d in the end he had
to give up, beaten by a woman, and one whom he had hoped to make his
agent, or ally, in the further subjection of the king. A year after the
marriage of John and Isabella, the Princess Isabella was born, and with
her advent there came new hope for Spain.

In the neighboring little kingdom of Navarre there was another princess
who lived at about the same time, who distinguished herself not by the
same boldness of manner perhaps, but by a quiet dignity, and by a wise
and temperate spirit which was often sorely tried. Blanche, Princess of
Navarre, had been married in 1419 to the Prince of Aragon, John; but in
the early years of their married life, before Navarre, the substantial
part of Blanche's marriage portion, came under her definite control, the
young prince spent the most of his time in Castile, where he was
connected with many of the court intrigues which were being woven around
the romantic figure of Alvaro de Luna. Finally, Blanche became Queen of
Navarre, upon her father's death in 1425, but John was still too much
concerned with his Castilian affairs to care to leave them and come to
take his place at the side of his wife's throne. For three years Blanche
was left to her own devices, and during that time she ruled her little
state without the aid or assistance of king or prime minister, and was
so eminently successful in all her undertakings that her capacity was
soon a matter of favorable comment. Finally, in 1428, John was forced to
leave Castile, as Luna had gained the upper hand for the moment, and he
considered this as a favorable opportunity to go to Navarre and gain
recognition as Queen Blanche's husband. Accordingly, he went in great
state to Pamplona, the capital city, and there, with imposing
ceremonies, the public and official coronation of John and Blanche was
celebrated. At the same time, Blanche's son Charles was recognized as
his mother's successor in her ancestral kingdom. But Navarre was not a
congenial territory for King John, who was of a restless, impulsive
disposition; and he was so bored by the provincial gayety of Pamplona
that after a very short stay he could endure it no longer, and set off
for Italy, leaving Blanche in entire control as before. Navarre was a
sort of halfway ground between France and the various governments of
Spain, and was often the centre of much intrigue and plotted treachery;
but John was so completely overshadowed now by Luna's almost absolute
p