In 1256, at the death of William II of Holland, Alfonso's descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, a daughter of Philip of Swabia, gave him a claim through the Hohenstaufen line. Alfonso's election as German king by the prince-electors misled him into complicated schemes that involved excessive expense but never succeeded. Alfonso never even traveled to Germany, and his alliance with the Italian Ghibelline Lord Ezzelino IV da Romano deprived him of the initial support of Pope Alexander IV. His rival, Richard of Cornwall, went to Germany and was crowned in 1257 at Aachen.