Blanche of Burgundy (c. 1296 – 29 April 1326) was queen of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Navarre

Navarre

Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

 for a few months in 1322 due to her marriage to the future king Charles IV

Charles IV of France

Charles IV, known as the Fair , was the King of France and of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1322 to his death: he was the last French king of the senior Capetian lineage....

.

Biography

She was the daughter of Otto IV, Count of Burgundy

Otto IV, Count of Burgundy

Otto IV, Count of Burgundy was the son of Hugh de Chalon and Adelaide, Countess Palatine of Burgundy. By his mother, he was a grandson of Countess Beatrice II of Burgundy. By his father, he was descended from another branch of the Counts of Burgundy.Upon his father's death in 1266/1267, he became...

 and Mahaut, Countess of Artois

Mahaut, Countess of Artois

Mahaut of Artois , also known as Mathilda, was the only daughter, and eldest child of Robert II, Count of Artois and Amicie de Courtenay.- Lineage :...

. She married Charles IV, then the Count of La Marche, third son of Philip IV

Philip IV of France

Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...

 at Corbeil

Corbeil

- Places :* Corbeil, Ontario, Canada* Corbeil-Essonnes, Essonne, France, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris* The Corbeil Cathedral* Corbeil, Marne, France, a commune in north-eastern France...

 on 20 May 1308.

The couple had two children:

• Philip of France (1314–22), died young
• Joan of France (1315–39)

Accusing her of adultery

Adultery

Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...

 during the Tour de Nesle

Tour de Nesle Affair

The Tour de Nesle Affair was a scandal amongst the French royal family in 1314, during which the three daughters-in-law of King Philip IV of France were accused of adultery, the accusations apparently started by Philip's only daughter, Isabella. The Tour de Nesle was the name of the tower in Paris...

affair, her father-in-law threw Blanche and her supposed accomplices – her sister-in-law Margaret and sister Joan – into the fortress of Château Gaillard at the beginning of 1314.

She was still there in 1322 during the crowning of her husband Charles IV. The king refused to free her. Their marriage was annulled

Annulment

Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...

 by Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

 on 19 May 1322.

Blanche saw the end of her days at Maubuisson Abbey

Maubuisson Abbey

The Maubuisson Abbey was a French monastery, suppressed at the time of the French Revolution.-History:The abbey was established by Blanche of Castile. At the end of her life, she withdrew in the abbey and died there in 1252. The abbey thrived financially under royal patronage until the Hundred...

, near Pontoise

Pontoise

Pontoise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise.-Administration:...

, in April 1326.