NameJoan “The Fair Maid of Kent” Plantagenet
Birth29 Sep 1328
Death8 Aug 1385, Wallingford Castle, Berkshire, England
BurialGreyfriars Church, Stamford, Lincoln
Misc. 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.
Spouses
Birth15 Jun 1330, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England
Death8 Jun 1376, Westminster, London, England
BurialCanterbury Cathedral, Kent, England
Marriage10 Oct 1361, Windsor, Berkshire, England