GIOVANNA d'Albret, queen of NAVARRA. - The last of the d'Albret dynasty reigning over French Navarre, G. was born at Pau on 7 Jan. 1528: her father was Enrico d'Albret, her mother Margherita di Francia, sister of Francesco I. Carlo V sought her in marriage for his son Filippo, with the aim of absorbing the small Kingdom, but the king of France vetoed this; she was instead married to Guglielmo, duke of Clèves, but the marriage was not consummated; in 1548 she finally married Antonio di Borbone, duke of Vendôme.
In 1555 she succeeded her father in the Kingdom of Navarre, which she defended against French and Spanish claims. Around 1560 she openly showed sympathy for Calvinist ideas and soon assumed at the French court the official protection of the Calvinist movement, intervening actively in the religious struggles. After the battle of Jarnac, in which the prince of Condé had died, she solemnly presented her young son Enrico to the assembly of Calvinists under arms, offering him as their assured leader. In Béarn she had forbidden the celebration of Mass and officially established Calvinism. In 1570, after the treaty of St-Germain, she was reconciled with Queen Caterina de' Medici, representative of Catholicism, and negotiated the marriage of their children, Enrico di Navarra and Margherita di Valois. She died suddenly during these negotiations on 9 June 1572.