex the kingdom of Aragon. In the aftermath of this struggle, while retreating from Girona, Philippe III died on October 5, 1285 at Perpignan (in the present-day département of Pyrénées-Orientales). He lies buried with his wife, Isabella of Aragon (1247 - 1271) in Saint Denis Basilica.
Philip III married (on 28 May 1262) Isabella of Aragon, daughter of James I of Aragon, and had the following children:
- Louis - (1266 - May 1276)
- Philippe IV - (1268 - November 29, 1314)
- Charles de Valois - (March 12, 1270 - December 16, 1325)
After Isabella's death, he married on August 21, 1274, Marie de Brabant, daughter of Henry III of Brabant and Adelaide of Burgundy.
The children of Philippe III and Marie de Brabant were:
- Louis d'Evreux - (May 1276 - May 19, 1319) (married: Marguerite d' Artois)
- Blanche - (1278 - March 19, 1305) (married: Rudolph III, duke of Austria)
- Marguerite - (1282 - February 14, 1317) (married: Edward I of England)
King Philippe III's son, Philippe IV, succeeded him on the throne.
