Blanche of Montferrat ( it, Bianca di Monferrato; 1472 – 30 March 1519) was Duchess of Savoy as the wife of

Charles I of Savoy Charles I (28 March 1468 Carignano, Piedmont – 13 March 1490 Pinerolo), called the Warrior, was the Duke of Savoy from 1482 to 1490 and titular king of Cyprus, Jerusalem, and Armenia from 1485 to 1490. Life Charles was son of Amadeus IX, ...

.Bianca di Monferrato, in Dizionario biografico degli italiani, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. She acted as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for her only son Charles from 1490 until his accidental death in 1496.

Marriage

Blanche was the eldest daughter of Marquess William VIII Palaiologos of Montferrat and Elisabetta

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

, daughter of Duke Francesco I Sforza of Milan and

Bianca Maria Visconti Bianca Maria Visconti (31 March 1425 – 28 October 1468) was Duchess of Milan from 1450 to 1468 by marriage to Francesco I Sforza. She was regent of Marche during the absence of her spouse in 1448. She served as Regent of the Duchy of Milan du ...

, after whom Blanche was named. Her mother, Elisabetta, died at age 17 when Blanche was less than a year old. On 1 April 1485, Blanche married Duke

. The marriage produced two surviving children: * A stillborn son (September 1486) *

Yolande Louise of Savoy Yolande Louise of Savoy (1487–1499) was Duchess of Savoy as the wife of Philibert II, Duke of Savoy. Biography She was daughter of Duke Charles I of Savoy, the Warrior, and Blanche of Montferrat, as well as granddaughter of Philibert's late u ...

(2 July 1487 – 13 September 1499), married Philibert II of Savoy; died childless at the age of 12. * A son (born and died in May 1488) * Charles II, Duke of Savoy (23 June 1489 – 16 April 1496). * A daughter (born and died in March 1490)

Regency

After the death of her husband in 1490, Blanche gave birth to her youngest child, who did not survive. She then acted as

for her young son, Charles, who had succeeded his father in his regnal and titular titles. She remained the ruler of Savoy until her son, who was seven years old at the time, was accidentally killed in a fall at

Moncalieri Moncalieri (; pms, Moncalé ) is a town and ''comune'' of 56,134 inhabitants (31 January 2022) about directly south of downtown Turin (to whose Metropolitan City it belongs), in Piedmont, Italy. It is the most populous suburb of Turin and it is ...

. Her surviving child, Yolande fell ill and died three years later, without having produced any children; therefore Blanche's line became extinct. In December 1518, Blanche fell seriously ill, possibly with tuberculosis. In her will dated 12 February 1519, she named her choice of burial place which was the chapel of the Church of the Blessed Virgin in Carignano.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche Of Montferrat Cypriot queens consort Armenian queens consort 15th-century women rulers 16th-century women rulers 1472 births 1519 deaths 15th century in Cyprus Regents of Savoy Duchesses of Savoy Palaiologos dynasty 15th-century people from Savoy 16th-century people from Savoy