Blanca (, ; aft. 1133,

Laguardia, Álava Laguardia () is a town and municipality located in the southern province of Álava, in the north of Spain; it belongs to the region of Rioja Alavesa, in the Basque Autonomous Community. It had a population of 1,500 as of mid-2018. The place lies ...

– August 12, 1156) was

Queen consort of Castile This is a list of the queens consort and kings consort of the Kingdom of Castile, and later, Crown of Castile. ''It is, in part, a continuation of the list of Asturian royal consorts and the list of Leonese royal consorts''. Countesses Banu Ma ...

, daughter of King

García Ramírez of Navarre García Ramírez (), sometimes García IV, V, VI or VII ( 1112 – 21 November 1150), called the Restorer (, ), was the King of Navarre (Pamplona) from 1134. The election of García Ramírez restored the independence of the Navarrese kingdom af ...

and his first wife,

Margaret of L'Aigle Margaret of L'Aigle (, ) (died 1141) was Queen of Navarre as the first wife to García Ramírez of Navarre. She was the daughter of Gilbert of L'Aigle and Juliana du Perche, daughter of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche. Life Though daughter of th ...

. Blanca married

Sancho III of Castile Sancho III ( 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was s ...

, who became King of Castile in 1157. One year after her death, regent of Castile (subject to his father Alfonso VII) on February 4, 1151 in

Carrión de los Condes Carrión de los Condes () is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain. Situated on the River Carrión, it is 40 kilometers upstream from the provincial capital of Palencia, on the F ...

, Palencia, after travelling from

Calahorra Calahorra (; ; ) is a municipality in the Spanish autonomous community and province of La Rioja. During Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris Nassica Iulia''. Location The city is located on a hill at an altitude ...

, Logroño, in January. The marriage was arranged to insure closer ties between León-Castile and Navarre. As was traditional, Blanca confirmed documents with her husband, so her activity may be traced until 1155. On November 11, 1155 she gave birth to the future king

Alfonso VIII Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (El Noble) or the one of Las Navas (el de las Navas), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarc ...

. There appears to be no record of her activities after December 1155, and she died on August 12, 1156. The cause of her death seems to have been complications of a new pregnancy, a child named García. In addition, she had other children buried in the church of San Pedro in

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...

, although they are not identified. Blanca of Navarre and Castile tomb

That her death was caused by a pregnancy is recorded in an

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

engraved on her tomb; however, the engraving did not survive a sixteenth-century reconstruction of the royal tombs in Nájera. Her sarcophagus lid was preserved, and it represents the queen's deathbed with members of the court, including her husband, mourning her death. Blanca was buried in the pantheon of the Navarrese kings in the monastery called

Santa María la Real of Nájera Santa María la Real is a monastery in the small town of Nájera in the La Rioja (autonomous community), La Rioja community, Spain. Originally a royal foundation, it was ceded by Alfonso VI of Castile, Alfonso VI to the Cluny, Cluniac order. It ...

, to which Sancho made donations on her behalf.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche Of Navarre, Queen of Castile 1130s births 1156 deaths 12th-century nobility from León and Castile Deaths in childbirth Navarrese infantas Queens consort of Castile Daughters of kings Mothers of Castilian monarchs