Edmund's Second Wife

After returning to England from failed Crusade attempts, Edmund had to deal with some unrest. His father, Henry III, died on 16 November 1271. The succession passed to Edward, who was still returning from the Mediterranean. In fact, he was gone so long that there was a rumor that he would never return. This prompted some unrest and a rebellion in the north. Edmund had to suppress that rebellion with help from royalist supporter Roger Mortimer.

Edmund's wife Aveline turned 14 in 1273, so Edmund was allowed to consummate the marriage. She died suddenly on 10 November 1274, however, meaning there would be no chance of Edmund inheriting any of the titles and lands of Aveline's still-living mother, Isabel. The search for a new wife commenced. 

Enter Margaret of Provence, Edmund's aunt, who had been married to Louis IX and was therefore the Dowager Queen of France. She wanted Edmund to marry Blanche of Artois (c.1248 - 1302). Blanche was recently widowed after the death of King Henry I of Navarre (c.1244 - 1274). Blanche was also Countess of Champagne and Brie, making her quite wealthy.

Blanche was willing, because she had to manage Champagne and Brie, and wanted a husband who was on good terms with the current king o France, Philip III. Since Edmund and Philip were cousins, this seemed like a sensible choice. At least one chronicler of the time, the Benedictine monk John of Trokelowe (flourished about 1290 - 1330) claimed the two knew of each other already, and the reputation of Edmund as a handsome knight and Blanche as an attractive woman made them both amenable to the union.

One person was not in favor. Blanche had a brother, the Count Robert II of Artois, who still thought of England as an enemy of France. King Edward I supported the union. The couple was close in age; Edmund was only three years older.

Edmund went to France to meet her after August 1275, and met and married Blanche sometime between December and January of 1276. Edmund was now Count of Champagne, and paid homage to King Philip III as his vassal for Champagne.

Edmund and Blanche returned to England in June to see Edmund's lands, and then in July went to Navarre to see the lands there that she still possessed. The couple's first child, Thomas, was born in 1278. Henry was born c.1281, and John, Lord of Beaufort was born in 1286.

In many of those years of their marriage Edmund was away fighting wars on behalf of his brother Edward. We'l take a brief look at those tomorrow.