Charles III of Navarre

Charles III (1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged it for the title Duke of Nemours. He spent his reign improving the infrastructure of his kingdom, restoring Navarre's pride after the dismal reign of his father, Charles the Bad, and mending strained relations with France.

Charles III
Statue of Charles III
King of Navarre
Reign	1387 – 1425
Predecessor	Charles II
Successor	Blanche I
Born	1361 Mantes-la-Jolie
Died	8 September 1425 (aged 63–64) Palacio Real de Olite
Burial	Pamplona Cathedral
Spouse	Eleanor of Castile
Issue more...	Joanna of Navarre Blanche I of Navarre Isabella of Navarre Beatrice of Navarre
House	Évreux
Father	Charles II of Navarre
Mother	Joan of Valois
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Charles III was born at Mantes-la-Jolie, the son of Charles II of Navarre and Joan of Valois. He married Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of Castile, in 1375,[1] putting an end to the conflict between Castile and Navarre.

On 25 July 1390, Charles named Joanna as his heir to Navarre.[2] Yet in 1397 his son, Charles, would be recognized as heir to Navarre.[3] As king, his politics were peace with France, Castile, Aragon, and England, support for the Avignon Papacy, and matrimonial alliance. He collaborated with Castile in a war on the Kingdom of Granada. By the Treaty of Paris, he abandoned his claims to Champagne and Brie and made peace with France.

Charles created the title Prince of Viana for the heir to the throne, entitling his grandson Charles in 1423.[4] He was a patron of the arts and he finished construction on the great Gothic Cathedral of Pamplona. When it comes to Navarre's home policy, he decreed the watershed unification of Pamplona's boroughs in 1423, after over three centuries of division and rivalry. He also built the royal palace at Tafalla and the Royal Palace of Olite, where he died in 1425.

Tomb of Charles III in the Cathedral of Pamplona.

Issue

Charles and Eleanor's children were:

• Joanna (1382–1413), married John I, Count of Foix[5]
• Maria (1383/4–1425)[6]
• Blanche (1385–1441),[6] married John II of Aragon, became Queen of Navarre
• Isabella (1395–1435),[2] married in 1419 to John IV of Armagnac, had issue
• Beatrice (1392–1412),[6] married to James II, Count of La Marche,[7] and had issue
• Margaret (1390–1403), died unmarried and childless
• Charles (1397–1402), Prince of Viana
• Louis (1402), Prince of Viana

Ancestry

Ancestors of Charles III of Navarre

16. Philip III of France 8. Louis d'Évreux 17. Marie of Brabant 4. Philip of Évreux 18. Henry III, Duke of Brabant 9. Margaret of Artois 19. Adelaide of Burgundy 2. Charles II of Navarre 20. Philip IV of France 10. Louis X of France 21. Joan I of Navarre 5. Joan II of Navarre 22. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (=26) 11. Margaret of Burgundy 23. Agnes of France (=27) 1. Charles III of Navarre 24. Charles, Count of Valois 12. Philip VI of France 25. Margaret, Countess of Anjou 6. John II of France 26. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (=22) 13. Joan the Lame 27. Agnes of France (=23) 3. Joan of Valois 28. Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor 14. John I of Bohemia 29. Margaret of Brabant 7. Bonne of Bohemia 30. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia 15. Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292-1330) 31. Judith of Habsburg

References

1. Woodacre 2013, p. 77.
2. Woodacre 2013, p. 80.
3. Woodacre 2013, p. 81.
4. Woodacre 2013, p. 94.
5. Woodacre 2013, p. 83.
6. Woodacre 2013, p. 78.
7. Woodacre 2013, p. 86.

Sources

• Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512. Palgrave Macmillan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

Charles III of Navarre House of Évreux Born: 1361 Died: 8 September 1425
Regnal titles
Preceded by Charles II	King of Navarre 1387–1425	Succeeded by Blanche I & John II
	Count of Évreux 1387–1404	French royal domain
New creation	Duke of Nemours 1404–1425	Succeeded by Eleanor Disputed by Blanche