Joan of Kent facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Joan of Kent |
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| 4th Countess of Kent 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell Princess of Wales and of Aquitaine |
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| Born | 29 September 1326/1327 Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire, England |
| Died | 7 August 1385 (aged 57/58) Wallingford Castle, Berkshire (present-day Oxfordshire), England |
| Burial | 27 January 1386 Greyfriars, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England |
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| Issue among others |
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| House | Plantagenet |
| Father | Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent |
| Mother | Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell |
Joan, Countess of Kent (born September 29, 1326 or 1327 – died August 7, 1385) was a very important woman in English history. She was known as The Fair Maid of Kent. Joan was the mother of King Richard II of England. Her third husband was Edward the Black Prince, who was the son and future heir of King Edward III of England.
A French writer named Jean Froissart said she was "the most beautiful woman in all of England." However, the nickname "Fair Maid of Kent" might not have been used during her lifetime. Joan became the 4th Countess of Kent and 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell after her brother, John, 3rd Earl of Kent, passed away in 1352. She was also made a Lady of the Garter in 1378.
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Joan's Early Life and Family
Joan was born on September 29, either in 1326 or 1327. Her father was Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent. Her mother was Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell.
Joan's father, Edmund, was the sixth son of King Edward I of England. This made him a half-brother to King Edward II of England. Edmund always supported King Edward II. This caused problems when Edward II's wife, Queen Isabella of France, and her friend Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, took power.
In 1330, Joan's father was executed. Joan was only two years old at the time. Her mother and four children, including Joan, were kept under house arrest. They lived at Arundel Castle in Sussex. This was a very difficult time for the family.
Things got better when the new king, Edward III of England, grew up. King Edward III was Joan's half-first cousin. He took care of Joan and her family very well.
Joan's Marriages and Children
In 1340, when Joan was about 13, she secretly married Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent. He was 26 years old. They did not get the king's permission, which was needed for people of their high rank. Soon after, Thomas Holland left England for a military trip.
While Thomas was away, Joan's family arranged another marriage for her. She married William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. He was the same age as Joan. It is not known if Joan told anyone about her first marriage. She later said she was afraid Thomas Holland would be executed if she told the truth.
When Thomas Holland returned in 1348, his marriage to Joan became known. Thomas told the King and asked the Pope to help him get his wife back. William Montagu kept Joan from testifying. But the Church ordered him to release her.
In 1349, the Pope ruled in favor of Thomas Holland. Pope Clement VI cancelled Joan's marriage to William Montagu. Joan and Thomas Holland were then officially married in the Church.
Joan and Thomas Holland had five children:
- Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (1350 – 1397)
- John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (c. 1352 – 1400)
- Joan Holland, Duchess of Brittany (1356 – 1384)
- Lady Maud Holland (1359 – 1392)
- Edmund Holland (c. 1354), who died young.
In 1352, Joan became the 4th Countess of Kent and 5th Baroness Wake of Liddell. This happened when her last sibling died. Her husband, Thomas Holland, was made Earl of Kent in 1360 because of his marriage to her.
Marriage to the Black Prince
Thomas Holland died in 1360. This made Joan a very desirable person to marry. Edward, the Black Prince, was the son of King Edward III. He was also Joan's half-first cousin. Edward was only a few years younger than Joan.
Some people think Edward had wanted to marry Joan for a long time. King Edward III helped his son get special permission to marry Joan. This was needed because they were related. The Queen, Philippa of Hainault, had been kind to Joan when she was a child.
The Pope gave the special permissions needed for them to marry legally. Joan and the Black Prince married quickly. The official ceremony was on October 10, 1361, at Windsor Castle. The King and Queen were there.
In 1362, the Black Prince became the Prince of Aquitaine. This was a region in France. He and Joan moved to Bordeaux, the capital city. They lived there for nine years.
They had two sons while living in Aquitaine:
- Edward of Angoulême (1365-1370), who died when he was five years old.
- Richard II, who later became King of England.
Around the time their younger son Richard was born, the Black Prince fought a big battle. He won, but there was no money to pay his soldiers. Meanwhile, Joan had to raise another army to protect Aquitaine.
Life as a Royal Mother
By 1371, the Black Prince was very sick. He could no longer do his duties in Aquitaine. So, he and Joan returned to England. They buried their older son, Edward, shortly after.
In 1372, the Black Prince tried one last time to help his father save French lands. But this effort made his health much worse. He returned to England for the last time in June 1376. He died the next day at the Palace of Westminster.
Joan's son, Prince Richard, was now next in line to the throne. His grandfather, King Edward III, died in June 1377. Richard was crowned King Richard II the next month. He was only 10 years old.
Early in his reign, young King Richard faced a big challenge called the Peasants' Revolt. Joan had supported some religious reformers called the Lollards. But the violence of the revolt scared Joan very much. The King, however, gained a better reputation from how he handled it.
As the King's mother, Joan had a lot of influence. People respected her as an important royal lady. For example, in 1381, she was returning to London from a trip. She found her way blocked by rebels led by Wat Tyler at Blackheath. The rebels not only let her pass safely, but they also saluted her and gave her an escort.
In January 1382, King Richard II married Anne of Bohemia. She was the daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
Joan's Death and Burial
John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, was Joan's son from her first marriage. His wife was Elizabeth of Lancaster, Duchess of Exeter. She was the daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, who was the Black Prince's brother.
In 1385, John Holland was with his half-brother King Richard II in Scotland. John got into a fight with Sir Ralph Stafford. Stafford was a favorite of Queen Anne of Bohemia. Stafford was killed, and John Holland sought safety in a church.
When the King returned, John Holland was sentenced to death. Joan pleaded with her son, King Richard, for four days to save his half-brother. On the fifth day, she died at Wallingford Castle. The King then changed his mind and pardoned John Holland. John was sent on a trip to the Holy Land.
Joan was buried next to her first husband, Thomas Holland. This was what she had asked for in her will. They are buried at the Greyfriars in Stamford, England. The Black Prince had built a special chapel for her in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral. The carvings on the ceiling of this chapel show her face.
See also
In Spanish: Juana de Kent para niños
