Joan II of Navarre

Joan II (French: Jeanne, Spanish: Juana II, Basque: Joana II; 28 January 1312 – 6 October 1349) was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death in 1349.

Joan was the only surviving child of Louis I of Navarre and Margaret of Burgundy. Her father ascended the French throne as Louis X in 1314. Joan's paternity was dubious because her mother was involved in a scandal, but Louis declared her his legitimate daughter before he died in 1316. However, the French lords were opposed to the idea of a female monarch and elected Louis's brother king as Philip V. The Navarrese noblemen also paid homage to Philip. Joan's maternal grandmother, Agnes of France, and uncle, Odo IV of Burgundy, made attempts to secure the counties of Champagne and Brie (which had been the patrimony of Joan's paternal grandmother, Joan I of Navarre) to Joan, but the French royal troops defeated her supporters. After Philip V married his daughter to Odo and granted him two counties as her dowry, Odo renounced Joan's claim to Champagne and Brie in exchange for a compensation in March 1318. At this time, Joan married her cousin Philip of Évreux (later Philip III of Navarre).