page_title: Philip III of Navarre
section_title: Crusade and death
hierarchical_section_title: Philip III of Navarre / Crusade and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Philip III of Navarre and Joan II of Navarre
context_page_description: Philip III, called the Noble or the Wise, was King of Navarre from 1328 until his death. He was born a minor member of the French royal family but gained prominence when the Capetian main line went extinct, as he and his wife and cousin, Joan II of Navarre, acquired the Iberian kingdom and a number of French fiefs.
  Philip and Joan's accession signified the end of the 44-year-long personal union between France and Navarre. Although neither succeeded in claiming the crown of France, Philip and Joan were powerful vassals of the Valois king Philip VI as well as successful co-monarchs in Navarre. Despite initial reluctance by the Navarrese to accept him as king alongside Joan, Philip in particular is credited with improving the kingdom's legislature. The couple resided chiefly in their French lands but spent enough time in Navarre to earn them substantial popularity in the country.
  Philip actively supported his Valois cousin with his troops and as army leader, especially during the onset of the Hundred Years' War. During his joint reign with his wife, however, the focus of Navarre again shifted to its Iberian neighbours.
context_section_description: Philip returned to Navarre in 1342 and again in 1343, partly in preparation for joining the crusade against the Muslim state of Granada. He likely felt this was his duty as ruler of an Iberian kingdom. Philip's authorities ensured that his own Muslim subjects in Tudela were not disturbed by his crusading army. Philip arrived at the Siege of Algeciras in July 1343 with 100 knights and 300 infantrymen, but more important than this small military force was the large quantity of provisions—meat, barley, bacon and wine—which he had sent from the Bay of Biscay. When Gaston II of Foix, an ally of Navarre in the war of 1335, abandoned the siege in late August, he tried unsuccessfully to convince Philip to leave as well.
  In early September Philip fell ill, after being wounded by an arrow according to some reports. Alfonso XI offered him his own doctors, who advised Philip to change his diet. The King of Navarre, however, preferred the advice of his own doctor, who told him to keep eating meat and wine and to withdraw from the siege. He obediently withdrew, but got no further than Jerez de la Frontera, where he died on 16 September 1343. His body was brought back to Pamplona for burial, though his heart was buried at the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris. His widow, Joan, received a letter of condolences from Pope Clement VI (the former Pierre-Roger) in November. Algeciras fell in March 1344. Joan continued to reign alone until her death in 1349, when the crown passed to their eldest surviving son, Charles II.
caption: Tombs of Philip III and Joan II
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