Blanche of Artois
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| Blanche of Artois | |
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Countess consort of Champagne |
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| Tenure | 4 December 1270 – 22 July 1274 |
| Spouse | Henry I of Navarre m. 1269; dec. 1274 Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster m. 1276; d. 1296 |
| Issue | |
| Joan I of Navarre Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster |
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| House | House of Artois (by birth) House of Champagne (by first marriage) House of Plantagenet (by second marriage) |
| Father | Robert I of Artois |
| Mother | Matilda of Brabant |
| Born | 1248 |
| Died | 2 May 1302 (aged c. 53–54) |
Blanche of Artois (1248 – 2 May 1302) 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.
She was the daughter of Count Robert I of Artois and Matilda of Brabant.
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[edit] Family
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.
[edit] 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:
- Theobald - d. 1270 fell from a battlement at the castle of Estella
- Joan I of Navarre, who became Queen regnant of Navarre and Queen consort of France
[edit] 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:
- Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster (1278 – 22 Mar 1322)
- Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (1281 – 22 September 1345)
- John, Lord of Beaufort (c. 1282–1327)
- Mary (c. 1284 – c. 1289)
Henry's eldest daughter, Blanche, would be named after her.
[edit] Ancestry
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| Preceded by Isabelle of France |
Queen consort of Navarre Countess consort of Champagne 1270–1274 |
Succeeded by Margaret of Burgundy |
