Joan II of Navarre (28 January 1312-6 October 1349) was the Queen of Navarre from 1 February 1328 to 6 October 1349, succeeding Charles IV of France and preceding Charles II of Navarre, reigning with Philip III of Navarre from 1328 to 1343 and from 1343 to 1349 by herself.
Biography[]
Joan was born on 28 January 1312 to Louis X of France and Margaret of Burgundy, and she was from the Catholic French House of Capet. After the deaths of her father Louis X and John I of France in 1316, she was skipped in the succession, and her uncle Philip V of France succeeded Louis. Her youth, disputed paternity, and the Estates-General's decision that women should not rule France led to being passed over, but in 1328, the Capetian line became extinct, as there was no male heir descending from Philip IV of France. Instead, Philip's brother Charles of Valois' descendant became Philip VI of France with the House of Valois, and because Charles was not descended from Joan I of Navarre, Joan became Queen Joan II. She married Philip III of Navarre, a French nobleman, giving Navarre lands in Spain as well as Angouleme, Evreux, and Mortain. Her jure uxoris king husband died in 1343, and she inherited his Capetian lands in northern France while also being the queen of Navarre. Joan reigned by herself for six years, and she died in 1349, being succeeded by her son Charles II of Navarre.