Blanca Sánchez of Navarre
| Blanche of Navarre | |
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Blanche
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| Died | c. 23 March 1229 |
| Spouse | Theobald III, Count of Champagne |
| Issue | Theobald I of Navarre |
| House | Jiménez |
| Father | Sancho VI of Navarre |
| Mother | Sancha of Castile, Queen of Navarre |
Blanche of Navarre (?–1229) was Countess of Champagne, then Regent of Champagne, and finally also regent of her native kingdom of Navarre.
She was the youngest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile, who died in 1179, about two years after Blanche's birth. Her eldest brother, Sancho VII of Navarre, succeeded their father as King of Navarre and was the last male descendant of the first dynasty of Kings of Navarre, the Pamplona dynasty, dying childless. Her elder sister Berengaria of Navarre married Richard I of England.
Blanche married Theobald III, Count of Champagne on July 1, 1199 at Chartres, when she was 22 years old and he was 20 years old. However, Theobald III died young on May 24, 1201, leaving her pregnant. When she gave birth to a son (on May 30, 1201), he immediately became Count Theobald IV of Champagne (Theobald I of Navarre). Blanche ruled the county as regent until Theobald turned 21 years old in 1222. The regency was plagued by a number of difficulties. Blanche's brother-in-law, count Henry II had left behind a great deal of debt.
Furthermore, their son Theobald IV's right to the succession of Champagne was challenged by Henry's daughter Philippa and her husband, Erard I of Brienne, Count of Ramerupt and one of the more powerful Champagne nobles. The conflict with the Briennes broke into open warfare in 1215, in what became known as the Champagne War of Succession, and was not resolved until after Theobald came of age in 1222. At that time Theobald and Blanche bought out their rights for a substantial monetary payment. Blanche had also arranged the dowry of Henry II's elder daughter Alice of Champagne, when she married the young Hugh I of Cyprus. In the 1230s, in order to settle with Alice, Theobald IV had to sell his overlordship over the counties of Blois, Sancerre, and Châteaudun to Louis IX of France.
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