General Notes

Countess of Kent
Countess of Woodstock
Baroness Wake
Lady of the Garter (the first such)

Joan Plantagenet, "The Fair Maid of Kent," so called from her extraordinary beauty. This distinguished woman 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."

She was celebrated as one of the most beautiful women of her time and is said to have been the heroine of the episode upon which the "Order of the Garter" was founded. 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.

She was married three times.

Marriage(s) and legendary beauty

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. 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 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. 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 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.

In 1349, Pope Clement VI 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 four children, then Holland died in 1360. Their children were:

   1. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
   2. John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter
   3. Joan Holland, married 1) Duke John V of Brittany 2) Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault
   4. Maud Holland, married Waleran of St.Pol

Joan, now widowed but only thirty-two, was a catch by anyone else’s standards. She 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. 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.
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Marriage again, and life in France

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. They were married in 1361, and almost immediately set sail for France, since the Black Prince was also the Prince of Aquitaine, a region of France which belonged to the English Crown. Two children were born in France, both of them sons. The elder son, named Edward after his father and grandfather, died at the age of six.

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.
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Husband's death and son's coronation

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 Wake, in 1372. Joan inherited her title to add to all the others – Lady Wake of Liddel. 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, and became King on his grandfather's death in the following year. 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, an adult 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.