Joan of Kent: About More than Just Controversial Marriages By Jone Johnson Lewis Updated August 31, 2015. Known for: Joan of Kent was known for her relationships with several important royal figures of medieval England, and for her impetuous clandestine marriages, and for her beauty. She's less well known for her military leadership in Aquitaine in her husband's absence, and for her involvement with the religious movement, the Lollards. Dates: September 29 , 1328 - August 7 , 1385 Titles: Countess of Kent (1352); Princess of Aquitaine Also known as: "The Fair Maid of Kent" -- apparently a literary invention from long after she lived, not a title she was known by in her lifetime.

Family & Background: Father: Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (half-brother to King Edward II of England) Paternal Grandfather: Edward I of England Paternal Grandmother: Marguerite of France Mother: Margaret Wake Maternal Grandfather: John Wake, Baron Wake of Liddell (descended from the Welsh king, Llywelyn the Great) Maternal Grandmother: Joan de Fiennes (cousin of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March) continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance Marriage, Descendants: Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent William de Montacute (or Montagu), 2nd Earl of Salisbury Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales (known as The Black Prince). Their son was Richard II of England. Royal families were quite intermarried; descendants of Joan of Kent included many notables. See: Joan of Kent - Her Descendants Key Events in the Life of Joan of Kent: Joan of Kent was only two when her father, Edmund of Woodstock, was executed for treason. Edmund had supported his older half-brother, Edward II, against Edward's Queen, Isabella of France, and Roger Mortimer.

(Roger was a cousin of Joan of Kent's maternal grandmother.) Joan's mother and her four children, of whom Joan of Kent was the youngest, were placed under house arrest in Arundel Castle after Edmund's execution. Edward III (son of Edward II of England and Isabella of France ) became King. When Edward III became old enough to reject the regency of Isabella and Roger Mortimer, he and his Queen, Philippa of Hainault, brought Joan to court, where she grew up among her royal cousins. One of these was Edward and Philippa's third son, Edward, known as Edward of Woodstock or the Black Prince, who was almost two years younger than Joan. Joan's guardian was Catherine, wife of the Earl of Salisbury, William Montacute (or Montagu). Thomas Holland and William Montacute: At age 12, Joan made a secret marriage contract with Thomas Holland. As part of the royal family, she was expected to gain permission for such a marriage; to fail to gain such permission could result in a charge of treason and in execution.

To complicate matters, Thomas Holland went overseas to serve in the military, and at that time, her family married Joan to the son of Catherine and William Montacute, also named William. When Thomas Holland returned to England, he appealed to the King and to the Pope to have Joan returned to him. The Montacutes imprisoned Joan when they discovered Joan's agreement to the first marriage and her hope to return to Thomas Holland. During that time, Joan's mother died of the plague. When Joan was 21, the pope decided to annul Joan's marriage to William Montacute and allow her to return to Thomas Holland. Before Thomas Holland died eleven years later, he and Joan had four children. Edward the Black Prince: Joan's slightly-younger cousin, Edward the Black Prince, had apparently been interested in Joan for many years. Now that she was widowed, Joan and Edward began a relationship. Knowing that Edward's mother, who had once considered Joan a favorite, now opposed their relationship, Joan and Edward decided to get secretly married -- again, without the required consent. Their blood relationship also was closer than allowed without special dispensation.

Edward III arranged to have their secret marriage annulled by the Pope, but also to have the Pope grant the necessary special dispensation. They were married in October, 1361, by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a public ceremony, with Edward III and Philippa present. The young Edward became Prince of Aquitaine, and moved with Joan to that principality, where their first two sons were born. The eldest, Edward of Angoulême, died at age six. Edward the Black Prince became involved in a war on behalf of Pedro of Castile, a war which was at first militarily successful but, when Pedro died, financially disastrous. Joan of Kent had to raise an army to protect Aquitaine in her husband's absence. Joan and Edward returned to England with their surviving son, Richard, and Edward died in 1376. Mother of a King: The following year, Edward's father, Edward III, died, with none of his sons alive to succeed him. Joan's son (by Edward III's son Edward the Black Prince) was crowned Richard II, though he was only ten years old. As the mother of the young king, Joan had much influence.

She had been a protector of some religious reformers who followed John Wyclif, known as the Lollards. Whether she agreed with Wyclif's ideas is not known. When the Peasants' Revolt happened, Joan lost some of her influence on the king. In 1385, Joan's older son John Holland (by her first marriage) was condemned to death for killing Ralph Stafford, and Joan tried to use her influence with her son Richard II to get Holland pardoned. She died a few days later; Richard did pardon his half-brother. Joan was buried beside her first husband, Thomas Holland, at Greyfriars; her second husband had images of her in the crypt at Canterbury where he was to be buried. Order of the Garter: It is believed that the Order of the Garter was founded in honor of Joan of Kent, though this is disputed. More women's history biographies, by name: Joan of Kent Joan ( the Fair Maid) of Kent (Joan Plantagenet), 1328-1385 Princess of Wales, and one of the two women after which the Order of the Garter apparently may have been named.

Joan's father, Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, was the half-brother of Edward II. Edmund was wrongfully beheaded due to a plot by Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabelle in 1330. Joan and her mother were imprisoned at Salisbury Castle for nine months. Joan spent her childhood under the care of William Montague (first earl of Salisbury) and Catherine/Katharine Montague , along with two of her three future husbands, Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince), and William Montague . When she was 12 years old she secretly married her first husband, Thomas Holand. However, Holand left for military service in France (or Prussia), and Joan's guardian, Catherine/Katharine Montague , married her to William Montague in 1340; Upon returning, Thomas petitioned Pope Clement VI to annul the marriage, which he did in 1349 by a direct papal bull; Joan had five children with Holand. Three months after Holand died in 1360, she secretly married Edward (the Black Prince, her second cousin), with whom she had two children.

Her son Richard became king Richard II of England in 1377. She became known as a peacemaker and was a patron of John Wycliffe , founder of the Lollards . The story of the founding of the Order of the Garter has been retold many times, and apparently with relish. Costain provides a modern version of the story of the founding of the Order of the Garter . Although Froissart declared her to be "the most beutiful woman in the whole realm of England, and the most attractive", the DMC notes that the surviving portraits and busts "do not corroborate the traditions of her beauty." She is said to have died over grief resulting from conflict between her sons by different marriages. Joan, Katherine (Countess of Salisbury) , Queen Philippa, and "Alys" seem to be somewhat historically confused; and perhaps even confused by their contemporaries, such as Froissart.

(the "e: spelling is used here because the DMKC and AIMW, on which this is largely based, use it...) Joan Fair Maid Of Kent Married 2: before 15 October 1348, annulled 1349, Donyatt, Somerset, England Spouse 2: William Montacute (Marriage Annulled) Offspring: Married 3: 10 OCT 1361, Windsor, England Spouse 3: Edward, Prince of Wales Offspring: 1). Edward (born 27 January 1365, Angouleme, died 1372, Bordeaux, France) 2). Richard II, King of England (born 6 January 1367, Bordeaux, France, died 6 January 1400, Pontefract, Castle, buried, Westminster, Abbey, London, England) Heraldic Coat of Arms: Lady of the Garter Joan, Princess of Wales, known as "The Fair Maid of Kent" because of her great beauty, was born on September 29, 1328.

Her father, Edmund, Earl of Kent, was a son of King Edward I of England, and a half-brother of Edward II. In 1330 Edmund may have been tricked into trying to free his brother, Edward II even though he was probably already dead. But the Earl’s royal blood could not save him from being beheaded by his sister-in-law, Queen Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. Joan and her mother were imprisoned at Salisbury Castle for nine months. Joan spent her childhood under the care of William Montague (first earl of Salisbury) and Catherine/Katharine Montague, along with two of her three future husbands, William Montague, and Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) who called her Jeanette. Edward and Jean enjoyed a love of expensive clothes. The Earl’s widow, Margaret, was left with four children. Her younger daughter, Joan, was only two years old. Her cousin, the new King, Edward III, took on the responsibility for the family, and looked after them well.

His wife, Queen Philippa, was well known for her tender-heartedness, and Joan grew up at court, where she became friendly with her cousins, including Edward, the Black Prince. At the age of twelve, she entered into a clandestine marriage with Thomas Holland of Broughton. The following year, while Holland was overseas, her family forced her into a marriage with William Montacute. She had helped defend her castle of Wark against the indaving Scots while the English and her husband were campaigning in France. As Countess of Salisbury, Joan moved in the highest society. Some historians identify her as the mystery woman who appeared at a banquet in Calais to celebrate its capture in 1347 and attracted the attention of every man present. Allegedly, while dancing with the King, the lady lost her blue velvet garter, and this was the origin of the Order of the Garter. King Edward III (her first cousin, their fathers both being sons of Edward I), stooped to pick up a garter she had dropped on the ballroom floor.

To the guffaws of the crowd, he responded in French, "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (Evil to him who evil thinks), and fastened it about his own leg. It is more likely that Joan's mother-in-law was the woman involved. It was not for several years that Thomas Holland returned from crusade, having made his fortune, and the full story of his earlier relationship with Joan came out. He travelled to Rome and appealed to the Pope for the return of his wife. When the Earl of Salisbury discovered that Joan supported Holland’s case, he kept her a virtual prisoner in her own home. The Pope annulled Joan’s marriage to the Earl and sent her back to Thomas Holland, with whom she lived for the next eleven years. They had five children, before Thomas Holland died. Joan, widowed at thirty-two, had inherited the earldom of Kent when her brother died in 1353. She was strikingly beautiful, with perfect features, auburn hair that reached to her waist, and dark eyes, and was regarded as one of the most desirable women in the country.

The Black Prince had been in love with her for years, but his father and mother disapproved, as he wanted Prince Edward to marry someone from the continent for Political advantage. Queen Philippa might have made a favourite of Joan at first, but as her son grew older, she had become concerned about the budding romance between the two cousins, and set herself against it. The Archbishop of Canterbury warned the Prince that there could be doubts cast on the legitimacy of any children Joan might bear him, in view of the fact that one of her previous husbands, the Earl of Salisbury, was still alive, but the marriage went ahead with an assurance of absolution from the Pope.The wedding contract was signed at the Archbishop's palace at Lambeth on 6 June 1361. The prince was married to Joan in the Royal Chapel of St. George at Windsor Castle, Berkshire on Sunday 10th October 1361. To celebrate the marriage Jean had made a red velvet bed decorated with silver ostrich feathers and gold leopards heads. They travelled to France and arrived in Gascony in June 1363.

They had two sons, Edward, after his grandfather born at Angoulême on 27th January 1365, who died at Bordeaux, age 6; and Richard, later King Richard II. Around the time of the birth of their younger son, Richard, the prince was lured into a war on behalf of Pedro the Cruel, ruler of Castile. The ensuing battle was one of the Black Prince’s greatest victories, but King Pedro was killed, and there was no money to pay the troops. In the meantime, the Princess was forced to raise another army, because the Prince’s enemies were threatening Aquitaine in his absence. By 1371, the Black Prince was no longer able to perform his duties as Prince of Aquitaine, and returned to England, where plague was wreaking havoc. It killed Joan’s mother, Margaret, in 1372. Joan inherited her title to add to all the others, Lady Wake of Lidel. In that same year, the Black Prince forced himself to attempt one final, abortive campaign in the hope of saving his father’s French possessions.

His health was now completely shattered, later the same year, a week before his forty-sixth birthday, he died in his bed at Westminster. Joan’s son, Richard, was now the heir to the throne. Early in his reign, the young King faced the challenge of the Peasants' Revolt. The Lollards, religious reformers led by John Wyclif, had enjoyed the protection of Joan of Kent, but the violent climax of the popular movement for reform reduced the feisty Joan to a state of terror, whilst leaving the King with an improved reputation. But for Joan, worse was to come. In 1385, Sir John Holland, a grown-up son of her first marriage, was campaigning with the King in Scotland, when a quarrel broke out between him and Lord Stafford, a favourite of the new Queen. Stafford was killed, and John Holland sought sanctuary at the shrine of St John of Beverley. On the King’s return, Holland was condemned to death. Joan pleaded with her son for four days to spare his half-brother. On the fifth day, (the exact date in August is not known), she died, at Wallingford Castle.

Richard, of course, relented, and pardoned Holland, but the damage was done. Joan was buried at Stamford in Lincolnshire. Sir John Holland was sent on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Joan Plantagenet, "The Fair Maid of Kent," so called from her extraordinary beauty. Sir John Chandos's herald said of her 'que bele fu pleasant et sage - lovely, pleasant and wise'. Joan inherited the Earldom of Kent and Earldom of Woodstock, honours of her father, and the Barony of Wake, a dignity of her mother, from which latter peerage she styled herself "Lady of Wake." Last Will and Testament In the year of our Lord 1385, and of the reign of my dear son Richard, King of England and France, the 9th; at my Castle of Walyngford, in the Diocese of Salisbury, the 7th of August, I Joan Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Countess of Chester, and Lady Wake. My body to be buried in my chapel at Stanford, near the monument of our late lord and husband, the Earl of Kent.

To my dear son the King, my new bed of red velvet, embroidered with ostrich feathers of silver, and heads of leopards of gold with boughs and leaves issuing out of their mouths. To my dear son Thomas Earl of Kent, my bed of red camak [sic.] paled with red and rays of gold. To my dear son John Holland, a bed of red camak. And I appoint the Venerable Father in Christ, my dear friend and cousin, Robert Bishop of London; William Bishop of Winchester; John Lord Cobham; William de Beauchamp, William de Nevill, Simon de Burlee, Lewis Clifford, Richard Atterbury, John Clanvow, Richard Stury, John Worthe, steward of my lands, and John le Vache, Knights; together with my dear chaplains, William de Fulburn and John de Yernemouth; and my loving esquires, William de Harpele, and William Norton, my executors. Witnessed by the Prior of Walyngforde and John James. Proved 9th December 1385.

©2003 The Medieval Combat Society English Historical Fiction Authors: Joan, The Fair Maid of Kent: More Fourteenth Century Royal Scandal ... Joan, The Fair Maid of Kent: More Fourteenth Century Royal Scandal ... by Anne O'Brien Alice Perrers might cause considerable scandal at the Plantagenet court of King Edward III but she was not on her own. Joan, known in her day as The Fair Maid of Kent because of her undeniable great beauty (whereas Alice was 'famously ugly'), ran Alice a close second. But because Joan was well born and eventually became wife to Edward of Woodstock, much was forgiven her. Alice was never forgiven. Joan was the daughter of Edmund, Earl of Kent, half brother of Edward II. When Edmund was executed on the orders of Queen Isabella and Lord Mortimer, Joan, still a young child, was eventually taken under the maternal wing of Queen Philippa, and she was raised at court with the rest of her royal cousins. This is where she met Prince Edward for the first time. This delightful little contemporary illustration shows Joan, probably holding a mirror which is definitely in character.

Prince Edward had a strong affection for her, calling her his Jeanette, and wanted her for his wife. What Joan felt for Edward is not so clear but she had no objection to becoming the wife of the heir to the throne. Unfortunately it was not a popular move, both King Edward III and Queen Philippa opposing the match. But why? Joan was strikingly lovely, with all the qualification of good birth and upbringing and royal blood. She was Countess of Kent in her own right after the death of her brother. Nor was the opposition to the match merely a desire for the heir to the throne to marry some European woman of birth and breeding to bring political advantage to England. The problem was Joan's scandalous private life. at the age of thirty two Joan was no innocent virgin. Joan was first married when very young, probably only twelve - to Sir Thomas Holland. This seems to have been a clandestine event but certainly legal. Sir Thomas went off on Crusade, leaving Joan who was forced - in her own words - into a second marriage with the Earl of Salisbury. When Sir Thomas returned, he discovered his wife wed to another in a bigamous union, and promptly took up the position of Steward in the Salisbury household.

Such a situation beggars belief. How I wish we knew more about that menage a trois! Sir Thomas wanted his wife back and appealed to the Pope that Joan had promised herself to him, shared his bed, and so he claimed her for his own wife. Joan supported this story. Did she prefer Sir Thomas to the hapless Earl of Salisbury? It took the Pope eighteen months to decide, and then he ordered that the Salisbury marriage be ended and Joan return to her rightful husband, Sir Thomas Holland. Which she did. They had five children together before Sir Thomas died in 1360. This magnificent stained glass window, made in the late nineteenth Century, shows Joan holding the church at Ware in Hertfordshire, which she paid to have restored. So why, if Joan was a widow by 1360, was Philippa against Joan's marriage to her son Edward? Philippa was not the only one with concerns. So was the Archbishop of Canterbury. One of Joan's husbands might be dead, but the other, Salisbury, was very much alive. If anyone care to stir up trouble and cast doubts on the legitimacy of any children Joan would have with Prince Edward, here was the ammunition.

It took the Pope to give assurances that the marriage with Salisbury was not legal before Joan and her Prince were wed at Windsor Castle in October 1361. This is the superb representation of Prince Edward, later know as the Black Prince, from his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral. Joan was contemporary with Alice Perrers. When Joan returned to England with Prince Edward after a lengthy stay in Aquitaine, Joan would have expected to be pre-eminent at the royal court, but her husband's illness and Alice's control of affairs would have thwarted her. An interesting relationship, I think. There was no love lost between the two head-strong women. Joan's name was further associated with scandal. She was said to be the woman raped by King Edward III after the siege at Wark in 1341even though she was only thirteen years old at that time. She was also the lady whose garter Edward rescued, which was to become the insignia of the Order of the Garter, as shown in this glorious early twentieth century painting. There is evidence for neither. It is thought that they are examples of French propaganda, Joan's name being added later, to paint King Edward as immoral and dishonourable.

Joan, with her dubious marriages and undoubted beauty, was the perfect choice to play either the innocent maiden or the femme fatale. Despite the complications of her past, Joan appears to have been a caring wife to the tragically ailing Prince and supportive of her son Richard II. She died in 1385, leaving her newest bed of red velvet embroidered with silver ostrich feathers and gold leopards' heads to Richard. She also left a bed to each of her sons by Sir Thomas Holland. Interestingly she ordered that she should be buried at Greyfriars in Stamford in Lincolnshire. In her will she stipulated: 'My body is to be buried in my chapel at Stanford, near the monument of our late lord and husband, the Earl of Kent.' This of course is Sir Thomas Holland. Did she prefer Sir Thomas to either Salisbury or Prince Edward at the end? We will never know ... Anne O'Brien: author of The Virgin Widow and Queen Defiant/Devil's Consort. The Kings' Concubine, a novel of Alice Perrers in now available in the UK, Australia and the USA.

Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland (circa 1404 - 1445) Joan Beaufort was the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset , and Margaret Holland , daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, who was the son of Joan "the Fair Maid of Kent" (the mother of Richard II of England ) she was also the niece of the first Lancastrian king King Henry IV of England . King Robert III of Scotland had attempted to send his younger son James Stewart to France to guard him from the machinations of his uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany, but the twelve year old James was captured by English ships just off Flamborough Head. When King Robert died soon after on 4th April, 1406 James succeeded to the Scottish throne as James I . While the young King grew to manhood in English captivity, his ambitious and self-serving uncle was appointed Regent and Governor of Scotland in his absence and exhibited no haste in securing his nephew's release.

James received an education and traveled with the English court, where he learned much about government and administration, which helater put intopractice when he returned to his native Scotland. Joan met James I during his English captivity, the couple had known each other from at least 1420. James fell in love with Joan, she is said to have been the inspiration for his famous long poem, The Kingis Quair, written after he saw her from his window in the garden. James negotiated a release from captivity the previous year, the English favoured his alliance with the Beauforts which it was hoped would continue Scotland's alliance with the England, rather than their traditional ally France. Joan's dowry of 10,000 merks was subtracted from the substantial ransom of 60,000merks the Scots had to pay for the return of their king. James and Joan were married on 12 February 1424 at St Mary Overie Church in Southwark. The newly weds attended festivities at Winchester Palace hosted by Joan's uncle, the powerful Cardinal Henry Beaufort. They then started their journey north to Scotland.

Joan was crowned queen of Scotland on 2 or 21, May at Scone Abbey by Henry de Wardlaw, Bishop of Saint Andrews. James, unlike his father, possessed a strong and resolute character, and was determined to crush the threat posed by the power of the Albany Stewarts and promptly confiscated their estates. Murdoch Stewart and his two sons were executed on Castle Hill, at Stirling. In 1429, Alexander Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, was captured after burning and pillaging in the Scottish Highlands. Dressed as a penitent, he was compelled to appear before the high altar in Holyrood Abbey. In a pre-staged scene, Joan pleaded with her husband for his life. This allowed James to save face while exercising mercy.

The couple produced eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood:- (1) Margaret Stewart, (1424-1445) married Prince Louis, Dauphin of Viennois (later King Louis XI of France) (2) Isabella Stewart, (1426-1494) married Francis I, Duke of Brittany (3) Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan (died 1465) married Wolfart VI van Borsselen (4) Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton (c. 1428-1486) married James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton (5) James II of Scotland (1430-1460) married Mary of Gueldres (6) Alexander Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (born and died 1430); Twin of James (7) Annabella Stewart, married and divorced 1. Louis of Savoy, and then married and divorced 2. George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly (8)Eleanor Stewart, (1433-1484) married Sigismund, Archduke of Austria.

James I was murdered by assassins led by Sir Robert Graham in Perth on 21 February 1437, Joan was also wounded in her frantic attempts to protect her husband. Joan successfully directed her husband's supporters to attack his assassin Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, but was forced to give up the regency to The Earl of Douglas three months later, though she remained in charge of the new king her son James II . Near the end of July 1439, Joan married James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne, the son of Sir John Stewart (d. 26 Apr 1421), an ambassador to England and a direct male line descendant of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland . The couple had three sons:- (1)John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl (2) James Stewart, Earl of Buchan, d. 1499. Married 27 Mar 1459, to Margaret Ogilvy, daughter of Alexander Ogilvy of Auchterhouse. (3) Andrew Stewart, c. 1443-1501. The Bishop of Moray from 1483-1501.

James Stewart was an ally of the Black Douglases, Earls of Douglas, and plotted with him to overthrow Alexander Livingston, governor of Stirling Castle . Livingston had Joan arrested in August 1439 and forced her to relinquish custody of the young king. He imprisoning her in Stirling Castle, while Sir James Stewart and his brother Sir William were incarcerated in the castle's dungeon. They were later released on good behaviour. The conflict however continued and and Joan was besieged at Dunbar Castle, where she died on 15 July 1445. She was buried beside her first husband James I, in the Carthusian Priory at Perth. Arrayed in Gold: Joan of Kent: The First Princess of Wales (Modern portrait by Stephen Warde Anderson) "The most beautiful woman in all England, and the most loving.” -Jean Froissart, Medieval Chronicler In modern times, the British courtesy title Princess of Wales has become synonymous to style, beauty and charm. The most well-known bearer of this title was the late Lady Diana Spencer, and she was the epitome of that title.

There were over forty kings who occupied the British throne since William of Normandy conquered England in 1066, but the women who held the title Princess of Wales - a title reserved only for the wife of the heir to the throne - were only ten. Eight of them eventually became Queens Consort, but the remaining two were never crowned because they were predeceased by their husbands. Joan of Kent was one of those two who never became Queen, and she was the first woman to become Princess of Wales. She was the consort of Edward, Prince of Wales or known famously as "The Black Prince", son of King Edward III. Joan was known in history as "The Fair Maid of Kent", a nickname that later historians ascribed because of her immense beauty. She was of royal blood, a Plantagenet, through her father, and because of her royal descent and beauty, she was a much sought-after bride. She was born around 1328, the third child of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent (a son of King Edward I) and Lady Margaret Wake of Liddell.

During Joan's lifetime, three important historic events occurred: the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, and the Peasants' Revolt. The backdrop of her story was the Hundred Years' War, the age when the Plantagenet monarchs of England claimed the throne of France and made many attempts to secure it. The Black Death reduced the able-bodied people of England, thus causing labor shortage. And finally, the Peasants' Revolt, a consequence of the Black Death. When Joan was two years-old, tragedy struck her family. King Edward II was murdered at the instigation of his wife, Queen Isabella. Joan's father, a younger brother and a supporter of the king, began investigating the circumstances of his murder. This greatly infuriated Queen Isabella, and arranged to have Edmund charged with treason. Soldiers seized Arundel Castle and held Edmund's wife and children prisoner. Edmund was later executed, leaving a total of three children to his wife. When the new king, Edward III became aware of the injustice done to his uncle, he banished his mother Queen Isabella to Anglia.

The new queen, the virtuous Philippa of Hainault, set out to make amends, and arranged for the Kent Family to be brought to court so that the Joan and her siblings could be raised with their royal cousins. Joan was given a governess, Catherine Montague, Countess of Salisbury. The Countess and her husband the Earl were a very enterprising couple, and raised an ambition to wed Joan to their son and heir William. However, Joan had other ideas. At the age of twelve, she had fallen in love with Thomas Holland, a steward in the Salisbury household and a man eight years her senior. They contracted a secret marriage, without royal consent. The following year, Thomas Holland went overseas to fight in one of the many campaigns of Hundred Years' War. With Thomas absent, the Saliburys forced Joan to marry William. Joan later claimed she was afraid that disclosing her previous marriage would lead to Thomas's execution for treason on his return, and so did not disclose it. She may also have become convinced that the earlier marriage was invalid. When Thomas returned from France he could do little to reclaim his wife, and he soon went off again serving with Edward, the Black Prince.

Meanwhile, back at court, Joan was now Countess of Salisbury, since her father-in-law had died in 1347. She was a great favorite of Edward III and Queen Philippa. But Thomas Holland had not forgotten Joan. Now wealthy and influential, he appealed to the Pope to arrange Joan's divorce from Salisbury. The Pope decided in favor of Sir Thomas's claim and Joan was returned to him. She had no children by her previous marriage to Salisbury, but with Holland she soon became a mother of five. Her cousin the Black Prince stood as godfather to her two children, and gave his cousin "Jeanette" a silver cup. By 1353, Joan became the Countess of Kent after the death of her brother. She inherited a substantial property, but her happy marriage with Sir Thomas ended in his death in December 1360. Joan, now thirty-two years old, was a very sought-after prize. Suitors flocked around the beautiful and wealthy widow, but she was uninterested. By this time, she had her eyes only to her cousin, Prince Edward, to whom she shared a strong attachment ever since they were children.

When Edward knew that she was in love with 'somebody', he entreated her to identify the object of her affection. Joan then revealed that she was in love with him, and Edward, who had been in love with her for quite a long time, asked his parents' consent for marriage. Although the King and Queen liked Joan, they were not pleased with Edward's choice. Queen Philippa was especially concerned about Joan's reputation and her flighty disposition. But Edward was adamant that if he was to marry, he would only marry Joan, his true love. Finally, the King and Queen acquiesced, a papal dispensation was sent (because of consanguinity), and Edward and Joan were married on October 10, 1361 at Windsor Castle. The Black Prince owned several residences but Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire was his favorite. There the newly-weds went to stay, but not to long. The Prince was anxious to return to France to secure more territory. In February 1362, Edward and Joan sailed for France accompanied by her children. They set up their home in Bordeaux, and two years later Joan gave birth to a son they named Edward. The Black Prince was delighted.

Another son was added in family on January 1367 and they named him Richard. Once assured that Joan had recovered, the Prince set out for the south, to check an advance over the Pyrenees by a Spanish army. Edward and Joan appeared to be a very loving couple. Before Edward left for the south, the couple "very sweetly embraced and take farewell with kisses." And on his return, they went on an informal walkabout: "The Princess came to meet him, bringing with her her first born son...very sweetly they embraced when they met together. The gentle prince kissed his wife and son. They went to their lodging on foot, holding each other by the hand." Upon his return to Bordeaux, the Prince was far from well. His health grew steadily worse after the death of the little six year-old prince Edward. The parents were grief-stricken with the loss, and decided to sail back to England. As he became increasingly ill, the Prince fretted over the succession, suspicious that his brother John of Gaunt would claim the throne on the death of the King. Edward feared that his son Richard might be set aside by John of Gaunt.

Meanwhile, Joan did not involve herself in politics, but she showed no small skill when the future of her son might be in jeopardy. Edward the Black Prince died in June 1376, when Richard was only nine years-old. One year later, King Edward III died, and Richard became King of England. Early in his reign, the young King faced the challenge of the Peasants' Revolt. The Lollards, religious reformers led by John Wyclif, had enjoyed the protection of Joan, but the violent climax of the popular movement for reform reduced the feisty Joan to a state of terror, while leaving the King with an improved reputation. As the power behind the throne, the now Dowager Princess of Wales was well-loved for her influence over the young king, She maintained a cordial relationship with her brother-in-law John of Gaunt for the sake of her son, and was supportive of her new daughter-in-law, Richard's wife, Anne of Bohemia. Joan then retired to Wallingford, but she did not remain uninvolved. Richard was a peaceloving, artistic youth, clearly lacking the warlike qualities necessary in a successful 14th century monarch.

These were present in John of Gaunt, and Joan felt compelled to continue as peacemaker between the young King and his grasping uncle. At the end of her life, Joan was disturbed by a quarrel between her two sons, Richard II and his half-brother John Holland. This eventually lead to a reconciliation between the two, thanks to the effort of their mother. But the strain proved too much for the Dowager Princess of Wales, now fragile at the age of fifty-seven, and died in August 1385 in her castle at Wallingford. According to her will, she was buried not near the Black Prince, but beside her first husband, Sir Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, at Church of the Grey Friars at Stamford. Joan of Kent, the first Princess of Wales, was a strong character who exercised considerable influence in the years after the Black Prince died. She was a Plantagenet and an heiress, and through her children by Thomas Holland, the ancestress of many English aristocratic families.

Question: Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, was the mother of which king of England?
Answer: Richard II