Blanche of Burgundy
| Blanche of Burgundy | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Queen consort of France and Navarre | |
| Tenure | 3 January - 19 May 1322 |
| Born | c. 1296 |
| Died | 29 April 1326 |
| Spouse | Charles IV of France |
| Issue | Philip of France Joan of France |
| House | House of Ivrea |
| Father | Otto IV, Count of Burgundy |
| Mother | Mahaut, Countess of Artois |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Blanche of Burgundy (c. 1296 – 29 April 1326) was Queen of France and Navarre for a few months in 1322 through her marriage to King Charles IV the Fair. The daughter of Count Otto IV of Burgundy and Countess Mahaut of Artois, she was led to a disastrous marriage by her mother's ambition. Eight years before her husband's accession to the thrones, Blanche was arrested and found guilty of adultery with a Norman knight. Her sister-in-law, Margaret of Burgundy, suffered the same fate, while her sister Joan was acquitted. Blanche was imprisoned until she became queen, when she was moved to the coast of Normandy. The date and place of her death are unknown; the mere fact that she died was simply mentioned on the occasion of her husband's third marriage in April 1326.
Blanche was the younger daughter of Otto IV, Count of Burgundy, and Mahaut, Countess of Artois. Her father died in 1302, leaving the county to Blanche's younger brother, Count Robert. Blanche's elder sister Joan was supposed to marry King Louis the Headstrong of Navarre, the eldest son and heir apparent of King Philip the Fair of France, but Philip the Fair changed his mind and arranged for her to marry his second son, Count Philip the Tall of Poitiers, in 1307. The same year, Louis married Margaret of Burgundy. The Countess of Artois was proud of this achievement and quickly started negotiating her younger daughter's marriage to Count Charles the Fair of la Marche, King Philip's third son, offering a huge dowry. The negotiations were successful and on 23 September 1307, the eleven-year-old Blanche and two years older Charles concluded a marriage contract. The marriage ceremony was hastily performed at Countess Mahaut's castle in Hesdin in January 1308. At first, the Count and Countess of la Marche had an unremarkable marriage that was neither as flawed as that of the King and Queen of Navarre nor as harmonious as that of the Count and Countess of Poitiers.
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