Blanche of France, Infanta of Castile

Blanche of France
Infanta of Castile
Born	1253 Jaffa, County of Jaffa and Ascalon
Died	1323 (aged 69–70) Paris, Kingdom of France
Burial	Cordeliers Convent, Paris
Spouse	Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile
Issue	Alfonso de la Cerda of Castile Ferdinand de la Cerda of Castile
House	Capet
Father	Louis IX of France
Mother	Margaret of Provence

Blanche of France (French: Blanche de France) (1253–1323) was a daughter of King Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence.^[1]

Biography

Blanche was born in 1253 in Jaffa, County of Jaffa and Ascalon during the Seventh Crusade led by her father, Louis IX of France.^[2]

In November 1269,^[3] she married Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile, eldest son of Alfonso X of Castile and Violant of Aragon.^[4] They had:

• Alfonso (1270–1333), who married Mahaut, daughter of John I of Brienne, Count of Eu. They had four sons and three daughters.
• Ferdinand (1275–1322), who married Juana Núñez de Lara, called "la Palomilla", Lady of Lara and Herrera, daughter of Juan Núñez I de Lara and Teresa Álvarez de Azagra. They had one son and three daughters. One daughter, Blanca de La Cerda y Lara, was the mother-in-law of King Henry II of Castile.

Ferdinand predeceased his father in 1275 at Ciudad Real. Blanche and Ferdinand's sons did not inherit the throne of their grandfather, since their uncle, the second son, Sancho, enforced his claim, even by rebelling. Blanche's brother Philip warned Sancho that he would invade Castile on behalf of his two nephews.

Blanche left Castile never to return. Her sons were sent to live with their grandmother Violant of Aragon who had them sent to the fortress of Xàtiva so they would be safe from Sancho.

Blanche died at the Monastère des Clarisses de l’Ave Maria, in Paris, in 1323.

Ancestry

French Monarchy
Direct Capetians
Hugh Capet
Gisèle, Countess of Ponthieu Hedwig, Countess of Mons Robert II
Robert II
Hedwig, Countess of Nevers Hugh Magnus, Rex Filius Henry I Adela, Countess of Flanders Robert I, Duke of Burgundy
Henry I
Philip I Hugh, Count of Vermandois
Philip I
Constance, Princess of Antioch Louis VI Cecile, Countess of Tripoli
Louis VI
Philip, Rex Filius Louis VII Henry, Archbishop of Reims Robert I, Count of Dreux Constance, Countess of Toulouse Philip, Archdeacon of Paris Peter I, Lord of Courtenay
Louis VII
Marie, Countess of Champagne Alix, Countess of Blois Marguerite, Queen of England and Hungary Alys, Countess of the Vexin Philip II Agnes, Byzantine Empress
Philip II
Louis VIII Marie, Duchess of Brabant Philip I, Count of Boulogne
Louis VIII
Louis IX Robert I, Count of Artois Alphonse, Count of Poitou and Toulouse Saint Isabelle Charles I of Naples and Sicily
Louis IX
Isabella, Queen of Navarre Louis of France Philip III John Tristan, Count of Valois Peter, Count of Perche and Alençon Blanche, Infanta of Castile Marguerite, Duchess of Brabant Robert, Count of Clermont Agnes, Duchess of Burgundy
Philip III
Louis of France Philip IV Charles, Count of Valois Louis, Count of Évreux Blanche, Duchess of Austria Margaret of France, Queen of England
Philip IV
Louis X Philip V Charles IV Isabella, Queen of England Grandchildren Edward III of England
Louis X
Joan II of Navarre John I
John I
Philip V
Joan III, Countess of Burgundy Margaret I, Countess of Burgundy Isabella, Dauphine of Viennois
Charles IV
Marie of France Blanche, Duchess of Orléans
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References

Sources

• Doubleday, Simon R. (2015). The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465066995.
• Linehan, Peter (2008). Spain, 1157-1300: A Partible Inheritance. Wiley.

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