Joan of the Tower

Joan of The Tower
Queen consort of Scotland
Tenure	7 June 1329 – 7 September 1362
Coronation	November 1331
Born	(1321-07-05)5 July 1321 Tower of London, London
Died	7 September 1362(1362-09-07) (aged 41) Hertford Castle, Hertfordshire
Burial	Grey Friars Church, London
Spouse	David II, King of Scots m. 17 July 1328; dec. 7 September 1362
House	House of Plantagenet
Father	Edward II of Carnarvon, King of England
Mother	Isabella of France

Joan of England (5 July 1321 – 7 September 1362), known as Joan of The Tower, was the first wife and Queen consort of king David II of Scotland.

Birth

She was born in the Tower of London and was the youngest daughter of Edward II of England and Isabella of France. Her siblings included Edward III of England, John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall and Eleanor of Woodstock.

Marriage

Joan & David II with Philip VI of France.

In accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Northampton, she was married on 17 July 1328 (at seven years of age) to David II of Scotland at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Despite their marriage lasting thirty-four years, it was childless and apparently loveless. On 7 June 1329, her father-in-law Robert I of Scotland died and David II became King. He was crowned at Scone in November 1331.

Queen

Owing to the victory of Edward III of England and his protégé Edward Balliol at Halidon Hill in July 1333, David and his Queen were sent for safety into France, reaching Boulogne in May 1334, where they were received by the French King, her relative Philip VI. Little is known about the life of the Scottish King and Queen in France, except that Château Gaillard was given to them as their residence and Philip treated them with regard. David was present at the bloodless meeting of the English and French armies at Vironfosse in October 1339.

Meanwhile David's representatives had obtained the upper hand in Scotland, and David and Joan were thus enabled to return to his kingdom in June 1341, when he took the reins of government into his own hands. In 1346, David II was taken prisoner at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346, and remained imprisoned in England for eleven years. Joan was allowed to visit him in the Tower of London a few times by her brother, but his imprisonment meant that, for Joan and David, no children were born during this time. After he was released in 1357, she decided to remain in England.

Death and burial

Joan was close to her mother, whom she nursed during her last days.

Joan herself died in 1362, aged 41, at Hertford Castle, Hertfordshire and was buried at the Grey Friars Church, London.

Ancestry

Family of Joan of the Tower

16. John of England 8. Henry III of England 17. Isabella of Angoulême 4. Edward I of England 18. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence 9. Eleanor of Provence 19. Beatrice of Savoy 2. Edward II of England 20. Alfonso IX of Leon 10. Ferdinand III of Castile 21. Berengaria of Castile 5. Eleanor of Castile 22. Simon, Count of Aumale 11. Joan, Countess of Ponthieu 23. Marie, Countess of Ponthieu 1. Joan of The Tower 24. Louis IX of France 12. Philip III of France 25. Margaret of Provence 6. Philip IV of France 26. James I of Aragon 13. Isabella of Aragon 27. Violant of Hungary 3. Isabella of France 28. Theobald I of Navarre 14. Henry I of Navarre 29. Margaret of Bourbon 7. Joan I of Navarre 30. Robert I of Artois 15. Blanche of Artois 31. Matilda of Brabant

References

• Alison Weir - Isabella the She Wolf of France