Blanche of Artois

Blanche of Artois (1248 – 2 May 1302) was the queen regent of Navarre from 1274 to 1284, and later became Countess of Lancaster by marrying into the English royal family. She was the queen consort of Navarre; after her husband Henry I of Navarre's death, she served as regent from 1274 to 1284 on behalf of her daughter, Joan I. Besides Navarre, she ruled the counties of Brie, Champagne, Troyes et Meaux. In 1276, she became Countess of Lancaster by marrying into the English royal family.

Family

She was the daughter of Count Robert I of Artois and Matilda of Brabant. Blanche's paternal grandparents were Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, and her maternal grandparents were Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen, daughter of Philip of Swabia.

First marriage

Blanche married Henry I of Navarre (ruled 1270–1274) who died in 1274. This marriage was politically advantageous for Navarre, Blanche having been the niece of King Louis IX of France. Together they had two children:

1. Theobald - d. 1270 fell from a battlement at the castle of Estella
2. Joan I of Navarre, who became Queen regnant of Navarre and Queen consort of France

Second marriage

After Henry's death, Blanche married Edmund Crouchback (1245–1296), in 1276, an English prince who was a younger son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. Edmund was also a widower, his young wife having died the same year as Blanche's husband.

Edmund and Blanche had four children:

1. Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster (1278 – 22 Mar 1322)
2. Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (1281 – 22 September 1345)
3. John, Lord of Beaufort (c. 1282–1327)
4. Mary (c. 1284 – c. 1289)

Henry's eldest daughter, Blanche, would be named after her.

References

• Blanche of Artois http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_of_Artois
• Blanche d'Artois http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_d%27Artois
• Blanca de Artois http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanca_de_Artois