Blanche of Sicily, also called Blanche of Anjou ( ? – 1269/1270), was the eldest surviving child born to

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

and his first wife, Beatrice, the reigning

Countess of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

and

Forcalquier Forcalquier (; oc, Forcauquier, ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Forcalquier is located between the Lure and Luberon mountain ranges, about south of Sisteron and west of the Durance river. Dur ...

. She later married

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, the future

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

Life

Blanche was the eldest child of

, the youngest son of

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

. Her mother was

Beatrice of Provence Beatrice of Provence (23 September 1267), was ruling Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1245 until her death, as well as Countess of Anjou and Maine, Queen of Sicily and Naples by marriage to Charles I of Naples. She was the fourth and ...

, who inherited the counties of Provence and Forcalquier in 1245 from her

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

. Blanche's siblings included Charles II, King of Naples; Beatrice, Latin Empress;

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

and Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary. In 1266, her father was installed as

King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...

Pope Clement IV Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...

, founding the

Capetian House of Anjou The Capetian House of Anjou or House of Anjou-Sicily, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct French House of Capet, part of the Capetian dynasty. It is one of three separate royal houses referred to as ''Angevin'', meaning "from Anjou" ...

. In 1265, Blanche married Robert of Béthune. This union appears to have been happy, and they had one son together, named Charles, who died young. During his life, he was betrothed to

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, daughter of

Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy Hugh IV of Burgundy (9 March 1213 – 27 or 30 October 1272) was Duke of Burgundy between 1218 and 1272 and from 1266 until his death was titular King of Thessalonica. Hugh was the son of Odo III, Duke of Burgundy and Alice de Vergy. Issue Hugh m ...

and Beatrice of Navarre. She would go on to become

Queen of Germany German queen (german: Deutsche Königin) is the informal title used when referring to the wife of the king of the Kingdom of Germany. The official titles of the wives of German kings were Queen of the Germans and later Queen of the Romans ( la, ...

as the wife of

Rudolf I Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

.#ES Histoire généalogique des ducs de Bourgogne de la maison de France, pag. 83
/ref> Blanche herself died either in 1269 or 1270, four years after her marriage. Her husband would go on to become the Count of Flanders long after her death. He had Blanche buried in Flines, and her tomb clearly displayed the alliance between Flanders and Sicily: King Charles and Queen Beatrice are prominently featured on it. Robert would further demonstrate his alliance with

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, choosing

Yolande of Burgundy Yolande II or Yolande of Nevers (), (December 1247 – 2 June 1280) was ruling Countess of Nevers between 1262 and 1280. Life She was the daughter of Odo, Count of Nevers, Odo of Burgundy, and Matilda II, Countess of Nevers.Guida Myrl Jackso ...

, the sister of Charles of Anjou's second consort

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, as his second wife.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche of Sicily 1269 deaths Capetian House of Anjou 13th-century Italian women Charles I of Anjou Daughters of kings