After his return from the perilous journey to Bordeaux, Pedro III., with the concurrence of the Cortes of Aragon and Catalonia, came to a very important decision. His queen, daughter and heir of King Manfred, was to proceed to her Sicilian possessions and thus ensure the loyalty and devotion of the people who had been delivered from the tyranny of Charles of Anjou by her husband. She was to be accompanied by her two younger sons, Jayme and Federigo. The latter was quite a young boy, there being an interval of seven years between the two brothers. The eldest son, Alfonso, was to remain with his father. As a measure of State policy it was wise and judicious. But the separation was a sacrifice to duty and a cause of grief and anxiety both to En Pedro and to Queen Constance. They never saw each other again.
A fleet was fitted out at Barcelona with great care, and every known appliance for ensuring a safe voyage was brought into requisition. Even the use of compasses is mentioned by Muntaner. The discovery has usually been attributed to one Flavio Gioia of Amalfi and to the year 1302. But here we have evidence of their use a quarter of a century earlier; while at about the same time Raimundo Lulio of Majorca (I quote from a note of Antonio de Borafull) wrote these words in his work ‘De Contemplatione’: ‘Sicut acus per naturam vertitur ad septentrionem dum sit tacta a magnete.’ The ships, thus quite exceptionally provided and well manned with Catalan crossbowmen, were to be under the guidance of those trusty sea-captains, Ramon Marquet and Berenguer Mallol.
There were religious services, but En Pedro felt the parting with his beloved Constance so deeply that he could not go with her to the ship. He shut himself up alone for several hours. It was his brother Jayme, the King of Majorca, who accompanied the Queen and his two nephews to the ship and saw them safe on board. The two brothers spent that evening together, and next day the King of Majorca set out for Perpignan. Up to this time En Pedro and En Jayme were on friendly terms. After a successful voyage the Queen and her sons arrived at Palermo. They were received with extraordinary enthusiasm, and messengers with the joyful news were sent all over the island. This return to the home of her childhood, with such a reception, must have been a cause of delight for the daughter of Manfred, though not unmixed with sorrow. For one of her sisters still lingered in a dungeon at Naples, while the rest of her family had been relieved by death. A vessel was at once sent back to Barcelona with news of the safe arrival. The Queen had a wise and loyal councillor in John of Procida, and by his advice she assembled the Parliament of the kingdom at Palermo. A letter was read from Pedro III., announcing that he had sent his beloved wife to take her place as rightful Queen of Sicily. All the members swore allegiance to her and her sons amidst a scene of enthusiasm which was quite unanimous. The proceedings terminated with a blessing from the Queen and a prayer for the well-being of the representatives and of the people they represented, who returned to their homes. The Queen and her sons then proceeded by land to Messina.