In the middle ages, Sicily was governed by German emperors until 1266 when it fell into the hands of the French dynasty of Anjou. The last German ruler of Sicily, prior to the Angevin takeover, had one surviving daughter who married the King of Arragon, who Sicilians considered to be the natural successor to the crown.

 

In 1285, this king made his way to Sicily and established himself as the ruler and began a dynasty that would last for the next 500 years. His name was Pedro III or Pedro the Great.

 

Naturally, Pedro III was not the Don Pedro in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing; however, it was his name that oated into Shakespeare’s mind when he needed a name for the prince.