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14th Century, Edward III, England, Joan Plantagenet (1335–1348), Margaret Countess of Pembroke, Mary of Waltham, Philippa of Hainault, Princess
This image depicts two daughters of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, from the wall painting of St Stephen’s Chapel. Reconstructed by Ernest William Tristram. Parliamentary Art Collection
Philippa and Edward III had fourteen children altogether, the most of any English queen apart from Eleanor of Castile, who produced sixteen. Many of these children died very young, with only eight surviving long enough to become betrothed or married.
Last week’s post featured Isabella de Coucy, Countess of Bedford, the eldest daughter of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III of England, the longest-lived and only one of their daughters to produce offspring of her own. Philippa and Edward also had four younger daughters, Joan (born 1335), Mary (born), Margaret (born), and Blanche, born in 1342, who died in the same year.
The wall paintings to the north and south of the altar of St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster, now mostly destroyed, were installed under the orders of Edward III. The north painting depicted the kneeling Edward with his sons, and the south showed Philippa with their daughters, believed to be Isabella, Joan, Mary, and a smaller Margaret in an inset, already deceased at the point of creation.
Joan Plantagenet (1335-1348)
This image shows Joan as one of the weepers on the tomb of her father, Edward III, Westminster Abbey. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in London, Volume 1, Westminster Abbey
- Also known as: Joanna, Joan of England, Joan of the Tower
- Not to be confused with: Joan of England, Queen of Sicily; Joan of England, Queen of Scotland; Joan of England, Lady of Wales; Joan of Acre, Countess of Gloucester; Joan of the Tower, Queen of Scotland; Joan of England, youngest daughter of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, died in infancy; Joan of Kent, wife of Edward, Prince of Wales and mother of Richard II
- Parents: Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault
- Spouse: betrothed to Peter of Castile
- Offspring: None
Although often known as Joan of the Tower (Joan de la Tour), Joan was actually born in the Palace of Westminster, not the Tower of London.
In 1340 Isabella and Joan joined their mother in following Edward III to the Low Countries for the war he was waging against France. When they were sent back to England for their safety, a household was set up for about two years, an unusual arrangement, as usually the royal children after the eldest son shared their mother’s household. For a time Isabella along with three of her surviving siblings, including Joan, Lionel, and John. Records indicate that Isabella had three damsels to attend her, in addition to sharing two damsels of the chamber with her sister Joan, as well as a shared esquire and one of her own, and two tailors. All the princes and princesses also had pages.
Joan also had two households of her own, the first to accompany her to Munich in 1339-40 during the negotiations for her marriage to the son of Frederick, Duke of Austria, which ultimately failed.
The second household accompanied Joan on her way to Spain to marry Peter, the son of the king of Castile, although sadly Joan died of the Black Death at Bordeaux in Gascony in 1348, before reaching her betrothed.
Mary of Waltham (1344-1361)
This image shows Mary as one of the weepers on the tomb of her father, Edward III, Westminster Abbey. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in London, Volume 1, Westminster Abbey
- Also known as: Marie, Duchess of Brittany
- Not to be confused with: Marie, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne; Mary of Woodstock, seventh daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile
- Parents: Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault
- Spouse: John de Montfort, Duke of Brittany
- Offspring: None
Queen Philippa took John de Montfort into her household as a child after the death of his father. Edward III had become involved in the dispute over the duchy of Brittany.
Mary and John married in about 1360, although Mary died less than a year later. John later married Joan Holland, the daughter of Joan of Kent before her marriage to Edward, the Prince of Wales.
Margaret of Windsor (1346-1361)
- Known as: Margaret of England, Countess of Pembroke
- Not to be confused with: Margaret, Duchess of Brabant; Margaret of England, Queen of Scotland, daughter of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence
- Parents: Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault
- Spouse: John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Offspring: None
In 1359, at the age of 12, Margaret married the eleven year old John Hastings, although she died less than two years later.
John later married Anne Mauny, the daughter of Sir Walter Mauny, who had followed Queen Philippa from Hainault.
Sources and Further Reading
R. Ian Jack, ‘Hastings, John, thirteenth earl of Pembroke (1347–1375)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004.
Michael Jones, ‘Montfort, John de, duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond (d. 1399)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004.
W. M. Ormrod, ‘Edward III and His Family‘, Journal of British Studies 26, 4 (1987), pp. 398-422.
W. M. Ormrod, ‘The Royal Nursery: A Household for the Younger Children of Edward III’, The English Historical Review 120, 486 (2005), pp. 398-415.
Archival Documents:
E 30/1718 Instructions to William Trussell, William Stury and others, sent to treat with the King of Castile for a marriage between his eldest son and Joan, daughter of Edward III. London.
SC 1/40/5 Isabella of Woodstock and Joan of the Tower, daughters of Edward III, to John de Offord, dean of Lincoln, chancellor: request for the discharge of taxation upon men who have performed their service. Dated at Fulham.