Biography of Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England 1310-1369

On 19th May 1305 [her father] William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland [aged 19] and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 11] were married. She by marriage Countess Zeeland, Countess Holland, Countess Avesnes, Countess Hainault. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Charles Valois I Count Valois [aged 35] and [her grandmother] Margaret Capet Countess Valois. He the son of John of Avesnes II Count Hainaut II Count Holland and Philippa Luxemburg Countess Hainaut and Holland [aged 53]. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 24th June 1310¹ Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England was born to [her father] William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland [aged 24] and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 16].

Note 1. The date from the Register of Walter Stapledon who in 1319 writes: "And the young lady will be of the age of nine years at the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John [24th June] next to come".

In 1320 [her step-father] Robert III Artois [aged 33] and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 26] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Charles Valois I Count Valois [aged 49] and [her grandmother] Margaret Capet Countess Valois. They were third cousins. He a great grandson of King Henry III of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1324 [her brother-in-law] Louis Wittelsbach IV Holy Roman Emperor [aged 41] and [her sister] Margaret Hainaut Holy Roman Empress [aged 12] were married. She by marriage Holy Roman Empress. The difference in their ages was 29 years. She the daughter of [her father] William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland [aged 38] and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 30]. He the son of Louis "Strict" Wittelsbach II Duke Upper Bavaria and Matilda Habsburg Duchess Bavaria. They were third cousin three times removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

On 26th February 1324 [her brother-in-law] William Jülich V Duke Jülich [aged 25] and [her sister] Joanna Hainaut Duchess Guelders [aged 9] were married. She the daughter of [her father] William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland [aged 38] and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 30]. He the son of Gerhard Jülich V Count Jülich [aged 74] and Elisabeth Brabant Countess Jülich. They were half third cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

In 1330 [her brother-in-law] John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 13] was created 1st Earl Cornwall.

On 15th June 1330 [her son] Edward "Black Prince" was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 17] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 19] at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. He married 10th October 1361 his half first cousin once removed Joan "Fair Maid of Kent" Princess Wales, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock 1st Earl Kent and Margaret Wake Countess Kent, and had issue.

In May 1332 Reginald "Black" I Duke Guelders [aged 37] and [her sister-in-law] Eleanor of Woodstock Plantagenet [aged 13] were married at Nijmegen [Map]. She by marriage Countess Guelders. His second marriage; he had four daughters from his first marriage. He subsequently sent her from court to Deventer Abbey [Map] in 1336 under the pretext that she had leprosy. He subsequently tried to annul the marriage but she contested the annulment by proving she wasn't a leper. The difference in their ages was 23 years. She the daughter of King Edward II of England and [her mother-in-law] Isabella of France Queen Consort England [aged 37]. He the son of Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England.

On 16th June 1332 [her daughter] Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 19] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 21] at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. She married 27th July 1365 her fourth cousin once removed Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons and had issue.

On 19th December 1333 [her daughter] Joan Plantagenet was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 21] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 23] at Tower of London [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

In 1334 [her brother] William Hainaut II Count Hainaut [aged 27] and [her sister-in-law] Joanna Reginar Duchess Brabant [aged 12] were married. She the daughter of John Brabant III Duke Brabant [aged 33] and Marie Évreux Duchess of Brabant [aged 31]. He the son of [her father] William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland [aged 48] and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 40]. They were half second cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

On 30th September 1336 [her brother-in-law] John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 20] died at Perth [Map]. Earl Cornwall extinct. He was buried at the east side of the doorway to the Chapel of St Edmund, Westminster Abbey [Map]. His monument comprises a head of the statue encircled by a coronet of large and small leaves, remarkable for being the earliest specimen of the kind. The details of plate-armour, surcoat, gorget, coroneted helmet, with other accessories, give great antiquarian interest to this work. It was formerly surmounted by a canopy, of which, however, no traces are now visible.

On 16th February 1337 [her son] William of Hatfield was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 24] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 26] at Hatfield [Map]. He died shortly afterwards around 3rd March 1337. He was buried at York Minster [Map] where there is a monument to him in the north aisle. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

On 7th June 1337 [her father] William of Avesnes I Count Hainaut III Count Avesnes III Count Holland II Count Zeeland [aged 51] died. His son [her brother] William [aged 30] succeeded II Count Hainault. [her sister-in-law] Joanna Reginar Duchess Brabant [aged 15] by marriage Countess Hainault.

On 29th November 1338 [her son] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 26] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 28] at Antwerp [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. He married (1) 1352 his half second cousin once removed Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence, daughter of William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster and Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster, and had issue (2) June 1368 his fourth cousin once removed Violante Visconti.

In 1340 [her daughter] Blanche of the Tower was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 27] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 29] at the Tower of London [Map]. she died the same year and was buried at the east side of the door to the Chapel of St Edmund, Westminster Abbey [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

On 6th March 1340 [her son] John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 27] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 29] at the Prinsenhof Palace [Map] in Ghent aka Gaunt. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. He married (1) his half second cousin once removed Blanche Duchess of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont 1st Duke Lancaster and Isabel Beaumont Duchess Lancaster, and had issue (2) 21st September 1371 his half third cousin twice removed Constance of Castile Duchess of Lancaster and had issue (3) 13th January 1396 Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster and had issue.

On 5th June 1341 [her son] Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 28] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 30] at King's Langley, Hertfordshire [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. He married (1) 11th July 1372 his half third cousin twice removed Isabella of Castile Duchess York and had issue (2) 4th November 1393 his half second cousin once removed Joan Holland Duchess York, daughter of Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent and Alice Fitzalan Countess Kent.

On 10th October 1344 [her daughter] Mary Plantagenet Duchess Brittany was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 31] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 34] at Bishop Waltham's Palace, Hampshire [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. She married 3rd July 1361 her third cousin John Montfort V Duke Brittany.

On 20th July 1346 [her daughter] Margaret Plantagenet Countess of Pembroke was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 33] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 36] at Windsor Castle [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. She married her half fourth cousin John Hastings 2nd Earl Pembroke, son of Laurence Hastings 1st Earl Pembroke and Agnes Mortimer Countess of Pembroke.

In 1347 [her son] Thomas of Windsor was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 34] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 36]. In 1348 he died. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

On 22nd February 1347 John Graham Earl Menteith [aged 57] was condemned to be executed as a traitor. The sentence was carried out on the 28th February 1347 when John Graham Earl Menteith was hanged, drawn and quartered by direct orders of [her husband] King Edward I [aged 34] to whom he had previously sworn fealty.

On 30th November 1347 Ivo Fitzwarin was born to William Fitzwarin [aged 31]. He was baptised at St Leonards Church, Blunsdon [Map]. His wardship was originally granted to Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 37] but she sold it in the following year for 1100 marks. He married 20th January 1372 Maud Argentine and had issue.

In 1348 [her son] William of Windsor was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 35] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 37]. In 1348 he died. He was buried at the east side of the door to the Chapel of St Edmund, Westminster Abbey [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

On 2nd September 1348 [her daughter] Joan Plantagenet [aged 14] died on her way to marry Peter of Castile [aged 14]. She was buried at Bayonne Cathedral.

In 1352 Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 13] and Elizabeth Burgh Duchess of Clarence [aged 19] were married. He by marriage Earl of Ulster. She was the sole heir of her father and brought the de Burgh inheritance of the lands of Ulster to the marriage. As a consequence of their earlier betrothal he had been called Earl Ulster since 1347. She the daughter of William Donn Burgh 3rd Earl of Ulster and Maud Plantagenet Countess Ulster [aged 42]. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 39] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 41]. They were half second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry III of England.

In 1352 [her half-brother] John "Sans Terre" Artois 1st Count of Eu [aged 30] was created 1st Count Eu.

On 7th March 1352 [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut [aged 58] died.

On 11th July 1352 [her half-brother] John "Sans Terre" Artois 1st Count of Eu [aged 30] and [her sister-in-law] Isabeau Melun Countess Eu [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Countess Eu. She the daughter of John Melun 1st Count Tancarville [aged 62]. He the son of [her step-father] Robert III Artois and [her mother] Joan Valois Countess Zeeland Holland Avesnes and Hainaut.

Letters. 14th May 1354. Letter XXIV. Philippa of Hainault Queen of Edward III [aged 43] to Sir John de Edington her Attorney.

Philippa, by the grace of God queen of England, lady of Ireland, and duchess of Aquitaine, to our dear clerk Sir John de Edington, our attorney in the exchequer of our very dear lord the king, sends greeting.

We command you, that you cause all the writs which have been filed from the search lately made by Sir Richard de Cressevill to be postponed until the octaves of Easter next ensuing; to the end that, in the meantime, we and our council may be able to be advised which of the said writs are to be put in execution for our profit, and which of them are to cease to the relief of our people, to save our conscience. And we will that this letter be your warrant therefore.

Given under our privy seal, at Westminster [Map], the 14th day of May, in the year of the reign of our very dear lord the king of England the twenty-eighth.

On 7th January 1355 [her son] Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester was born to [her husband] King Edward III of England [aged 42] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 44] at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%. He married 1374 his second cousin once removed Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester, daughter of Humphrey Bohun 7th Earl Hereford 6th Earl Essex 2nd Earl of Northampton and Joan Fitzalan Countess Essex, Hereford and Northampton, and had issue.

On 22nd April 1355 [her sister-in-law] Eleanor of Woodstock Plantagenet [aged 36] died. She was buried at Deventer Abbey [Map].

In 1357 [her brother-in-law] William Jülich V Duke Jülich [aged 58] was created I Duke Guelders. [her sister] Joanna Hainaut Duchess Guelders [aged 42] by marriage Duchess Guelders.

Archaeologia Volume 35 1853 XXXIII. The following visits, during her [[her mother-in-law] Isabella of France Queen Consort England [aged 63]] stay in London, are recorded. On the 30th of April, the Countess of Warren to supper [aged 62]. On the 1st of May, the Countess of Pembroke [aged 41] to dinner; and the King after dinner. On the 2nd of May, the Countesses of Warren and Pembroke to dinner; and the [her husband] King [aged 45], the [her son] Prince of Wales [aged 27], the Earl of March [aged 29], and others, after dinner. On the 3rd of May, the Countess of Pembroke and the Maréchal D'Audenham to dinner; and the Earl of Arundel [aged 52], "et plures magnates Franciæ¹," after dinner. On the 4th, the Count of Tancarville to dinner. On the 5th, the Countesses of Warren and Pembroke and the Maréchal D'Audenham again to dinner; and the Chancellor of England and many French noblemen after dinner. On the 6th the Chief Justice and the Barons of the Exchequer to dinner. On the four following days, the Countesses of Warren, Kent, and Pembroke dine with the Queen; and on the last of the four Sir John de Wynewyk comes to supper. On the 11th, Queen Philippa [aged 47] appears to have dined with Isabella, but the entry is partially obliterated; the Earl Marshal and other noblemen came after dinner. On the 12th, the Countess of Pembroke dined, and the Cardinals ( of Périgord and St. Vitalis ), the Archbishop of Sens, and some French noblemen came after dinner. On Sunday the 13th, the Countess of Warren and others from London, as it is expressed, dined; and the King of France, the Chancellor of England, and others, visited the Queen after dinner.

Note 1. and several magnates of France.

Around 3rd July 1361 [her son-in-law] John Montfort V Duke Brittany [aged 22] and Mary Plantagenet Duchess Brittany [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of King Edward III of England [aged 48] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 51]. They were third cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry III of England.

In September 1361 [her daughter] Mary Plantagenet Duchess Brittany [aged 16] died.

On 25th December 1361 [her daughter] Margaret Plantagenet Countess of Pembroke [aged 15] died probably of plague. She was buried at Abingdon Abbey [Map].

On 28th May 1363 John Harrington 2nd Baron Harington [aged 35] died at Gleaston Castle [Map]. His son Robert [aged 7] succeeded 3rd Baron Harington. Given his young age Robert Harrington 3rd Baron Harington became a ward of King Edward III of England [aged 50] who granted his wardship to his daughter Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 30] and her husband Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 23].

On 27th July 1365 [her son-in-law] Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 25] and Isabella Countess Bedford and Soissons [aged 33] were married at Windsor Castle [Map]. She the daughter of King Edward III of England [aged 52] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 55]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

In June 1368 Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] and Violante Visconti [aged 14] were married in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Milan [Map]. The wedding festivities were lavish and ostentatious. The banquet, held outside, included 30 courses of meat and fish presented fully gilded. Between the courses the guests were given gifts such as suits of armour, bolts of cloth, war horses, arms, and hunting dogs. Among the guests were Geoffrey Chaucer [aged 25], Petrarch, Jean Froissart and John Hawkwood [aged 48]. He the son of King Edward III of England [aged 55] and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 57]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

On 7th October 1368 [her son] Lionel of Antwerp 1st Duke of Clarence [aged 29] died from poisoning at Alba [Map]. Duke Clarence extinct. His daughter [her granddaughter] Philippa [aged 13] succeeded 2nd Countess of Ulster. He was buried at the St Pietro Ciel d'Oro Church, Pavia [Map].

There was strong speculation he had been poisoned by his [her daughter-in-law] wife's [aged 14] father [aged 48].

In 1369 [her sister] Margaret Hainaut Holy Roman Empress [aged 57] died.

On 15th August 1369 Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England [aged 59] died at Windsor Castle [Map]. Her husband King Edward III of England [aged 56] and youngest son Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 14] were present. She was given a state funeral six months later on 9th January 1370 at which she was interred at on the northeast side of the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey [Map]. Her alabaster effigy was executed by sculptor Jean de Liège.

Monumental Effigies. Philippa of Hainault Queen of [her former husband] King Edward III [aged 62] (Died 1369) in Westminster Abbey [Map].

Effigy of William of Hatfield. William of Hatfield

WAS the second son of Edward III by his Queen Philippa, and was born at Hatfield [Map], in Yorkshire, in 1335. He was christened after his maternal grandfather, William Earl of Hainault, died in his childhood, and was buried in the cathedral at York [Map]. The effigy is nearly four feet six inches in height, and may therefore be supposed that of a child about eleven years of age. This is a good example of the domestic attire of a noble youth of the day. On his head is a circlet surmounted by pearls. A rich juste-au-corps (probably embroidered cloth of gold^a) covers his figure. A mantle, the edge of which is indented into the form of a running pattern of ornamental foliage, falls over his breast and shoulders, and depends behind to the ancles. His shoes are divided into fretwork compartments, filled up with quatrefoils. His head is supported by angels, and his feet rest on a couchant lion. He wears a rich jewelled girdle round his hips; a characteristic mark of the monuments of this, and of many of the following century. It is not easy to imagine how a cincture thus placed sustained itself.

Details. Plate II. Profile. 1. Portion of the circlet and pearls. 9. Ornament on the juste-au-corps, or body coat. 3. Ornament on the shoes.

Note a. Thus Chaucer, describing the attire of a gallant youth:

"Embrouded was he, as it were a mede.

All full of freshe Bom es white and rede.

--- Short was his goune" ----

William of Hatfield: On 16th February 1337 he was born to King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England at Hatfield [Map]. He died shortly afterwards around 3rd March 1337. He was buried at York Minster [Map] where there is a monument to him in the north aisle. Coefficient of inbreeding 3.00%.

Archaeologia Volume 29 Section III. The volume of Monumental Effigies, drawn and engraved by Mr. Charles Alfred Stothard, F.S.A. the late draughtsman to the Society, is so generally known and so highly appreciated wherever known, that it is only necessary, in order to introduce the subject of the following remarks, to remind the reader that it was left imperfect, in consequence of the author's sudden death, from a lamentable accident which occurred in the pursuit of his congenial profession. It was a part of Mr. Stothard's plan to have included in his work a complete series of the effigies of the Kings and Queens of this country; and for that purpose he visited France, and brought from Fontevraud [Map] his drawings of the statues of Henry the Second and his Queen, of Richard the First, and of Isabella Queen of John; and from the Abbey of L'Espan, near le Mans, the effigy of Berengaria, Queen of Richard I., as well as the figure of Geoffrey, Comte of Anjou, from an enamelled Plate in the church of St. Julien at le Mans [Map]. There were others, however, and those by no means inferior to any in beauty or interest, which had been left, perhaps from the very reason of their being within immediate reach, until some convenient opportunity, which was frustrated by the premature close of the artist's career. I allude particularly to those^a of Queen Philippa, [her grandson] King Richard the Second, and his [her granddaughter-in-law] Queen Anne of Bohemia, all in Westminster Abbey.

Note a. Mr. Stothard also intended to have included in his work all the knightly effigies in the Temple church. Those he omitted will be given by the Messrs. Hollis.