Blanche I of Navarre

For other persons of this name, see Blanca of Navarre (disambiguation).
Blanche I
Queen regnant of Navarre
Reign 8 September 1425 – 1 April 1441
Coronation 15/18 May 1429 (Pamplona)
Predecessor Charles III
Successor Charles IV
Queen consort of Sicily
Reign 26 December 1402 – 25 July 1409
Born 6 July 1387
Pamplona
Died 1 April 1441(1441-04-01) (aged 53)
Santa María la Real de Nieva
Burial Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña
Spouse Martin I of Sicily
John II of Aragon
Issue
among others...
Charles IV of Navarre
Blanche II of Navarre
Eleanor I of Navarre
House House of Évreux
Father Charles III of Navarre
Mother Eleanor of Castile
Religion Roman Catholicism

Blanche I (6 July 1387[1] – 1 April 1441) was Queen of Navarre from 1425 to 1441. She became queen regnant upon the death of her father King Charles III of Navarre. She was married twice, but only had surviving issue from her second husband, King John II of Aragon, as her only son by Martin I of Sicily died in early infancy.

Life

She was the second eldest daughter and heir of King Charles III of Navarre and infanta Eleanor of Castile. She became heiress on the death of her elder sister Joan.

Blanche married firstly Martin the Younger, King of Sicily and Prince of Aragon. They were married by proxy on 21 May 1402 in Catania. Blanche travelled to meet her new husband and they were married in person on 26 December 1402. The bride was about fifteen years old and the groom twenty-eight.

Martin had been in need of legitimate heirs, as he had survived his previous wife and former co-ruler, Queen Maria of Sicily, and their only son. When Martin died on 25 July 1409, he was succeeded by his own father, Martin I of Aragon.

Royal Coat of Arms of Navarre.

Blanche remained a widow for a decade. On 6 November 1419, Blanche married her second husband, John, duke of Peñafiel, the second son of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Eleanor of Alburquerque, by proxy in Olite. Ferdinand had succeeded his maternal uncle Martin I in 1412.

John travelled to meet her. On 10 June 1420, they were married in person in Pamplona. Charles III died on 8 September 1425 and Blanche succeeded him as Queen regnant of Navarre. John became King of Navarre in her right as John II.

Blanche died in Santa María la Real de Nieva in 1441. After her death, John kept the government of Navarre in his own hands, from the hands of their own son Charles of Viana, the rightful heir of the line of Navarrese kings. He would become King of Aragon and King of Sicily upon the death of his elder brother Alfonso V of Aragon in 1458.

Issue

Blanche and Martin only had one son:

Blanche and John II of Aragon had four children:

Ancestry

Bibliography

References

  1. Anthony (1931) states that she was the fourth-born daughter of King Charles III of Navarre by Queen Eleanor, and she was preceded by Joan, Maria and Margaret and the two latter died early. Anthony defines Blanche's exact birth date as 6 July 1387 by virtue of contemporary sources.

External links

Blanche I of Navarre
Born: 6 July 1387 Died: 1 April 1441
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Charles III
Queen regnant of Navarre
with John II

8 September 1425 – 3 April 1441
Succeeded by
Charles IV
Royal titles
Preceded by
Antonia of Baux
Queen consort of Sicily
26 December 1402 – 25 July 1409
Succeeded by
Margaret of Prades
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