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Birth:          1248 of Arras, France
Death:          2 May 1302 Paris, France
Burial:         Minoresses Convent, Aldgate, Middlesex, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_of_Artois
Blanche of Artois (Basque: Zuria Artoiskoa) (c. 1248 – 2 May 1302) was a member of 
the Capetian House of Artois who, as queen dowager, held regency over the Kingdom 
of Navarre and the County of Champagne. She was first married to Henry I of Navarre, 
after whose death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She 
passed on the regency of Navarre to Philip III of France, her cousin and her 
daughter's prospective father-in-law, but retained the administration of Champagne. 
She later shared the government of Champagne with her second husband, the English 
prince Edmund Crouchback, until her daughter reached the age of majority.
Queenship[edit]

Blanche was the elder child and only daughter of Robert I, Count of Artois, and 
Matilda of Brabant. A fraternal niece of King Louis IX of France, Blanche was probably 
born in 1248. By February 1269, having received a papal dispensation, she was 
married to King Theobald II of Navarre's brother Henry. The ceremony took place in 
Melun near Paris.[1] Her brother-in-law, in turn, was married to her cousin, Isabella of 
France. Henry was governing his brother's realm when King Theobald and Queen 
Isabella left to join the Seventh Crusade. When the King died in December 1270, 
followed by his widow within a few months, Blanche's husband became King of 
Navarre and Count of Champagne.[2]

King Henry and Queen Blanche were a young couple with a son, Theobald, and the 
future of the House of Blois seemed bright.[2] In 1273, however, they lost their son in 
an accident;[2] the young Theobald was dropped by his nurse over the castle 
battlements.[3] A daughter named Joan, born the same year, remained the royal 
couple's only child and was recognized as heir presumptive by the King and the 
Estates. The following year, on 22 July, King Henry himself died. The death of two 
kings within five years and accession of an infant queen, the first woman to rule 
Navarre and Champagne alike, triggered a political crisis.[4]

Regency[edit]

Now queen dowager, Blanche became regent for her daughter. Her regency in 
Champagne was preceded by several long regencies of widowed mothers, but this was 
the first regency for a female ruler.[2] The neighbouring kingdoms of Castile and 
Aragon moved to exploit the precarious situation. Both Alfonso X of Castile and Peter 
III of Aragon wanted to secure Navarre for their respective houses either by marriage 
with Joan or by force. While Peter contemplated a marriage with a cousin of Joan, 
Alfonso moved his army to Navarre and started besieging Viana. The citizens loyally 
defended the city, for which Queen Blanche thanked them by granting special 
privileges.[1]

Blanche remained in Pamplona at least until 14 April, but then fled the kingdom, taking 
Joan with her, on the pretext of visiting her daughter's fiefs in the north of France. In 
reality, she sought protection from her cousin, King Philip III of France. In November, 
she paid homage to him for her daughter's French possessions. The almost immediate 
departure of both the monarch and the regent only complicated the situation in 
Navarre. In May 1275, Queen Blanche signed the Treaty of Orléans, by which she 
promised Joan's hand in marriage to one of the older two sons of the King of France, 
either Louis or Philip. The elder died within a year, and Philip was left as both heir to 
the French throne and Joan's bridegroom. Blanche administered Joan's territories from 
Paris, appointing governors for Navarre. Later this role was taken over by Joan's 
prospective father-in-law, while Blanche retained the administration of Champagne and 
Brie.[4]

English marriage[edit]

Between 28 July and 29 October 1276, in Paris, Blanche became the second wife of 
Edmund Crouchback, brother of King Edward I of England.[1] The marriage was 
orchestrated by the dowager queen of France Margaret of Provence, who wished to 
secure a wealthy bride for her nephew. There are also reports, however, that the two 
married out of mutual attraction. Edmund joined Blanche in administering Champagne 
and Brie.[4] Edmund and Blanche had three children: Thomas, Henry and John.

When Joan became old enough to marry and take full control of her inheritance, in 
1284, Blanche and Edmund had to give up the counties. They were compensated by 
Blanche's dower, a hefty sum of money and the right to use the palace of the 
Navarrese kings in Paris.[3][4] The following year, Philip III died and was succeeded 
by Blanche's son-in-law, Philip IV.[4]

When hostilities broke out between England and France in 1293, Edmund and 
Blanche left Paris and moved to England.[5] They returned to France in 1296 but 
resided in King Edward's continental possessions, where Edmund served as lieutenant 
of Gascony. Blanche was widowed again in June the same year. She returned to her 
brother-in-law's court in November but did not stay in England for long. She received 
her dower, consisting of one third of all of Edmund's lands and all his rights in the 
earldom of Ferrers. In 1298, she was back in France. She founded a Franciscan 
nunnery in Nogent-l'Artaud in 1299 and declared her wish to be buried there rather 
than with her second husband in London or with her first husband in Provins.[6] 
Blanche died in Paris on 2 May 1302.[1]

Parents
____ Robert I (25 Sep 1216 - 9 Feb 1250)
DE BRABANT Matilda (Mahaut) (Maud) (14 Jun 1224 - 29 Sep 1288)

Siblings
D'ARTOIS Blanche (1248 - 2 May 1302)

Marriage To OF NAVARRE Henry (Henri) (Enrique) (ABT 1244 - 22 Jul 1274)
    m. 1269 his 2d, her 1st

Notes

Parents
____ Theobald (Teobaldo) IV "the Great" (3 May 1201 - 8 Jul 1253)
DE BOURBON Margaret (Marguerite) (ABT 1217 - 12 Apr 1256)

Children by OF NAVARRE Henry (Henri) (Enrique) ABT 1244 - 22 Jul 1274
DE NAVARRE-CHAMPAGNE Joann (Jeanne) (Jan 1271 - 2 Apr 1305)

Marriage To PLANTAGENET Edmund "Crouchback" (16 Jan 1244 - 5 Jun 1296)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
PLANTAGENET Henry III (1 Oct 1206 - 16 Nov 1272)
OF PROVENCE Eleonore (Leonor) (ABT 1222 - 25 Jun 1291)

Children by PLANTAGENET Edmund "Crouchback" 16 Jan 1244 - 5 Jun 1296
PLANTAGENET Henry (1281 - 22 Sep 1345)

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