Joan of Lancaster ( – 7 July 1349) sometimes called Joan Plantagenet after her dynasty's name, was the third daughter of

Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster ( – 22 September 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III of England (1216–1272) and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II of England, Edward II (1307–1327), his first c ...

and

Maud Chaworth Maud de Chaworth (2 February 1282 – 3 December 1322) was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. She was the only child of Patrick de Chaworth. Sometime before 2 March 1297, she married Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, by whom she had seven c ...

Royal family ties

Joan of Lancaster was born c. 1312 at

Grosmont Castle Grosmont Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly com ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. Her father was the son of

Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his chi ...

and

Blanche of Artois Blanche of Artois ( eu, Blanka; 1248 – 2 May 1302) was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne and Brie during her marriage to Henry I of Navarre. After his death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She passed o ...

, Queen Dowager of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, a granddaughter of

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

and

Blanche of Castile Blanche of Castile ( es, Blanca de Castilla; 4 March 1188 – 27 November 1252) was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during ...

. Her paternal great-grandparents were

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

and

Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253. ...

. Joan was thus doubly descended from Henry II and

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

. Joan's mother was a half-sister of Edward II's favorite,

Hugh le Despenser the Younger Hugh le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser (c. 1287/1289 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser), by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, ...

, through the remarriage of Maud's mother,

Isabella de Beauchamp Isabella de Beauchamp, Lady Kidwelly, Baroness Despenser (c. 1263 – before 30 May 1306), was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. Family Lady Isabella, or Isabel de Beauchamp,Hamilton, J. S"Despenser, Hugh, the elder, earl of Winchester" ...

, to

Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester Hugh le Despenser (1 March 126127 October 1326), sometimes referred to as "the Elder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England. He was created a baron in 1295 and Earl of Winchester in 1322. One day after being ...

. Joan had one brother,

Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster (– 23 March 1361) was an English statesman, diplomat, soldier, and Christian writer. The owner of Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, Grosmont was a member of the House of Plantagenet, which was ruling o ...

, and five sisters, Blanche, Baroness Wake of Liddell, Isabel, Abbess of

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...

, Maud, Countess of Ulster, Eleanor, Countess of Arundel and Warenne, and Mary, Baroness Percy. Joan's niece,

Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Ulster Elizabeth de Burgh, Duchess of Clarence, ''suo jure'' 4th Countess of Ulster and 5th Baroness of Connaught (; ; 6 July 1332 – 10 December 1363) was a Norman-Irish noblewoman who married Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. Family Elizab ...

, married

Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368) was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of the English king Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. He was named after his birthplace, at Antwerp in the Duch ...

, the second surviving son of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

and

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...

, a marriage that would create a line of descent to strengthen the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

claim to the throne in the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. Another niece,

Blanche of Lancaster Blanche of Lancaster (25 March 1342 – 12 September 1368) was a member of the English royal House of Plantagenet and the daughter of the kingdom's wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. She was the first w ...

, married the third surviving son of Edward III,

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, and became the mother of the first Lancastrian king of England, Henry IV.

Marriage and children

Joan married

John de Mowbray, 3rd Baron Mowbray John (II) de Mowbray, 3rd Baron Mowbray (29 November 1310 – 4 October 1361) was the only son of John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray, by his first wife, Aline de Brewes, daughter of William de Braose, 2nd Baron Braose. He was born in Hovingham, ...

on 28th of February 1327. They had three children: * Blanche de Mowbray (died 1409), who was married five times - first, to John de Segrave; second, to Robert Bertram; third, to Thomas Poynings; fourth, to Sir John Worth; and fifth, to Sir John Wiltshire. * Eleanor de Mowbray (d. 29 June 1387), who was married twice - first, to

Roger la Warr, 3rd Baron De La Warr Roger la Warr, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1326–1370),{{Cite book , last=Weis , first=Frederick Lewis , title=Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, 8th Edition , publisher=Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. , ye ...

(1326-1370) as his third wife, before 23 July 1358; and second, to Sir Lewis de Clifford. *

John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray John (III) de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray (24 June 1340 – 19 October 1368) was an English peer. He was slain near Constantinople while en route to the Holy Land. Family John de Mowbray, born 25 June 1340 at Epworth, Lincolnshire, was the son o ...

(25 June 1340 – 1368), married Elizabeth de Segrave Joan died in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

. She was interred at

Byland Abbey Byland Abbey is a ruined abbey and a small village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors National Park. History It was founded as a Savigniac abbey in January 1135 and was absorbed by the Cistercian order ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

Ancestry

References

Works cited * * 1312 births 1349 deaths House of Plantagenet 14th-century deaths from plague (disease) People from Monmouthshire Daughters of British earls Mowbray {{England-bio-stub