Yolande of Brittany (late 1218 – 10 October 1272), also known as Yolande de Dreux, was the ruler of the counties of Penthièvre and Porhoet in the Duchy of Brittany.
Yolande had been betrothed to King Henry III of England in 1226 at the age of seven years, but married Hugh XI of Lusignan, the half-brother of Henry III. Through Hugh, she became Countess of La Marche and of Angoulême. She was the mother of seven children. From 1250 to 1256, she acted as Regent of La Marche and Angoulême for her son, Hugh XII of Lusignan.
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Life
Yolande was born in Dreux, France at the end of 1218, the only daughter of Alix, Duchess of Brittany, and her husband Pierre de Dreux. She had two brothers, John I, Duke of Brittany and Arthur of Brittany (1220–1224). By her father's second marriage to Nicole, she had a half-brother, Olivier de Braine (1231–1279). Her mother, Alix, had died on 21 October 1221, when Yolande was not quite three years old. Yolande's paternal grandparents were Robert II, Count of Dreux and Yolande de Coucy, and her maternal grandparents were Guy de Thouars and Constance, Duchess of Brittany.
