Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto IV (1175–1218), third son of Henry the Lion of Saxony and Matilda of England, was raised at his grandfather Henry II's court. His uncle Richard I made him Count of Poitou in 1196 and backed his election as king in 1198, against Philip of Swabia; he was crowned at Aachen with replica regalia.

After Philip's murder in 1208, Otto was crowned emperor by Pope Innocent III in 1209, but his bid for Sicily brought excommunication in 1210. He was defeated at Bouvines in 1214, abandoned by his princes by 1215, and died near Brunswick in 1218.