Blanche I of Navarre

After the death of her sister Joan in 1413, Blanche (6 July 1387 - 1 April 1441), the second surviving daughter of King Carlos II and Eleanor, became the heir to the throne of Navarre. She had not been quietly "waiting in the wings," however: she had already become prominent in another country.

In May 1402, when Blanche was on the cusp of turning 15, she was married by proxy to the king of Sicily, Martin the Younger. Martin was 28, and needed an heir, since his first wife, Maria of Sicily, and their son had predeceased him. Sicily seems a long way from the Iberian Peninsula, but Martin was from Aragon (his father was later King Martin I of Aragon), and so the two families were known to each other.

Blanche traveled to Sicily in December to consummate the marriage. Martin traveled to Aragon shortly after, leaving his teen bride as regent. In 1408-09, she was again regent as Martin traveled to and conquered Sardinia. Unfortunately, Martin died in Sardinia that year.

The throne of Sicily then went to Martin's father, Martin I of Aragon (father and son were also known as "the Elder" and "the Younger"). Martin senior allowed Blanche to remain as his regent in Sicily, a position she retained after 1410 when Martin the Elder died. Sicily saw her presence as a symbol of independence from Aragon, and the population supported her remaining in Sicily. There were plans to have her marry a member of the deposed Sicilian royal house, Nicolás Peralta, to restore the throne to a Sicilian. In Aragon, Martin's successor, Ferdinand I, annexed Sicily and removed Blanche as regent. She returned to Navarre.

In 1415 she was declared heir to the throne of Navarre. In 1419, she married the son of Ferdinand I, John. The two were married in Pamplona on 10 July 1420.

King Carlos III died on 8 September 1425. Blanche became Queen Blanche I, and her husband became King John II of Aragon. Tomorrow we'll talk about little about their marriage together and some events they shared.