- Philip III of Navarre
Philip III (
27 March 1306 –16 September 1343 ),Count of Évreux (1319 – 1343) andKing of Navarre (1328 – 1343), was the eldest son of Louis of Évreux andMarguerite d’Artois and therefore a grandson of KingPhilip III of France . Because of this descent, he was a possible heir to the throne of France.Inheritance
In due course, he inherited the County of Évreux, in
Normandy , from his father, and ten years later became Philip III, "dejure uxoris " of Navarre, on the death of his cousinCharles IV of France . On18 June 1318 , he had married the heiress Joan II. She held extensive fiefdoms in northern France, as well as Navarre. Because of their lands and their many royal relatives, Philip and his wife were influential in both France and Navarre and spent much of their lives going back and forth between them.Military achievements
He participated in the Flemish campaign of
Philip VI of France and was at the Battle of Cassel on23 August 1328, at which the king professed to owe him his victory and his life. In Navarre shortly after, Philip was consecrated and crowned king with his wife on5 March 1329 byArnaldo de Barbazan , bishop ofPamplona , in the cathedral ofSanta María la Real there. In June 1329, he accompanied the king of France toAmiens , whereEdward III of England was giving the oath of homage for his French lands.In 1331, he was appointed to the king's council. He went to
Avignon with the king to take up the cross fromPope Benedict XII and go oncrusade with the kings of Bohemia and Aragon. The crusade was never realised.In 1335, Philip was at war with Aragon. The war ended with the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary to
Peter IV of Aragon .By the
Treaty of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon of14 March 1336 he received the counties ofAngoulème andMortain in thepeerage of France , and the castles ofBenon inAunis andFontenay-l'Abattu inPoitou . In 1339, he was at the side of the kings of France, Bohemia (John), and Scotland (David II), relieving the cities ofCambrai andTournai , besieged by the English. This was part of the opening of theHundred Years' War .Aside from that war on French soil, Philip actively participated in the
Reconquista in Iberia. He joined the adventure begun byAlfonso XI of Castile against theKingdom of Granada and was mortally wounded by an arrow and died at the siege ofJerez de la Frontera .Marriage and children
By his wife Joan, he had eight children:
*Mary (circa 1329 – 1347), first wife ofPeter IV of Aragon
*Blanche (1331 – 1398), second wife ofPhilip VI of France
*Charles II the Bad (1332 – 1387), successor, Count of Évreux and King of Navarre
*Agnes (1334 – 1396), married Gaston III, Count of Foix
*Philip, Count of Longueville (1336 – 1363), married Yolande de Dampierre
*Joanna (1338 – 1387), nun atLongchamps
*Joanna (1339 – 1403), marriedJohn I, Viscount of Rohan
*Louis (1341 – 1372), Count ofBeaumont-le-Roger , married firstly Maria de Lizarazu and secondlyJoanna, Duchess of Durazzo
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