Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent" Plantagenet ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

Joan of Kent, 1328–85, English noblewoman; daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, youngest son of Edward I. She early gained wide note for her beauty and charm, though the appellation Fair Maid of Kent, by which she became known, was probably not contemporary. Her marriage to the earl of Salisbury was annulled on the grounds of a precontract with Sir Thomas Holland, whom she then married. Upon the death of her brother in 1352 she became countess of Kent in her own right. In 1361, after Holland's death, she married Edward the Black Prince, by whom she had two sons, Edward (1365–70) and Richard (later Richard II). In 1378 she was instrumental in halting proceedings against John Wyclif, though there is insufficient evidence to determine if she accepted his doctrines. As long as she lived, she was probably the principal influence on her son Richard II.

  Noted events in her life were:

• Acceded: 26 Dec 1352. Countess of Kent.

Joan married Thomas de Holand between 1339 and 1340. (Thomas de Holand died circa 27 Dec 1360.)

Joan next married Edward The Black Prince of England, son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, on 10 Oct 1361 in Windsor, Berkshire, England. (Edward The Black Prince of England was born on 15 Jun 1330 in Woodstock Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, died on 8 Jun 1376 in Westminster Palace, Westminster, London, England and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England.)

  Marriage Notes:

In 1355 Edward was appointed his father's lieutenant in Gascony. He led the English army in a series of raids across southern France and in 1356 defeated a French army at Poitiers, took King John II of France prisoner, and returned in triumph to England with his captive. In 1361 he married his cousin Joan, countess of Kent (1328-85) known as the fair maid of Kent. ³