Joan of Kent: The First Princess of Wales

by Penny Lawne

  As to how Joan could have escaped the notice of her elders and formed the relationship in the first place, there can be no doubt that she was unquestionably inadequately chaperoned while she was in Ghent, despite being with the queen’s household. Quite simply, it should not have been possible for Thomas Holand to have been able to spirit Joan away and marry her in secret. His attentions should have been noted, and remarked on, his intentions questioned and either discouraged or formally acknowledged. At twelve, Joan was far too young to have had any part in making the arrangements for her marriage to Thomas Holand; the initiative was clearly his. The possibility that Joan was abducted cannot be discounted. This was a rare but not unknown occurrence among the nobility, when the attraction of an heiress could outweigh the risks involved. Joan’s older cousin, Elizabeth de Burgh, had been abducted by Theobald de Verdun in 1326, and Margaret Audeley, another well-born young lady, by Ralph Stafford in 1334.16 Both were heiresses, and married their abductors, having their marriages subsequently recognised by the king and the rest of noble society. However, if Thomas Holand did abduct Joan, he managed the affair extremely well. Not only was her absence unnoticed, but he was able to secure Joan’s full co-operation, with her consent to their marriage, as witnesses later testified, and when she returned to the royal household she was sufficiently persuaded by her husband to keep their secret.17

  Joan was obviously greatly attracted to Thomas Holand, and quite literally, perhaps, swept off her feet. He was more than ten years her senior, and although his career was still in its infancy he was already starting to gain a reputation as a brave and talented knight. The chroniclers all describe him with approval, Froissart and Jean le Bel as ‘un gentil chevalier’, the chronicle of Meaux Abbey as a ‘miles strenuus’ and Chandos Herald as ‘le bon Thomas de Holand qui en huy eust proesce grand’.18 He may have been good-looking but it is impossible to know. By 1346 he had lost an eye, presumably an injury sustained while on campaign, and it seems likely that this occurred sometime after he met Joan.19 Nevertheless, however attractive he may have been, Joan was well aware that she was not free to decide her own future and that her marriage was an important matter which would be decided for her by her guardians or her family. However, she was also very young and vulnerable, and Thomas’ confidence and authority perhaps offered her a security she lacked. It is an indication of the strength of Thomas Holand’s attractiveness and persuasiveness that he was able to overcome her scruples and induced her to agree to a course of action of which she knew her family would disapprove.

  From Thomas Holand’s point of view, marrying a girl of Joan’s birth and age in secret was a hugely risky enterprise. He was, after all, employed by the king. Marrying the king’s cousin, without Edward III’s knowledge or permission, while Joan was under his protection, seems foolhardy. Thomas risked the king’s disapproval, and possible dismissal from his service. It was hardly a well-judged career move. Then there was the question of the validity of the marriage. Clandestine marriages were discouraged by the Church, and extremely unusual for a girl of Joan’s background. Canonical law was complex on these matters, especially where a child was involved. In theory, a marriage could be contracted in secrecy without witnesses and any formalities whatsoever, provided both parties had capacity and consented, either expressed in the present tense at the marriage ceremony (consent ‘de praesenti’), or through the exchange of words of future consent ratified through subsequent sexual intercourse.20 The Church considered that the age at which a couple had capacity and could give such consent was the age of puberty, i.e. twelve for a girl and fourteen for a boy. Although the Church allowed marriages for children from the age of seven, they could be dissolved if the marriage had not been consummated by the age of twelve. The danger in a clandestine marriage was that one of the parties could change their mind, or parents could intervene. In 1349, on the basis of testimony from Thomas Holand and Joan that they had voluntarily exchanged marriage vows in the presence of witnesses and consummated the marriage, the papal court recognised their marriage as a ‘de praesenti’ contract, but it was by no means a straightforward argument and the outcome had not been certain.21 Thomas Holand is unlikely to have had any great understanding of Church law when he arranged his marriage in 1340, but he must have realised that it was quite likely that it would be challenged by Joan’s family. If a challenge was mounted, even with witnesses testifying to Joan’s consent, much would depend on Joan. Why did Thomas Holand take such a gamble, rather than present his suit openly and secure a legitimate match with Joan? He can only have done so because he knew that Joan’s family would not accept him as a suitor, and the reason for this lay with his father.

  Thomas Holand’s father, Sir Robert Holand, had been a particular favourite of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and the earl’s generosity and patronage had enabled him to dramatically improve his status. Robert inherited two or three manors and modest means; the earl’s influence secured for him a wealthy bride, Maud la Zouche, and considerable other material advantages. He was able to build a castle at Melbourne in Derbyshire, with his friend and patron contributing the vast sum of £1,202 towards the building costs, and in 1311 he obtained permission to crenellate the castle, while the earl also built another house for him at Lancaster.22 When Maud’s father died in 1314 his estates were divided between his two daughters, with the largest share of the inheritance going to Maud. By 1321 Robert Holand possessed around twenty-five manors, and he was the most valued and trusted of Thomas of Lancaster’s retinue. It would be difficult to exaggerate the extent of the material wealth Robert Holand had obtained through the earl’s favour, or the depth of trust and friendship shown by the earl towards him. Robert Holand’s loyalty to the earl seemed beyond question, and yet it was at this point that their relationship fell apart. In 1321 a fresh civil war erupted, provoked by Edward II’s favouritism of the Despensers, with the opposition headed by Thomas of Lancaster. Matters came to a head with a confrontation between the king and the Lancastrian-led forces at Boroughbridge in 1322. The earl confidently summoned his close friend Robert Holand to bring additional support. At the last moment, and with no warning or explanation, Robert Holand failed to do so. His default precipitated Thomas of Lancaster’s flight and his subsequent surrender to Edward II, followed by his execution.23 Even in a period of civil war most of the nobility were shocked by the enormity of Robert Holand’s betrayal of his friend and patron.

  Robert Holand’s betrayal of the Earl of Lancaster has never been explained. The author of the Vita suggests that loss of support for the earl led directly to Robert’s desertion.24 One historian has suggested that Robert Holand was persuaded to support the king because Edward II held one of his children hostage, but this is unsupported by evidence.25 Certainly Robert Holand did not benefit from deserting his friend. After his victory at Boroughbridge, Edward II, far from rewarding Robert Holand, imprisoned him for five years and confiscated his lands. Robert was not released until after Edward II was deposed, and his estates were then restored to him in December 1327 by Isabella and Mortimer, despite the protests of Henry of Lancaster, Thomas’ brother and heir.26 The Lancastrians did not forget or forgive Robert Holand for his treachery at Boroughbridge, and in October 1328, when he was probably on his way to visit Queen Isabella, Robert Holand was murdered by Lancastrian supporters at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire. However, Robert Holand’s death barely assuaged the strong feelings his betrayal had aroused, and even eighteen years later Henry of Lancaster sought to protect John Tebbe, one of the men who had been responsible for Robert Holand’s murder.27 Whatever the cause of Robert Holand’s desertion of Thomas of Lancaster, there is no doubt of the extreme Lancastrian antipathy towards him as a result and this almost certainly extended towards his family.

  Robert and Maud had seven children: Robert (born in 1314), Thomas, Alan, Otto, Isabella, Matilda and Margaret.28 Their second son, Thomas, was in all likelihood born in 1316 and probably named in honour of Thomas of Lancaster. It is likely that t
he earl stood as his godfather, as Robert Holand’s friendship with the earl was then at its height. For the first few years of Thomas Holand’s life the family basked in the favour shown to their father by Thomas of Lancaster. All this changed after Boroughbridge. Maud’s own inheritance was confiscated along with her husband’s estates, leaving her in considerable difficulties. By March 1327 Edward II belatedly recognised her problems and agreed to give her a small annuity of £60 ‘for the support of herself and her children until other provision be made for them’.29 Maud Holand was left to fight her own battles. She was her husband’s executor, and like Joan’s mother, Margaret, showed a similar determination and ability in restoring the family fortunes after Robert’s death, although she was forced to borrow heavily to do so. Maud Holand was also successful in obtaining an annuity for Thomas of £26 in December 1329.30

  Somehow Maud Holand arranged for her sons to receive training as knights, as all four are known to have been knighted and fought for Edward III on campaign in France. This was quite an achievement, as the vilification of Robert Holand after Boroughbridge meant few would have welcomed a young man bearing the Holand name as a protégé, with the attendant affront this would cause to Henry of Lancaster.31 According to the Brut chronicler Robert Holand was favoured by Queen Isabella and Mortimer, and the likelihood is that Maud appealed to Isabella after Robert’s murder, resulting in the four Holand boys being taken into the young king’s household to train as knights. This would have been in 1328 or 1329, when Thomas would have been around twelve or thirteen. Their sister Isabella chose her own route, and by 1331 was living openly as the mistress of John Warenne, Earl of Surrey, but there is no evidence that her brothers benefited from this liaison.32 In the early 1330s the successive campaigns in Scotland gave Thomas Holand a chance to prove his worth, and by the time he was twenty-one he had been knighted, presumably by Edward III, and probably while serving in Scotland. In 1337 he is mentioned by Froissart as one of a group of knights accompanying Robert d’Artois’ expeditionary force which sailed from Southampton to Bordeaux, and in February 1338 he received a grant and a New Year bounty of £10 from the Crown for ‘good service in Scotland and elsewhere’.33

  It is impossible to know when Thomas Holand first met Joan. As a member of the king’s retinue he may well have been aware of her existence from the time that she entered the queen’s household in 1330, but it is obviously unlikely that he would have had anything to do with her while she was a small child. When Edward III sailed for Flanders on 16 July 1338 Thomas and his brother Otto were among his retinue. Thomas was paid for serving in Flanders for 483 days from 22 July 1338 to 16 November 1339 and received 4 marks for sets of robes in winter and summer.34 Edward III was satisfied with his services and in February 1339 made him the handsome gift of granting him permission to lade forty sacks of wool in the port of London without paying customs duty.35 In September 1339 Thomas was in Brabant fighting alongside William Montague, Earl of Salisbury, Sir Walter Mauny and Sir John Chandos, and was part of the embassy to the Count of Hainault at Valenciennes, where he witnessed a grant by Sir Walter Mauny with the earls of Salisbury and Northampton on 14 September.36 By January 1340 Thomas was back in Ghent with the royal household. On 21 February Edward III returned to England to raise money and support, leaving the queen and his daughters behind. The king took only a handful of his household knights with him, and Thomas Holand was one of those left behind in Ghent. It seems probable that it was then that Thomas Holand first really noticed Joan.

  In January 1340 Thomas Holand was about twenty-four years old. Whereas his older brother Robert had inherited the family estates their mother had carefully regained, as a second son Thomas’ career choice of becoming a household knight had been forced upon him. Apart from a small annuity of £26 which his mother had secured for him in December 1329 he was dependant on what he could earn.37 As a knight he was paid, but he had to pay for his own horses and equipment, and these were expensive. To take part in a campaign a knight needed several horses, and a considerable quantity of clothing: a quilted tunic or gambeson; a short-sleeved hauberk or mail tunic, and over this a habergeon of soft material; a tight, short surcoat bearing his arms (a jupon); a metal breastplate, with plate on his arms, shoulders and legs; a sword belt; a heavy plate helmet with a visor, for battle; perhaps a fluted bascinet; and at least one page to look after and carry all this equipment. Acquiring all of this was costly. In 1338 his mother and older brother Robert had borrowed £368 13s from Prince Edward, probably to cover the cost of Thomas and Otto’s campaign equipment.38 It has been suggested that to support himself a knight needed an annual income in the region of £40, and as a commander would be expected to recruit sufficient soldiers of an adequate standard to form a retinue.39 In wartime on campaign the king paid an earl a daily rate of 6s 4d, and a banneret 4s a day; knights such as Thomas and Otto Holand could only expect a daily wage of 2s.40 Luckily for Thomas he proved naturally able militarily, and the lifestyle suited him. As one of the king’s knights he could expect to continue in that employment and in wartime he could reasonably expect to gain promotion through merit, and to benefit financially from the profits of ransom and booty in times of war, but in 1340 he had no means of knowing how many opportunities might come his way in the future. Mixing with men like the Earl of Salisbury in the course of his duties, Thomas was acutely aware of the considerable gulf between them and there is no doubt that he was an extremely ambitious young man. His father’s reputation was a handicap which might slow his advancement despite his abilities. The fact that he was not already married suggests that he had found it difficult to secure a legitimate advantageous marriage, and the stigma of the Holand name may well have been the bar. His younger brother Otto, similarly placed, never married.

  So Thomas probably had an eye for any chance that came his way, and Joan must have seemed like a heaven-sent opportunity. She was young, susceptible, attractive and available, but most importantly of all she had royal blood, and marriage to her would secure a connection to the king and queen that would immeasurably improve his standing, and that of his family. It is possible that Thomas was genuinely attracted to her, and it may even have started as an innocent dalliance. There could be no advantage to Thomas in his romance with Joan unless he was able to marry her with formal approval and support, and he knew that his suit would not be looked on with favour by Joan’s mother and aunt and uncle. Thomas and Blanche Wake were firm Lancastrians, and extremely unlikely to approve of an alliance between their niece (who might one day inherit the Wake lands) and the son of the man who had deserted Blanche’s uncle, Thomas of Lancaster. Thomas Holand needed the king’s support.

  Timing was the crucial element which determined Thomas Holand on his fateful course of action in arranging the clandestine marriage. With Edward III absent in England, Thomas had to await his return in order to present his suit. He could hardly approach the queen, as Philippa was in an advanced state of pregnancy and gave birth to John of Gaunt in March 1340. Probably Thomas discovered the plans for Joan’s betrothal to d’Albret. A different sort of man would at that point have given up on the scheme to marry Joan, deterred by the combination of circumstances which effectively put her out of his reach. But this was not Thomas Holand’s character. He was not only ambitious, but bold and forceful, with confidence and initiative, qualities that would later serve him well in his military career. In the spring of 1340 they induced him to take an audacious gamble. The stakes were high and to him the risk was worth taking. Acting quickly, Thomas persuaded Joan to marry him in secret, made the necessary arrangements, and carried them out. He was prepared to face the possible disapproval of the king, confident that he would be able to obtain Edward III’s retrospective consent and support, anticipating that the king would excuse his unorthodox behaviour and approve the marriage, even in the face of opposition from Joan’s family. Thomas appreciated that this might take time, and so persuaded Joan to keep their relationship a secret, no doubt assuring her that he
would sort it all out.

  Thomas was not foolish in gambling that he would be able to persuade Edward III to support him. Unorthodox marriages were not unknown and certainly not unacceptable. Edward III’s attitude towards marriage among the nobility showed a touch of ambivalence. After all, he had effectively rewarded Ralph Stafford’s effrontery in carrying Margaret Audeley off in 1334 by recognising the marriage thus enabling Stafford to obtain her inheritance of a third of the Gloucester estates, worth an annual income of over £2,000 (and in 1351 Edward III went even further by granting Ralph an earldom). Thomas Holand might not have been an ideal husband for Joan, but if the king could be persuaded to accept their marriage, royal support would ensure that her family would recognise it. Edward III was known to applaud and reward initiative on the part of his knights and he needed and wanted knights with ambition, enterprise and resourcefulness. Men like Sir Walter Mauny and Sir John Chandos were being advanced rapidly in the king’s service for displaying just such qualities, and Edward III’s closest entourage comprised men such as William Montague whose boldness and daring had secured his freedom from the rule of Roger Mortimer. The contemporary taste in literature reflected a willingness to accept unconventional matches, as exemplified in the tale of Tristan and Isolde, and the abduction of Helen by Paris. Writers such as Ghillebert de Lannoy had advised that knights could acquire riches in three honourable ways: by service at court, in war, and by making a good marriage. Thomas Holand might even have taken encouragement from the advice of an older French contemporary, Geoffrey de Charny, who wrote in his book, Le Livre de chevalrie, that ‘the most secret love is the most joyful, lasting and loyal’.41 Spiriting Joan away and marrying her in secret was daring and chancy, but given the right opportunity and a mellow mood on the part of the king he would probably have succeeded.