After his father's death in 1356, Bolko III and his brothers Wladyslaw Opolczyk and Henry inherited Opole as co-rulers; however, the full government was held by the oldest brother, Wladyslaw Opolczyk.
The independent rule of Bolko III began only around 1375, when he inherited Strzelce after the death of his uncle Albert without male issue. During his reign, he didn't play any political role.
Bolko III spent much of his time at the courts of King Charles in Prague and King Louis I in Buda. In 1355, Bolko III, with several other Silesian Dukes, went to Italy with King Charles of Bohemia, who came to Rome for his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor; ten years later, in 1365, he made a journey from Luxembourg to Avignon, and in 1377, together with King Louis I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Opolczyk, he made a military expedition to Belz.
Bolko III died on 21 September 1382 and was buried in the Franciscan chapel of St. Anna in Opole.
Marriage and issue
By 1355, Bolko III married a certain Anna (b. ca. 1340? - d. 8 April 1378), whose origins are unknown. They had five children:
Jan Kropidlo (b. 1360/64 - d. 3 March 1421).
Bolko IV (b. 1363/67 - d. 6 May 1437).
Henry II (b. 1374 - d. 22 December 1394).
Bernard (b. 1374/78 - d. 2/4 April 1455).
Anna (b. bef. 8 April 1378 - d. 2 December 1455), Abbess of Trzebnica (1428).
Because at the time of Bolko III's death his sons were minors, their guardianship was held by his uncle Wladyslaw Opolczyk.
