Blanche I of Navarre
| Blanche I | |
|---|---|
| Queen regnant of Navarre | |
| Reign | 8 September 1425 – 1 April 1441 |
| Coronation | 15/18 May 1429 (Pamplona) |
| Predecessor | Charles III |
| Successor | Charles IV |
| Queen consort of Sicily | |
| Reign | 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 |
Martin I of Sicily John II of Aragon |
| Issue among others... |
Charles IV of Navarre Blanche II of Navarre Eleanor I of Navarre |
| House | Évreux |
| Father | Charles III of Navarre |
| Mother | Eleanor of Castile |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Blanche I (6 July 1387 – 1 April 1441) was Queen of Navarre from 1425 to 1441. She became queen regnant upon the death of her father King Charles III of Navarre. She served as Regent of Sicily in 1404–05 and in 1408–15.
Blanche was the second eldest daughter of King Charles III of Navarre and infanta Eleanor of Castile. She became heir to the throne of Navarre on the death of her elder sister, Joan, in 1413.
Blanche married firstly Martin the Younger, King of Sicily and Prince of Aragon. They were married by proxy on 21 May 1402 in Catania. Blanche traveled to meet Martin, and they were married in person on 26 December 1402. The bride was about fifteen years old and the groom twenty-eight.
Martin had been in need of legitimate heirs, as he had survived his previous wife and former co-ruler, Queen Maria of Sicily, and their only son. From October 1404 to August 1405, she served as regent of Sicily during the absence of her spouse in Aragon.
From August 1408 to July 1409, she served as regent of Sicily during the absence of her spouse in Sardinia. When Martin died on 25 July 1409, he was succeeded by his own father, Martin I of Aragon. Her former father-in-law allowed her to continue as regent of Sicily, which she did also after his death, during the years of succession struggle in Aragon. She was a popular regent in Sicily, where she was seen as a symbol of Sicilian independence against Aragon, and a Bernardo Cabrera made an unsuccessful attempt to abduct her to marry Nicolas Peralta, a descendant of the Sicilian royal house, and thereby restore the Sicilian royal house with her and Nicolas as king and queen. With the victory of Ferdinand I in Aragon, Blanche lost her regency power in Siciliy, which was annexed to Aragon in November 1415, and left for Navarre.
Blanche returned to Navarre where she was sworn in as heir to the throne in Olito the 28 October 1415, and was given allegiance by the lords. On 6 November 1419, Blanche married her second husband, John, duke of Peñafiel, the second son of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Eleanor of Alburquerque, by proxy in Olite. Ferdinand had succeeded his maternal uncle Martin I in 1412.
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