marry Constance, the widow of King Emeric in Hungary. The conditions in Germany seemed ripe for the picking according to Innocent. After the death of Henry VI, two elections ensued and two emperors were elected. The Ghibellines Phillip of Swabbia and the Guelfs elected Otto IV, son of Henry the Lion and nephew of King Richard of England. Phillip of Swabia was crowned at Mainz on September 8, 1198 and Otto IV at Aachen on July 12, 1198. After he was elected Pope he immediately sent bishops as legates to Germany with instructions to free Phillip of Swabia from the ban which he had incurred under Celestine III on condition that he would bring about the liberation of the imprisoned Queen Sibyl of Sicily and restore the territory which he had taken from the Church. However when the legates arrived in Germany Phillip had already been elected king. One of the bishops secretly freed him of his ban on the promise of Phillip to fulfill the requirements. After the coronation the two legates were sent back to Rome, with Phillip requesting the ratification of the election; but Innocent was dissatisfied with the bishops and refused to ratify the elections or coronation as Phillip being king. Otto IV then sent legates to Rome, to ratify the election but before Innocent could do so, fighting took place over the throne. Although the Pope did not openly side with either of them, it was apparent his sympathy was with Otto IV. Phillip was offended by what he called an unjust interference on the part of the Pope, and the adherents of Phillip sent a letter to Innocent. In Innocents reply he stated he had no plan of encroaching on the rights of the princes. He emphasized that the Imperial crown belonged to only the Pope alone. In 1201 the Pope openly admitted his siding with Otto IV and on July 3, 1201 the Cardinal of Palistrana, announced to the people in the cathedral of Cologne that Otto IV had been approved as the Roman king, and for all the people who di...
