Joan, Lady of Wales

## Joan of England

Queen of Gwynedd

Dafyia Ddu LIywelyn

Marged?

Elen ferch Llywelyn

**Joan of England** (C. 1163 - 1197) was Queen Consort of Gwynedd from 1185 - 1197. She was nicknamed "Lady of Wales" by the English, despite the fact she was a Queen. Joan was the youngest child of John I of England and his first wife Marie of Provence. As a 15 year old, she was betrothed to Llywelyn the Great who was King of Gwynedd, when Joan turned 21, her father sent her to Wales to get married in Gwynedd Chapel. Joan was not as popular of a Queen as her controlling mother-in-law, Queen Gwladus of Powys Wenwynwyn, but Joan was fairly a popular Queen. Joan and LIywelyn had 5 children, which only 4 are known. While Joan was visiting her father in Oxfordshire, she died of sweating sickness, she was buried in Westminister Abbey, but the Welsh debated her body should be buried in Aberconwy Abbey here LIywelyn was buried. Joan's funeral was carried in London.

## Early Life

### Childhood

Joan Plantagenet was born in Windsor Castle in 1163, as the second daughter, and youngest child of John I of England and his first wife Marie of Provence. When Joan was 3, her parents moved to London and started raising Joan there, she had 2 siblings, Eleanor and Henry. But sadly in 1167 her mother died of illness, and her father remarried Isabella I, Countess of Auvergne. Joan grew to hate her step-mother who indeed hated her back. To get out of living with her step-mother, when she was 11, she moved in with the Earl of Hereford and the 2 formed a scandalous relationship despite the Earl being 43 and Joan only 11. Her father was furious and imprisoned Joan at Buckingham Palace, and beheaded the Earl and presented Joan with his head. Joan never forgave her father and during the first barons war, she sided with the barons and became the symbol of the barons.

### First Baron's war

Joan knew that the baron's would one day revolt against her father, so when she was 12, she decided to join them and plot to overthrow her father in way for her brother Henry. Joan never wen't to war phisically, but she helped the barons put on armor and secretly had affairs with them. She became the symbol of the barons and her portraits were carried around commonly during the baron's war. Her father suffered a defeat and was forced to sign the magna carta which was a script mostly created by Joan and a few Earls. Joan quickly became a popular Princess and out-shined all her siblings, she became known as "Princess of Justice."

### Education

Joan was not educated by her father, she was educated by the local Earls and raised by them as her father dismissed Joan from Windsor Castle. Joan was a very smart princess and studied arts, music, dance, chess, history, reading, writing, and most importantly war which was unusual for a mideval princess. Earl's constantly followed Joan around during her education to ensure none of John's spys murdered Joan. Her father still wanting revenge of the first baron's war, forced Joan to marry a forgien King in Wales, Joan certainly did not wan't to marry him, but she learned Welsh anyways and often spoke to him through letters but never fell in love with him. The Earls nicknamed Joan "Joanna" as a nickname, even though the name Joanna was uncommon in mideval England.

## Marriage

In 1185, When Joan was 21, 108 Earls accompanied Joan to Wales, the English cheered and cried while she was going, when she reached Wales, 24 barons stayed in Wales to live there, she married LIywelyn and she was crowned Queen of Gywnedd in Llandaff Cathedral, Joan knew Welsh but did not feel at home in Wales, she publically had affairs with the Earls which her husband surely did not like, and did not fear her husband at all, many Welsh people were concerned about the new Queen and her English family and ladies-in-waiting, Joan hated living in Wales and often spent time in Monmouth were she had her first child Dafydd ap LIywelyn, Joan and her husband frequently had fights, sometimes even in front of the whole court, Joan had little temper and often broke things and harmed people because of her ruthlessness. Joan gave birth again of Marared ferch LIywelyn in Wales this time, LIywelyn the Great soon had an affair with Joan's lady-in-waiting, Lady Isabella Chester, Joan poisoned Isabella in fear Isabella and LIywelyn would hatch a plot to murder her. That year she gave birth to Dafyia Ddu LIywelyn, who was named after a famous Welsh legend named Dafyia of Powys Fadog, who was believed to have been the most beautiful princess in Welsh history, who later died after being strangled by her jealous stepmother.

## Status

Joan was not the most popular Queen as she was English, but she was not the most unpopular Queen either. The Welsh were concerned that Joan would betray wales, and help the local barons of England invade it, which Joan indeed did, in 1190, she helped the Earl of Desmond take over a Welsh principality on the coast of Wales, though the Kingdom of Gweynedd did not own it, the principality was an ally of Gweynedd, and the people revolted, but Joan took down the rebbellion after threatening to let the Earl of Desmond invade Gweynedd. After the birth of Joan's 4th child who was said to have been named "Marged" she made a popular move of kicking out the unpopular English ambassador appointed by John to Wales, Joan later had the ambassador publically burned. Joan did publically admit she hated living in Wales and much preferred her home country which led to a revolt against the couple. Joan was a vain Queen, though never described as "Haughty" or careless. Joan though was a violent Queen and threw stuff at her husband during fights, Joan nearly killed her husband while holding a knife to his throat and cutting it open, her husband survived but the relationship was scared, that year she gave birth to her last child Elen, and left Wales for good, she moved back to England with 2 of her daughters, and settled in Buckingham Palace.

## Death

Joan enjoyed being back in England and ignored her husband's letters ordering her to come back, she lived with the barons who raised her and re-named her daughter Marared, Margaret and Dafyia was renamed Maude. While visiting her father, Joan became suddenly sick of sweating sickness, she was moved to Oxford Castle and treated by nuns, she died there in the company of the Earls who raised her and later her children. Joan's body was taken to Westminister abbey, LIywelyn remarried a more sutible and popular Welsh Princess. Joan is remebered as the mother of the English constitution and the symbols of the Baron wars against English kings.