Blanche I of Navarre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blanche I |
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Sculpture of Blanche I in the church of Santa María la Real, Olite
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| Queen of Navarre with John II |
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| Reign | 8 September 1425 – 1 April 1441 |
| Coronation | 15/18 May 1429 (Pamplona) |
| Predecessor | Charles III |
| Successor | Charles IV |
| Queen consort of Sicily | |
| Tenure | 26 December 1402 – 25 July 1409 |
| Born | 6 July 1387 Pamplona |
| Died | 1 April 1441 (aged 53) Santa María la Real de Nieva |
| Burial | Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña |
| Spouse | |
| Issue among others... |
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| House | Évreux |
| Father | Charles III of Navarre |
| Mother | Eleanor of Castile |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Blanche I (born July 6, 1387 – died April 1, 1441) was the Queen of Navarre from 1425 until her death. Before that, she was the Queen of Sicily from 1402 to 1409 because of her marriage to King Martin I. She also served as a regent (a ruler for a king or queen who is too young or absent) in Sicily for several years.
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Blanche's Early Life
Blanche was the second daughter of King Charles III of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile. She became the next in line to the throne of Navarre when her older sister, Joan, passed away in 1413.
Queen Regent of Sicily
Blanche's first marriage was to Martin the Younger, who was the King of Sicily and a prince of Aragon. They were married by proxy (meaning someone stood in for one of them) on May 21, 1402, in Catania. Blanche then traveled to meet Martin, and they had their official wedding on December 26, 1402. Blanche was about 15 years old, and Martin was 28.
Martin needed a child to inherit his throne, as his first wife and their only son had both died. Blanche helped him with this important duty.
From October 1404 to August 1405, Blanche acted as the regent of Sicily while her husband was away in Aragon. She did this again from August 1408 to July 1409, when Martin was in Sardinia.
When King Martin died on July 25, 1409, his father, Martin I of Aragon, became the new king. Blanche's father-in-law allowed her to continue being the regent of Sicily. She even stayed in this role after his death, during a time when there was a big struggle over who would rule Aragon.
Blanche was very popular in Sicily. People saw her as a symbol of Sicily's independence from Aragon. There was even an attempt by a nobleman named Bernardo Cabrera to try and arrange for her to marry Nicolas Peralta. This was an effort to bring back a Sicilian royal family with Blanche and Nicolas as king and queen.
However, when Ferdinand I won the struggle for the throne of Aragon, Blanche lost her power as regent in Sicily. Sicily then became part of Aragon in November 1415, and Blanche returned to Navarre.
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After returning to Navarre, Blanche was officially named the heir to the throne on October 28, 1415, in Olite. The lords of Navarre promised their loyalty to her.
On November 6, 1419, Blanche married her second husband, John, the Duke of Peñafiel. He was the second son of Ferdinand I of Aragon. This wedding was also done by proxy in Olite.
John traveled to meet Blanche, and they had their in-person wedding on June 10, 1420, in Pamplona. They first lived in Peñafiel, but Blanche's father asked them to move back to Navarre in 1422.
King Charles III died on September 8, 1425. Blanche then became the Queen regnant of Navarre. This meant she was the ruling queen. Her husband, John, became King of Navarre because of his marriage to her, known as John II. They were crowned together in Pamplona on May 15, 1429.
Blanche passed away in Santa María la Real de Nieva in 1441. After her death, John continued to rule Navarre himself. He did not immediately give the throne to their son, Charles of Viana, who was the rightful heir. John later became the King of Aragon and King of Sicily when his older brother, Alfonso V of Aragon, died in 1458.
Blanche's Children
Blanche and Martin had one child together:
- Infante Martin of Aragon and Sicily (1406–1407)
Blanche and John II of Aragon had four children together:
- Charles (IV) of Navarre (1421–1461)
- Joan of Navarre (1423–1425)
- Blanche (II) of Navarre, who married Henry IV of Castile.
- Eleanor (1426–1479), who later became Queen of Navarre in 1479.
See also
In Spanish: Blanca I de Navarra para niños
