Blanche of Artois
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Blanche d'Artois (c. 1248 – May 2, 1300), was the regent of Navarre from 1274 to 1284, and later became countess of Lancaster by marrying into the English royal family. She was the daughter of count Robert I of Artois and Matilda of Brabant.
Her paternal grandparents were Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen, daughter of Philip of Swabia.
Blanche's first marriage was to Henry I of Navarre (ruled 1270-1274) who died in 1274, her second in 1276 with Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (1245-1296), an English prince who was a younger son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence.
With her first husband she had a daughter, Joan; with her second husband she had an additional four children:
- Thomas Plantagenet, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, (b. 1278)
- Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (b. 1281)
- John Plantagenet, Lord of Beaufort, (b. BEF 1286)
- Mary Plantagenet
From 1274 to 1284 she ruled Navarre and the counties of Brie, Champagne, Troyes et Meaux for her daughter, Joan I of Navarre (ruled 1274 - 1305).
| Preceded by Elizabeth of France |
Queen consort of Navarre 1270 – 1274 |
Succeeded by Philip I |
