Blanche II ( es, Blanca, eu, Zuria; 9 June 1424 – 2 December 1464), was the titular
Queen of Navarre
This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the ...
between 1461 and 1464. She was the daughter of
John II of Aragon
John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...
and
Blanche I of Navarre
Blanche I (6 July 1387Anthony (1931) states that she was the fourth-born daughter of King Charles III of Navarre by Queen Eleanor, and she was preceded by Joan, Maria and Margaret and the two latter died early. Anthony defines Blanche's exact birt ...
. She was also
Princess of Asturias
Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the monarchy of Spain, throne of Spain. According to the Sp ...
by marriage to
Henry of Castile.
Early life
Birth
Blanche was born on 9 June 1424 in Olite, Navarre. She was the second child and eldest daughter born to
John II of Aragon
John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...
, who was
Duke of Montblanc
Duke of Montblanc ( ca, Duc de Montblanc, es, Duque de Montblanc) is a noble Spanish title which since the 15th century has been preserved as one of the titles of the heir apparent to, first, the Aragonese crown and, later and currently, the Spa ...
at the time, and his wife,
Blanche of Navarre.
Heiress of Navarre
In 1427, she, her brother Charles, and her sister Eleanor were proclaimed the rightful heirs of the kingdom of Navarre. Blanche was promised to the heir of Castile in the peace treaty between Navarre and Castile in 1436. She married Henry,
Prince of Asturias
Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the monarchy of Spain, throne of Spain. According to the Sp ...
(later King
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...
) in 1440. The marriage was reputedly never consummated.
In 1453, after thirteen years, Henry sought the
annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure within Law, secular and Religious law, religious legal systems for declaring a marriage Void (law), null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually ex post facto law, retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is c ...
of the marriage. An official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanche. A divorce was granted by the Pope on the grounds that some "
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
" had prevented Henry from consummating the marriage. After this, Blanche was sent home to Navarre, where she was imprisoned by her family: from 1462, she was under the custody of her sister. She remained childless throughout her life.
Claimant to the throne
After the death of her brother in 1461, some dissatisfied Navarrese elements and some of the anti-Aragonese party regarded Blanche as the rightful monarch, as they had regarded Charles. They proclaimed her queen. She would have thus become Blanche II of Navarre, had not her father (who wanted to keep the government of Navarre) already had her incarcerated and thus not capable to act.
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
tried to marry her to
Charles, Duke of Berry, and younger brother of
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...
to make an alliance, but Blanche refused, and her act irritated her father. In 1464, she came back to Pamplona with the help of its bishop Nicolas de Etchabarri, who was murdered shortly after, in order to attend the
Courts of Navarre.
[Orpustan, Jean-Baptiste (2007), p. 3]
She died by poison in
Orthez
Orthez (; eu, Ortheze; oc, Ortès, ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of New Aquitaine, southwestern France.
It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the sma ...
less than a month later. Both her father and her sister Eleanor are suggested to have been responsible for her death. Upon her death, her rights to Navarre were inherited by her next sister,
Eleanor of Aragon, Countess of Foix, who however was their father's ally and supporter, and did not press her own claims until his death in 1479.
Ancestry
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche 02 of Navarre
1424 births
1464 deaths
15th-century Navarrese monarchs
15th-century women rulers
People from Olite
Princesses of Asturias
Murdered royalty
Repudiated queens
Navarrese infantas
Aragonese infantas
Blanche
15th-century Spanish women
Queens regnant of Navarre
Assassinated royalty
Deaths by poisoning
Daughters of kings