One of the primary duties of a king is to marry and produce heirs; at least one son, preferably two (just in case anything happened to the first). This guarantees the succession and offers stability to a country. Even daughters were useful to a king, their marriages cementing alliances with friends and enemies alike. Although he only had one legitimate son, William the Ӕtheling, and one legitimate daughter, Empress Matilda, Henry I had more than 20 illegitimate children by a succession of mistresses, including at least 10 daughters.
The king recognised his illegitimate children and the taint of bastardy, especially for his daughters, did not unduly affect their marriage prospects. They were used to strengthen and cement alliances just as legitimate princesses would have been. However, they did not pass on any claim to the English throne, thus being no threat to the king’s heirs, William and Matilda.
One of the most colourful of Henry I’s illegitimate daughters is Juliane (or Juliana), possibly the king’s daughter by his mistress, Ansfride. Ansfride was the widow of Anskill, a knight who was a tenant of Abingdon Abbey who had died following his imprisonment by King William II. It is thought that Ansfride had at least three children by Henry, including Richard of Lincoln, who had perished in the White Ship disaster. Little is known of another son, Foulques, who may have died young or become a monk.
The fact Richard and Juliane were close in age, and that Richard would later intercede for Juliane with their father, suggests they may have shared a mother. Although the argument is not infallible, Henry was known to be promiscuous and may have had more than one mistress at the same time.
Juliane was probably born in the late 1180s or early 1190s. Shortly after her father’s accession to the throne in 1100, Juliane was married to Eustace de Pacy, also known as Eustace de Breteuil, the illegitimate son of William de Breteuil. Orderic Vitalis recorded the marriages of both Juliane and her half-sister Matilda, saying of Eustace ‘The king gave him his daughter Juliana in marriage, and promised effective help against Gael and all his other enemies. At that time too the king married another of his daughters to Rotrou, count of Mortagne and she bore her husband a daughter called Philippa.’1
Chateau d’Ivry la Bataille, Normandy (wiki)
The death of Eustace’s father caused conflict between William de Breteuil’s possible heirs. Eustace’s main rivals were his cousins William de Gael and Reginald de Grancey. De Gael died shortly afterwards, leaving Reginald and Eustace to fight it out, each drawing in neighbouring lords and magnates as allies, devastating and destabilising the region. When Eustace approached Henry I for aid, the marriage was arranged between Eustace and Juliane. The Normans, according to Vitalis ‘accepted Eustace, his son by a concubine, because they chose to be ruled by a fellow countryman who was a bastard rather than by a legitimate Breton or Burgundian.’2
Henry I’s direct involvement thus brought the conflict quickly to an end, securing Eustace’s position and, by extension, his loyalty. The king then took the opportunity to impose his own garrison on the strategically important castle at Ivry, giving him a direct military presence in the region, in addition to the family connections fostered through his daughter, Juliane.
Eustace and Juliane had at least three children. Their son, William, succeeded his father as Seigneur de Pacy and tried unsuccessfully to recover Breteuil, which had been given to Ralph de Gael, the son of William de Gael. Although we do not have their names, Juliane and Eustace also had 2 daughters, whose gruesome fate is often laid at Henry I’s door (more on that shortly). It was over Henry’s control of Ivry that the king and his son-in-law came into conflict in 1119. According to Orderic Vitalis, Eustace had made many appeals to King Henry over the years, asking for the stronghold’s restoration to his domains. Eustace was ‘urged by his compatriots and kinsmen’ to press the king for the restoration of Ivry.
Henry I, Lincoln Cathedral Gallery of Kings
Henry prevaricated, saying that he would return Ivry at a future date and giving Eustace the son of Ralph Harenc, the castle’s custodian, as a hostage. In return, Eustace’s two daughters were sent to King Henry as hostages. An exchange of hostages as guarantees of good behaviour, or an adherence to an agreement, were commonplace in Norman times. And surely, Juliane and Eustace would have been reassured that their daughters were safe and well cared for in their grandfather’s custody.
For some unknown reason, and supposedly at the urging of his ally Amaury de Montfort, Eustace mutilated the boy, blinding him before sending him back to his father. Eustace may have believed that his familial relationship with King Henry would shield him from any reprisals. If he did, he was soon to be disabused of such confidence. Harenc went straight to the king and told him of the injuries Eustace had inflicted upon his son. Deeply moved by his vassal’s experience, the king handed over his two granddaughters:
‘Ralph Harenc took Eustace’s daughters with the permission of the angry king and avenged his son by cruelly putting out their eyes and cutting off the tips of their nostrils. So innocent childhood, alas! suffered for the sins of the fathers, and the feelings of both parents were roused by the suffering and maiming of their offspring.’3
The king also consoled Harenc with gifts and the return of the castle at Ivry. As you would expect, when Juliane and Eustace were informed of their daughters’ fate, they ‘were in great distress.’4 Eustace then fortified his castles at Lire, Glos, Pont Saint-Pierre and Pacy, and ‘sent his wife Juliana, who was the king’s daughter by a concubine, to Breteuil, and provided her with the knights necessary to defend the fortress.’5
Not wanting to anger King Henry, the burgesses of Breteuil sent messages to the king, informing him of Juliane’s occupation of the fortress. Henry I immediately rode to the town, where the gates were readily opened for him. He then ‘laid siege to the castle in which his defiant daughter had shut herself up.’6
14th century depiction of a woman with a crossbow
Apparently, Juliane appealed to her father. Asking for a meeting, though, according to Orderic Vitalis, it was with evil intent. Juliane ‘hoped to murder him. She had a crossbow ready drawn for the purpose and shot a bolt at her father.’7 If you hadn’t yet worked it out, Juliane’s relationship with her father, by this point, was at an all-time low. There must have been hurt on both sides. Juliane’s two daughters had been maimed and permanently disfigured, if not by Henry’s orders, then at least by his acquiescence. Ralph Harenc would not have undertaken such a horrific action if he was not assured of the king’s support. Henry, on the other hand, now had his own grievance in his daughter’s attempt to kill him. In no mood to attempt appeasement or reconciliation,
‘The king immediately had the castle drawbridge destroyed, so that no one could enter or leave. Juliana, seeing that she was completely surrounded and that no one was at hand to help her, surrendered the castle to the king, but could find no means of persuading him to allow her to leave freely. Indeed by the king’s command she was forced to leap down from the walls, with no bridge or support, and fell shamefully, with bare buttocks, into the depths of the moat. This happened at the beginning of Lent, in the third week of February, when the castle moat was full to overflowing with winter rains, and the frozen waters naturally struck numbing cold into the tender flesh of the woman when she fell. The unlucky Amazon got out of the predicament shamefully as best she could and, withdrawing to her husband who was then at Pacy.’8
King Henry rewarded the burgesses of Breteuil with gifts and, not long after, gave the town to Ralph de Gael. Ralph had been one of the claimants of Breteuil on the death of Eustace’s father, William. He was the second son of William’s sister, Emma, and had been, according to Vitalis, William’s preferred heir at the time of his death. Ralph de Gael was given the entire lordship, save for Pacy which was still being held by Eustace. Eventually, Juliane and Eustace were reconciled with Henry I, possibly through the intervention of Juliane’s brother, Richard of Lincoln. Richard certainly spoke up for his sister in the king’s presence and ‘pleaded his sister’s cause.’9 He may well have been working behind the scenes to persuade their father to accept his sister’s submission, when it came. Friends of the couple also spoke up for them.
Rebellion against the king was not as fatalistic an action as it would be in the later medieval period. Nobles tended to keep their heads, at the expense of a forfeiture of lands. Which meant that submitting to the king meant a loss of pride and income but was not accompanied by a danger to life itself, not even if you had attempted to murder your royal father!
As always in the case of Eustace and Juliane, Vitalis credits their advisers in helping them make their decisions. And it is these counsellors, according to Vitalis, who persuaded Eustace and Juliane to approach the king whilst he was besieging Évreux. The couple
The arms of the town of Breteuil
‘hurried to the siege, entered the king’s tent barefoot, and fell at his feet. The king said to them in astonishment, “Why have you dared to approach me without my safe-conduct, after provoking me by so many wrongs?” To which Eustace replied, “You are my natural lord. Therefore I come to you without fear as to my lord, to offer my service loyally to you, and to make full restitution for my misdeeds, as you in your just compassion judge to be right.”’10
Appeased, the king was moved to mercy and ordered that Juliane should return to Pacy, whilst Eustace was to accompany the king to Rouen to ‘hear what is my pleasure.’11 Eustace must have accompanied his father-in-law with trepidation, waiting to hear how much his rebellion will cost him. And Juliane, awaiting news at Pacy, must have been no less anxious as to her husband’s fate and that of their lands. The king had already given Breteuil to Eustace’s cousin but offered Eustace ‘an annual rent of three hundred marks of silver in England.’12 Eustace was not to lose any more land and retained Pacy as his own fief, that would descend to his son.
Eustace ‘fortified Pacy with walls and watch-towers, and lived for more than twenty years, enjoying great wealth.’13 Eustace died at Pacy in February 1136. It is not known by how long Juliane survived him, her date of death has gone unrecorded but she ‘abandoned the self-indulgent life she had led for the religious life and, becoming a nun, served the Lord God in the new abbey of Fontevrault.’14 No mention is made of the fate of the couple’s unfortunate daughters; disfigured as they were, it is possible they sought seclusion in an abbey. The poor girls had paid a high price for their parents’ rebellion.
Juliane of Fontevrault was by far the most adventurous and notorious of Henry I’s numerous illegitimate daughters.
Notes:
1. Vitalis, The ecclesiastical history of Orderic Vitalis, vol. 6, p. 41; 2. ibid; 3. ibid, p. 213; 4. ibid; 5. ibid; 6. ibid; 7. ibid, pp. 213-215; 8, ibid, p. 215; 9. ibid, p. 279; 10. ibid; 11. ibid; 12. ibid; 13. ibid; 14. ibid
Vitalis, The ecclesiastical history of Orderic Vitalis, vol. 6; oxforddnb.com;Donald Matthew, King Stephen; Robert Bartlett, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings; David Williamson, Brewer’s British Royalty; the History Today Companion to British History; Dan Jones, the Plantagenets; englishmonarchs.co.uk; The Oxford Companion to British History Edited by John Cannon; Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British kings & Queens; Alison Weir, Britain’s Royal Families, the Complete Genealogy; medievalilsts.net; The Plantagenet Chronicles Edited by Elizabeth Hallam; The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle, edited by Elisabeth Van Houts and Rosalind C. Love; Cockayne, G.E., The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct or dormant; fmg.ac, Catherine Hanely, Matilda; Henry of Huntingdon, The History of the English People1000-1154
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Sharon is also the author of:
Heroines of the Medieval World; Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest; Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England; Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey; King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye; Women of the Anarchy; Heroines of the Tudor World; Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark; Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest (March 2026); Princesses of the Later Middle Ages; Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets (August 2026)
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
I have been quiet for a couple of weeks as I was preparing for – and then taking part in – the Plantagenet Heroines Tour organised by Plantagenet Discoveries. The inspiration of the wonderful Maxine Sommer, Plantagenet Discoveries allows guests to follow in the footsteps of some of the greats of medieval history.
The tour lasted 9 days, though I was only with it for the first 7 days, acting as the tour guide and answering any and all questions from the guests – and there were a LOT of questions.
It was my first time as a ‘resident historian’ and I was not quite sure what to expect or how I would handle being ‘always on’ from the moment I awoke to getting back to my room at night. I needn’t have worried. History is my ‘thing’ and talking about it from morning until night was an absolute pleasure, and quite the adrenalin rush.
I met the tour leaders and 6 guests at an informal ‘getting to know you’ gathering in London on the Friday night. All 6 guests were women travelling alone, with one each coming from Ireland and Sweden, 2 from Australia and 2 from the US. All of us had one thing in common – a love of history.
My fist day involved an early rise and breakfast at the hotel in London before meeting out minibus driver for the week, Roger, and setting off at 8.30 am for our first destination: Old Sarum. Arriving on the outskirts of Salisbury at 10.30, we had a good explore of the old ruins. Old Sarum was home to Ela of Salisbury, and prison – even if it was gilded – to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It also gave me the chance to talk about all 3 of Eleanor’s Plantagenet daughters. It is not hard to imagine the magnificence and splendour of the lost castle, especially given the size of the foundations that remain. Even as you can see the ‘new’ cathedral (the foundations were laid in 1220) in the distance, so too can you walk around the floor plan of the old cathedral.
Coombe Abbey
If only these walls could talk, what stories they could tell.
I tried to do them justice. It was my first day and my narrative was a little stilted – I was still trying to find my feet but I was beginning to find my stride, answering questions, offering observations and analysis. Though I did often forget my place – I wasn’t on holiday. But talking history never feels like I’m working.
After lunch at the nearby Harvester – literally, you drove from the Old Sarum car park, turned right and the Harvester was on the left, with a view of Old Sarum from its door – we made our way to Coventry, and Coombe Abbey, our hotel for the night. I was particularly excited to stay at Coombe Abbey. Founded by the de Camville family, Nicholaa de la Haye‘s second husband, Gerard de Camville, is buried there – somewhere. Unfortunately, I did not find his burial place but the abbey itself did not disappoint. We enjoyed a 3-course meal that evening, breakfast and a wander around the grounds in the morning. The abbey retains many of its medieval features, with stone archways, a pulpit and the tomb of a murdered abbot, with a grand staircase and sumptuous bedrooms added to it. I didn’t want to leave!
And I definitely want to go back!
Kenilworth Castle
Sunday was a 2-castle day.
The morning was spent at Kenilworth Castle. Famous for its links to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester – Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite – it was a vast castle belonging to the medieval earls of Leicester. Simon de Montfort and his royal wife, Eleanor of England, lived here. In fact, after Simon’s death, his supporters continued to hold the castle through a 9-month long siege – the longest siege on English soil. John of Gaunt turned Kenilworth from a medieval fortress into a royal palace and it became one of the favourite residences, outside of London, of Margaret of Anjou.
There was much to explore, from the ‘new’ building of Dudley to the old Great Hall of Gaunt. So many stairs!
Discussion ranged from Simon de Montfort (we don’t like him) to Edward I, Henry III, the Battles of Lewes and Evesham and Eleanor’s teenage vow of chastity that lasted until she saw Simon de Montfort and married him. Which inevitably led to a discussion of Sharon Penman novels and the fates of Simon and Eleanor’s daughter, Eleanor de Montfort, and granddaughter, Princess Gwenllian.
The history I told was inspired by the castle itself and the questions of the guests, giving as much information as I could about the women, in particular, who would have known Kenilworth in its glory days.
The vaulted ceiling in the chapel at Conisbrough Castle
Our next stop was Conisbrough Castle. Definitely firmer ground for me. I was in my element. This is MY castle. I have told its story for over 30 years, both as a tour guide and writer. I wrote a book about the family who built it and, as you know, countless articles. So, I did my usual tour, going through the story of Ambrosius Aurelianus, through William de Warenne, the first earl, Hamelin, the man who built the keep, the visits of Henry II, King John and Edward II to the marital woes of John de Warenne, the 7th and last Earl of Warenne and Surrey. And not to forget the links to the house of York, to Richard III being the last to spend money on the castle in 1484.
We stood in the little chapel on the top floor of the keep, contemplating those kings who had knelt on those stones and prayed., You could feel the history around us.
That evening, we arrived at our base for the next 3 days, The Grand Hotel at York. And grand it was, indeed. A 5-star hotel with underfloor heating in the bathroom, it had once been the grand headquarters of LNER – the London and North Eastern Railways.. Once we were unpacked, we were treated to another sumptuous 3-course meal – I had a 50-layer lasagne. Even though I was walking over 10,000 steps a day, there was no way I would lose weight on this holiday – er, work trip!
Monday was spent in County Durham, with connections to the royal House of York everywhere!
Paintings in the chapel of Raby Castle
In the morning, we were treated to a private tour of Raby Castle. the wonderful guide, Marian, answered questions, pointed out the must-see parts of the castle and took us ‘behind the scenes’ to see the room that had once been the bedroom of none other than Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and mother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III. The stunning chapel includes paintings of Cecily and her mother Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.
After lunch, we had a short visit into Staindrop, to St Mary’s Church, where Joan’s husband, Ralph Neville, is buried alone, though in a triple tomb atop which lay the effigies of Ralph and both his first wife, Margaret Stafford, and Joan herself. And I got to tell the story of Joan, her marriages and children and the influence she had on the events of the 15th century.
It was then just a 15-minute drive up the road to Barnard Castle. But my joke about getting my eyes tested landed flat – only the driver got it.
Barnard Castle has links, of course, to the earls of Warwick and to Richard III but instead I indulged my love of Scottish History by telling our guests about John Balliol, Scotland’s king who was also lord of Barnard Castle. Which story, of course, led into Robert the Bruce, Elizabeth de Burgh, the women of Bruce‘s affinity imprisoned by Edward I as well as David II and Joan Makepeace and Scotland’s Wars of Independence.
York Minster at sunset
I had definitely found my stride.
Dinner that evening was at a pub, the Guy Fawkes, in York and the next day we spent the morning in York Minster, where Edward III married Philippa of Hainault and where their baby son, William of Hatfield is buried. This was followed by a walk down the Shambles and a climb up Clifford’s Tower. The afternoon was free, so I joined a couple of the guests for lunch, followed by a wander around the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and a visit to Jorvik Viking Centre.
After dinner in a quiet pub that evening, we took a wander to the Minster and saw the sunset on the River Ouse. The Minster bells were peeling. Indeed, the bells of all the churches in York were ringing to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II.
We left York the next morning, heading for Lincoln.
But you cannot take international travelers to Yorkshire without taking them to our very own World Heritage Site, Fountains Abbey. The morning was spent in the peaceful surroundings of the abbey. Definitely a much-needed change of pace for a few hours. Though we did get into a little discussion about whether or not the story of Abelard and Heloise is a love story, or something more sinister…
The view from my room in the White Hart Hotel, Lincoln
We arrived in Lincoln at 3.30 that afternoon and headed straight for the castle. Staying at the White Hart Hotel, situated between castle and cathedral, was perfect – my room even had a stunning view of the cathedral!
Now, we were on my home turf. We had already discussed Nicholaa de la Haye at Coombe Abbey, but now I could show everyone her castle. The staff at the castle were incredibly forthcoming about Magna Carta, the 1217 Battle of Lincoln and their visiting artefact – the Chronica Maiora of Matthew Paris which was opened at the image of the battle.
Another after dinner stroll took us around the cathedral close, a walk we repeated in daylight the following morning, so I could point out the statues of Eleanor of Castile, Edward I and Margaret of France, the gold crown to commemorate Elizabeth II and the two houses associated with Katherine Swynford.
One of the highlights of the whole tour was to be able to take the guests into Lincoln Cathedral and show them the tombs of Katherine and her daughter Joan. There was a graduation event going on, for the University of Lincoln, but that did not particularly hinder our visit. We could not access the nave but we could visit the Angel Choir, the chantry chapels and the shrine of St Hugh, as well as the cloisters, the Chapter House and the cathedral museum – I had to point out Nicholaa’s seal!
My final duty was to join everyone for lunch in the Magna Carta pub, which turned into an impromptu book launch celebration for Princesses of the Early Middle Ages, as I got my first sight of my new book. As the tour continued down to London, to visit Leeds Castle and Canterbury Cathedral on the Saturday, I said my goodbyes with hugs and a few tears – and instructions for each and everyone of them to get in touch the next time they are in England.
I slept for 12 hours that night.
I was exhausted. My throat was raw from all the talking. But I had had a fabulous time. I hope that my snippets of information throughout the tour – including texted instructions of what to look out for in Canterbury Cathedral – made the holiday experience that little bit better for the guests.
Did I enjoy it? Most definitely! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Would I recommend the tour to anyone wanting to discover England’s rich history? Oh yes!
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Sharon is the author of:
Heroines of the Medieval World; Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest; Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England; Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey; King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye; Women of the Anarchy; Heroines of the Tudor World; Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark; Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest (March 2026); Princesses of the Later Middle Ages; Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets (August 2026)
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
We have a wonderful guest on History… the Interesting Bits today. To celebrate the paperback release of her wonderful dual biography of Philippa of Hainault and Alice Perrers, The Queen and the Mistress, Gemma Hollman is here to tell us about one of the primary duties of a queen.
Philippa of Hainault and the Power of Pregnant Queens
Philippa of Hainault
Medieval queens had many duties in life. They were to act as symbols of peace, their choice of spouse often made to end wars or confirm alliances; they were to intercede for the needy, obtaining pardons for criminals; they were to be charitable to the poor; patrons of artists, writers, and architects; and support their husbands in their difficult task as ruler. But, most importantly of all, they were to produce heirs.
This last role is most notable to us peering back through the actions of Henry VIII, whose quest for a male heir was part of his motivation in cycling through an unprecedented number of English queens. Medieval monarchs did not generally go to such extremes, and childless queens could and did exist – and could still wield significant power. But for those who did succeed, they could find a new level of status and influence unlocked for them.
Philippa of Hainault was the daughter of the Count and Countess of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, a collection of territories in the Low Countries. Her homeland was wealthy from trade, and positioned to require careful political manoeuvring between the kingdoms of England and France. When the queen of England, Isabella of France, approached the Count and Countess for a marriage alliance between her son Edward and their daughter Philippa, they leapt at the chance to know their daughter would one day become a queen.
Isabella of France
The couple were teenagers, and the first few years of their marriage were hardly auspicious. Isabella of France had overthrown her husband, Edward II, and had her son made Edward III in his place. But though Philippa had thus become a queen far earlier than anticipated, she and her husband were kept under Isabella’s thumb. She did not want to give up her position at the top of the ladder. This was where Philippa would first discover the power of pregnancy for a queen.
Philippa fell pregnant around aged 15, and this was to change the course of her and her husband’s lives. Firstly, Philippa had never had a coronation, Isabella not wanting to have a rival as a consecrated consort. But now that Philippa would be giving birth to the new heir to the throne, it was unthinkable that she would remain uncrowned to do so. Whilst five months pregnant, she proceeded through London to receive her crown, the coronation sermons which reminded the queen of her duty to produce children seeming both poignant and redundant. Becoming pregnant had given Philippa her first taste of power.
That summer, Philippa gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and the English throne could breathe a sigh of relief that the succession was, for now, secured. The advent of a son also gave Edward III the push he needed to finally claim power for himself, overthrowing the rule of his mother and her lover. Philippa’s pregnancy had thus benefitted her husband, too.
Across the course of their marriage, Philippa was to give birth to twelve children, although sadly many did not outlive her. But each of these children bolstered Edward’s power, giving him bargaining chips to expand his empire through marriage alliances – or the promises of them. In turn, they provided status for Philippa, who was seen to have amply fulfilled the most important of queenly duties. They also gave her much comfort on a personal level, the queen being noted for keeping her children within her own household, rather than sending them away as was not uncommon.
The Burghers of Calais
Pregnancy also became a powerful mythmaking tool for Philippa. In the 1340s, Edward III spent the best part of a year besieging the key French port city of Calais. If he could capture Calais, then he would show his might to the French kingdom, and have a huge victory on his road to attempting to claim the French throne for himself. Philippa, as a loyal and loving wife, spent many months outside the walls with her husband, keeping him company during the siege and providing morale to the soldiers. Finally, the city surrendered. Edward had his day of glory.
However, the citizens of Calais were mournful of their fate. Many of them had died of starvation and disease, and those who had survived now had to leave their homes and belongings behind, all of which were now property of the English king. More importantly, the most prominent men of the city, known as burghers, knew that their lives were forfeit. In the face of such a lengthy siege, the leaders were often executed. The men came out of the city with nooses around their neck and surrendered themselves into Edward’s hands.
According to legend, Edward wished to go ahead with this punishment, and would not listen to any of his lords who pled for mercy. Suddenly, Queen Philippa of Hainault, who was exceedingly heavy with child, fell to her husband’s feet, weeping and begging him to spare the men. Overcome with emotion at seeing his dear, pregnant wife in such a state, Edward agreed to pardon the men, and handed them into Philippa’s custody.
Edward III
In reality, we know from records of Philippa’s other births that she could not have been pregnant at this time. The image of a pregnant queen was so powerful to medieval minds, that storytellers and chroniclers often leveraged it to make their story more meaningful. Philippa may well have interceded for the burghers, but she did not do so pregnant.
Philippa died in 1369 aged around 55, and she was surrounded by her husband and several of her surviving children. Asking Edward that he would be buried beside her when he died, so they could rest together forever, the king agreed; their tombs still stand in Westminster Abbey today. The country mourned the death of their great queen, who had been a steadying presence for four decades. Her many children and their spouses were represented on her tomb as little statues around the sides, reminding everyone even in death of the power of her pregnancies.
About the Book:
IN A WORLD WHERE MAN IS KING, CAN WOMEN REALLY HAVE IT ALL – AND KEEP IT?
Philippa of Hainault was Queen of England for forty-one years. Her marriage to Edward III, when they were both teenagers, was more political transaction than romantic wedding, but it would turn into a partnership of deep affection. The mother of twelve children, she was the perfect medieval queen: pious, unpolitical and fiercely loyal to both her king and adopted country.
Alice Perrers entered court as a young widow and would soon catch the eye of an ageing king whose wife was dying. Born to a family of London goldsmiths, this charismatic and highly intelligent woman would use her position as the king’s favourite to build up her own portfolio of land, wealth and prestige, only to see it all come crashing down as Edward himself neared death.
The Queen and the Mistress is a story of female power and passion, and how two very different women used their skills and charms to navigate a tumultuous royal court – and win the heart of the same man.
Author bio: Gemma Hollman is a historian and author who specialises in late medieval English history. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, she has a particular interest in the plethora of strong, intriguing and complicated women from the medieval period, a time she had always been taught was dominated by men. Gemma also works full-time in the heritage industry whilst running her historical blog, Just History Posts, which explores all periods of history in more depth. Gemma’s first book, Royal Witches, was a bestseller, and two more books have since followed: The Queen and the Mistress, and Women in the Middle Ages.
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Sharon is the author of:
Heroines of the Medieval World; Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest; Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England; Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey; King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye; Women of the Anarchy; Heroines of the Tudor World; Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark; Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest (March 2026); Princesses of the Later Middle Ages; Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets (August 2026)
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
1360: Having left her days of rebellion behind, Jeanette of Kent has finally found contentment as a wife and mother. Then, she is delivered a new blow: her beloved husband, Thomas Holland, has died on duty overseas.
Though broken, Jeanette readies herself once more to fight to protect what is hers. And when Prince Edward, heir to the throne and her longtime friend, unexpectedly steps forward and offers marriage, she accepts for the sake of her family.
As their relationship deepens, love blossoms again for Jeanette, but it comes at a price. With great power comes great responsibility – not least bearing a future king – and, as the wheel of fortune climbs higher, it becomes harder and harder to hold on.
Jeanette has more to lose than ever before. But with the wolves gathering beneath her, can she survive the fall?
From the award-winning and bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick comes the much-awaited second novel in the Jeanette of Kent duology, The Crownless Queen – bringing to a powerful conclusion the remarkable story of a woman who began life as a royal rebel and ended it behind the throne…
My new measure of how good is a book by Elizabeth Chadwick is the number of times it makes me cry – and how soon into the book it happens. With The Crownless Queen, I was an emotional wreck after the first chapter. This is the second book in a duology, telling the story of Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, who had a rather chequered marital history. The book opens where The Royal Rebel ended, with Jeanette happily married to Thomas Holland. But the news (spoiler alert!) soon arrives of his death. Well, I was in tears. And it’s not like I don’t know the story – I have written about it myself on more than one occasion. But it was sad to read about the death of the man Joan had fought so hard to be with.
And it was an early indication of the emotional rollercoaster on which I was about to embark
Elizabeth Chadwick has a knack of making her historical characters feel ‘present’, and of getting her readers to feel invested in the lives of people who lived almost 700 years ago!
How does she do it?
The next day’s biting cold did not deter the men from their intention of riding out to hunt in the park beyond the palace complex. They gathered in the courtyard soon after a red sunrise and stood in breath-misted groups, talking, jesting, bonding as the grooms brought the horses and the dogs milled underfoot, snuffling, eager to be away.
Standing on the periphery to wave them off, Jeanette heard Edward ask Tom to hand him his gauntlets, which the boy did with careful alacrity, his cheeks rosy-bright with cold. Edward pulled them on, clenching his fists to ease the fit over his knuckles before turning to his black courses. He swung effortlessly into the saddle, long-legged, powerful. One hand on his thigh, the other gripping the reins, he observed Tom mounting his own pony and remarked positively on his horsemanship. Tom jutted his chin with pride and flicked Edward a worshipping look. Then Edward similarly complimented Johan and winked at him as he managed his sturdy little bay.
Jeanette smiled at the exchange while feeling a little sad. Her longing for Thomas was still strong this morning, like a shadow at her side. She wishes she had gone with him to Rouen, but there had been business to deal with at home and he had assured her it would not be for long. Nut it was three months now, and in the short winter daylight it felt like for evere.
The king gestured from the saddle of his dappled stallion and the fewterers blew the hunting horns, sounding the way. In a clatter of hooves and exuberant shouts, the company departed at the brisk trot, dogs straining their leashes and already giving excited tongue. Tom and Johan were too busy staying close to the Prince, their hero to turn and wave to her, and Jeanette recognised yet another sign of their all too rapid travel towards independent manhood.
When the last rider had clattered from the yard leaving the grooms to sweep up the dung, she set out with her two closest ladies, Hawise and Eleanor, to walk Hal and Nimble. Her daughters had remained behind in the communal royal nursery with their playmates, which meant Jeanette could stride out as she loved to do.
Elizabeth Chadwick conducts exemplary research for all her books. Her insistence on not changing the facts we do know adds an extra level of authenticity to her storytelling. Where Elizabeth excels is in the grey areas, where the facts are confusing or incomplete. Here, she presents the most likely scenario that will move the story along. It also means the reader gets a strong sense of the internal politics, familial alliances and machinations of the court of Edward III – and of the 14th century as a whole.
As The Crownless Queen demonstrates, Elizabeth Chadwick knows her characters so completely and intimately that she knows what they would do in most situations. And it is not just Edward and Jeanette (the Black Prince and Joan of Kent). John of Gaunt is a living, breathing character who grows and develops, nurturing his own relationship with Jeanette as a friend and sister. Other characters, prominent at Edward III’s court, such as Alice Perrers and Katherine Swynford, also play significant roles in the story, making the novel a fine-woven tapestry of the events of the 14th century.
The future Richard II, Jeanette’s youngest child, shows his personality at an early age. He is not just another child in the nursery, but one who is developing a personality and showing himself to be a big part of Jeanette’s story, just like his older Holland half-siblings. He has a fascination for pageantry and kingship; a foreshadowing of the king who defined ‘majesty’ and ‘tyranny’ in the same reign. Elizabeth Chadwick’s version of Richard reminded me of Helen Castor’s assessment of Richard’s childhood in The Eagle and the Hart and how the young prince was affected by his father’s ailing health, the hopes of the dynasty on his shoulders, and the lack of siblings his own age. All factors which contributed to Richard’s personality as king.
The Crownless Queen is an entertaining, engrossing novel that also gives plenty of food for thought for the historian. It flows beautifully through the story of the marriage of Jeanette and her prince. I loved every word!
It may rival The Greatest Knight as my favourite Elizabeth Chadwick novel – at least until her novel on Katherine Swynford comes out!
Buy the book:The Crownless Queen
About the author:
New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick lives in a cottage in the Vale of Belvoir in Nottinghamshire with her husband and their 4 terriers, Pip, Jack, Billy and Little Ted. Her first novel, The Wild Hunt, won a Betty Trask Award and To Defy a King won the RNA’s 2011 Historical Novel Prize. She was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Award in 1998 for The Champion, in 2001 for Lords of the White Castle, in 2002 for The Winter Mantle and in 2003 for The Falcons of Montabard. Her sixteenth novel, The Scarlet Lion, was nominated by Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Society, as one of the top ten historical novels of the last decade. She often lectures at conferences and historical venues, has been consulted for television documentaries and is a member of the Royal Historical Society.
For more details on Elizabeth Chadwick and her books, visit http://www.elizabethchadwick.com, follow her on Twitter, read her blogs or chat to her on her friendly Facebook page.
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Sharon is the author of:
Heroines of the Medieval World; Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest; Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England; Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey; King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye; Women of the Anarchy; Heroines of the Tudor World; Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark; Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest (March 2026); Princesses of the Later Middle Ages; Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets (August 2026)
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
Just a quick post to let you all know that my latest book, Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is released today in the UK.
Unfortunately, Amazon don’t have their copies yet and so have changed the publication date, but they should get their books in the next couple of days. In the meantime, if you have ordered direct from my publisher, Pen and Sword, your books should be on their way shortly.
About the book:
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Huge thanks to Historical Writers Association, Moniek Bloks, Matthew Harffy and Tony Riches for spreading the news today – your support means everything to me!
You can read about Princesses of the Early Middle Ages at:
And if you are across the pond, don’t worry, there’s not long to wait. The US release is just 2 months away, on 30 May 2026.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Coming 30 August: Princesses of the Later Middle Ages
‘My daughter wanted me to treat her more like a princess. So, I married her to a stranger to strengthen the alliance with Poland!’
The medieval princess has often been portrayed as a pawn in the political machinations of her father or brother, married off to distant lands for the sake of peace, or land, or both. Never to be seen or thought of again.
But was that really her fate?
Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets examines the lives and experiences of England’s princesses, from the treasured daughters of Henry III to the children of Edward IV, whose lives were turned upside down when they were declared illegitimate.
What we see is a very different story, where a foreign marriage does not mean eternal exile, but a purpose in life, where a princess is a diplomat, an ambassador for England in her new country. She is the bond between allies – most of the time.
Princesses of the Later Middle Ages shines a light on the lives and experiences of these remarkable women.
Princesses of the Later Middle Ages is now available for pre-order.
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
I am very happy to announce that Lincoln Castle have brought back their wonderful Lunchtime Talks program for 2026 and they have asked ME! to give a talk about my favourite medieval heroine and Lincoln Castle’s own Nicholaa de la Haye.
The constable of Lincoln Castle for more than 50 years, Nicholaa faced down three sieges and was created sheriff of Lincolnshire in her own right. During the First Barons’ War, in the aftermath of Magna Carta, and following the death of King John, Nicholaa helped the great William Marshal defeat the rebel barons and send their French allies home. Acting ‘manfully’ and ‘without thinking of anything womanly,’ Nicholaa was the woman who saved England.
Nicholaa was amazing!
Date: 11 April 2026
Time: 1-2pm
Place: Lincoln Castle
And at only £5 a ticket, with a complimentary cup of tea or coffee, what have you got to lose?
Places are limited, so book early. To book your ticket, just CLICK HERE!
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For more forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
For a historian who focuses on the lives of medieval women, Women’s History Month is always exciting. And this year, it is even more so as I have a book coming out at the end of the month.
Schools
On Friday 6 March I spent the day at the King’s Leadership Academy in Bolton, Manchester, where they were having a Drop-Down International Women’s Day and had invited me as a guest speaker. I presented two talks, one to the Year 7s on the Women of the Anarchy and the other to the Year 8s on my Ladies of Magna Carta. I love that the school is keen to incorporate the study of Women’s History into their curriculum, especially their Challenges to Kingship module which features my heroine, Matilda de Braose. The students were very impressive – both in their behaviour and in their own knowledge of the period.
Future generations will know that women had just as much input in our history as the men did. I will make sure of it!
I do love speaking in schools. The energy and enthusiasm of the students is always infectious. And even the kids who don’t love History (I know, does not compute – how can you not love History?) seem to enjoy my talks.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate International Women’s Day or Women’s History Month.
I visited a school in February and spoke about the Women of the Anarchy and when the last slide went up (See image), the whole hall cheered. It made my day.
If you are a teacher and looking for a Historian to speak to your students, give me shout through my Contact me page. I don’t charge for schools, just ask that you cover my travel expenses.
Grantham Museum
I will be speaking on Lincolnshire’s Tudor Heroines at Grantham Museum on Friday 13th March at 2pm.
Renaissance women from writers and mistresses to martyrs, duchesses and queens. Featuring the stories of Katherine Willoughby, Bessie Blount, Anne Askew and Katherine Parr, ‘Lincolnshire’s Tudor Heroines’ highlights the changes in society, religion and the royal court in the 16th century.
I am delighted to have been asked to take part in this year’s Online History Festival hosted by British History Events!
The theme and title of this year’s festival (their 6th) is ‘Defining Moments in British History’ – exploring six defining moments that have shaped Britain today. The festival is all online, taking place from the evening of Friday, 20th March until the evening of Sunday, 22nd March 2026.
In my lecture, Magna Carta: From Inception to Legacy, I will explore the reasons for Magna Carta, the civil war that followed its creation and the people who fought for it and used it to assert their own rights. And we will look at how relevant it still is today, even beyond England’s shores.
There will be 6 talks from leading historians (including myself!), a live Q&A with all 6 historians, a live quiz, and a prize draw. Here is the line up!
Julian Humphrys explores ‘The Battle of Hastings: What Happened and What Followed’. Sharon Bennett Connolly (me!) traces ‘Magna Carta: From Inception to Legacy’. Matthew Lewis examines ‘How the Black Death Changed England Forever’. Gareth Russell tackles ‘Crisis of Faith: The Reformation in British History’. Jonathan Healey delves into ‘The British Civil Wars: How They Happened and Why They Matter’. Gareth Streeter looks at ‘The Birth of Britain: How the Glorious Revolution and the Act of Union Forged a Modern Nation’.
And I am really looking forward to the online Q&A and discussion.
Of course, Magna Carta is THE defining moment, but I will let the fellas have their say …
As it’s online, the event is open to everyone, worldwide. And at just £22 to listen to 6 lectures by leading historians – followed by the opportunity to join in the discussion and ask questions, it really is a steal!
Don’t worry if you can’t watch all the talks as they go out – your ticket will give you access to everything in the festival until 31st May 2026.
If you have any questions, please ask. You can also email the event organisers at office@britishhistorytours.com.
We would all love to have you join us!
Coming 30 March: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages
I have just given my final approval for the jacket design, images section and edits for Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest. So, it is off to the printers. And my 9th book will be a reality by the end of the month!
It never gets old, holding your own book in your hands!
It is always a nerve-wracking time, wondering if anyone will like your book – or even read it. But my partner-in-podcasting, Derek Birks, has had a read and said he really enjoyed it – such a relief! And this week we recorded a Book Launch episode which will go live on 25 March – so please look out for it!
I have a few other podcast interviews lined up, with the first already live. A few months ago, I had a fabulous time chatting with Matthew Harffy and Justin Hill, on Medieval Princesses, Power and the Norman Conquest over at Rock, Paper, Swords
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
I am also in the process of planning an online Book Launch for the week Princesses of the Early Middle Ages is published, with a talk followed by a Q&A, so watch this space…
And one last bit of news….
Coming 15 April: Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest
It has been a long time coming, but publication of the paperback edition of Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is finally just around the corner. In fact, it comes out next month!
The momentous events of 1066, the story of invasion, battle and conquest, are well known. But what of the women?
Harold II of England had been with Edith Swanneck for twenty years but in 1066, in order to strengthen his hold on the throne, he married Ealdgyth, sister of two earls. William of Normandy’s Duchess, Matilda of Flanders, had supposedly only agreed to marry the Duke after he’d pulled her pigtails and thrown her in the mud. Harald Hardrada had two wives – apparently at the same time. So, who were these women? What was their real story? And what happened to them after 1066?
These are not peripheral figures. Emma of Normandy was a Norman married to both a Saxon and a Dane ‒ and the mother of a king from each. Wife of both King Cnut and Aethelred II, the fact that, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, she had control of the treasury at the end of the reigns of both Cnut and Harthacnut suggests the extent of Emma’s influence over these two kings –and the country itself.
Then there is Saint Margaret, a descendant of Alfred the Great, and the less well known but still influential Gundrada de Warenne, the wife of one of William the Conqueror’s most loyal knights, and one of the few men who it is known beyond doubt was with the Duke at the Battle of Hastings.
These are lives full of drama, pathos and sometimes mystery: Edith and Gytha searching the battlefield of Hastings for the body of Harold, his lover and mother united in their grief for the fallen king. Who was Ælfgyva, the lady of the Bayeux Tapestry, portrayed with a naked man at her feet?
Silk and the Sword traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play during the Norman Conquest – wives, lovers, sisters, mothers, leaders.
The paperback edition of Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest can be pre-ordered from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody and Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes. Available now fromAmazon and Pen and Sword Books. Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
Unknown Woman, often identified as Jane Boleyn Hans Holbein the Younger
Jane Boleyn, née Parker, the infamous Lady Rochford – The Perfect Scapegoat
Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford is generally regarded as one of the key witnesses if not the key witness in the court case against Anne Boleyn. Jane was married to Anne’s brother George Boleyn. As Anne’s sister-in-law and with her own husband, George Boleyn accused of having had an affair with his sister Anne, Jane’s betrayal is seen as a particular heinous crime. Jane is also accused to have been the source of this accusation of incest against her husband and her sister-in-law.
In an article on Jane’s father for example, James P. Carley declares ‘Morley’s daughter Jane, was principal witness against her husband, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, at the time of his trial in 1536.’
However, most historians agree that the charges against Anne Boleyn, her brother, and the others accused were trumped up to rid Henry VIII of his wife. Eric Ives for example states, ‘Under analysis, the case presented by the Crown in May 1536 collapses’. If the outcome of the trial and the guilty verdicts were a forgone conclusion, surely it made absolutely no difference who had said or may have said what during or before the trials?
Let me first introduce you to Jane Boleyn, née Parker.
Jane was the daughter of Henry Parker, Lord Morley, and his wife Alice St John. Alice was the daughter of Margaret Beaufort’s half-brother John St John. The match was almost certainly arranged by Margaret Beaufort in whose household Henry Parker had served from a young age. During this time Margaret Beaufort became his patroness. She supported him financially and looked after his wife Alice and their children when Henry was away. Margaret Beaufort was also a major influence on his religious beliefs.
Henry was summoned to parliament as Lord Morley after the death of his mother Alice Parker, née Lovell, in 1518. He never made a particular name for himself at court and never held important office. Richard Starkey calls him ‘an unimportant backwoodsman’ but I think ‘hard-working backbencher’ is a more apt description. He assiduously attended parliament, great ceremonial events, and state trials. That he never achieved higher office may be simply due to a lack of ambition or a personal choice to not risk his life. After all he witnessed how many of the men holding high office during Henry VIII’s reign ended their lives on the scaffold.
Henry Parker and his wife Alice had five children, two sons, Henry and Francis, and three daughters, Jane, Margaret, and Elizabeth. In the 1520s, Henry and his wife Alice arranged marriages for their three elder children. Henry, the eldest son and heir, was married to Grace Newport, heiress of her father John Newport. Jane married George Boleyn around 1526. In 1530, Margaret married Sir John Shelton the Younger, the son of Sir John Shelton the Elder and his wife Anne Boleyn, the aunt of Queen Anne.
The Boleyn family were neighbours of the Parkers, as were the Howard Dukes of Norfolk. Henry Parker’s mother, Alice Parker had married as her second husband Edward Howard, whose sister Elizabeth was married to Thomas Boleyn. Thomas Boleyn’s father William had been one of the executors of the will of Alice Parker’s brother Henry Lovell, Lord Morley. Alice had been the heir to her brother Henry Lovell and had become very wealthy when she inherited the part of his estates that were not held in tail male. Henry Lovell had been married to Elizabeth de la Pole, daughter of John de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, and Elizabeth, the sister of Edward IV and Richard III. Both Henry and Alice were cousins of Francis Lovell, Viscount Lovell (see Genealogies).
The complex relationships of the Parker family
This confusing profusion of relationships is typical for the higher nobility. The families tried to marry their children to spouses of the same rank, and since the higher nobility was a small group, a multitude of relationships between families was the inevitable result.
The families of Jane and her husband George were not only neighbours in Essex, the two knew each other from court as well. George Boleyn had become a royal page in 1516, and Jane had become one of the ladies of Queen Catherine of Aragon in 1520. The relationship between Jane and her husband was therefore both personal and professional. Jane’s husband George also shared his father-in-law’s interest in literature and translations. In fact, George Boleyn’s translation of ‘The Pistellis and Gospelles for the LII Sondayes of the Yere’ has been attributed to Henry Parker until recently.
To be chosen as a lady of the queen, a young woman had to be of noble birth, attractive, and well-mannered. Jane must have possessed all these qualities. She must also have been skilled in dancing and performing as in 1522 she was among those court ladies who participated a particularly grand pageant for the imperial envoys Jacques de Castres and Charles Poupet de Lacheaulx. Henry VIII’s sister was one of the other ladies as was Jane’s future sister-in-law Anne Boleyn.
In the following years, as Henry VIII became enthralled by Anne Boleyn, Jane and her husband George prospered at court. George became a Squire of the Chamber and was given numerous grants. He received the courtesy title of Viscount, when his father Thomas became Earl of Wiltshire in 1529.
Jane continued to be chosen for active parts in the court’s festivities. In 1532 she was chosen to be one of the six ladies to accompany Anne Boleyn in a dance with the French king Francis I, Henry VIII, and assorted courtiers. In the procession to Anne’s coronation the following year, Jane rode immediately behind Anne. Her brother Henry had been created a Knight of the Bath on the evening before the coronation.
All seemed well both inside the Boleyn family and in the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. But in 1536 this changed dramatically: Anne and her family fell from grace spectacularly. She, her brother George, Henry Norris, and others were arrested, accused of adultery, and executed for treason. Prior to this trial a considerable number of men and women were questions about the allegations. Jane, as Anne’s sister-in-law and lady-in-waiting was naturally also interrogated.
Signature of Jane, Lady Rochford
Even though most historians consider the charges against Anne Boleyn and the other accused as fictional, most, myself included (Both in my book and in my previous guest post), have debated all available clues, hints and the few concrete statements existing to proof or disproof Jane’s guilt. All her prior and subsequent actions are judged, depending on whether she is considered guilty or innocent of the charge of betraying her husband and sister-in-law.
Since Jane was only one of a large number of people, including Anne Boleyn herself and her brother George, who were questioned about the events at court and whose answers were used during the trial, why was it Jane and not one of the many other people involved in this affair that has been singled out as the despicable traitor? After all, Lady Wingfield was named by judge John Spelman as the source of the behaviour of Anne Boleyn.
Having pondered this question for quite a while now I have developed my own theory about this question.
After Anne Boleyn’s daughter Elizabeth became queen, Anne’s reputation had to be cleared of any suggestion of scandal and extramarital adventures. It was equally inadvisable to put the blame instead on Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII. To protect her right to be queen of England, the reputation of both her parents needed to be above reproach.
But somebody had to be blamed for Anne Boleyn’s death and, as it turned out, Anne’s sister-in-law Jane made the perfect scapegoat.
Jane had no children and no other family in a position to defend her reputation. Her brother Henry was dead and his son, another Henry, was a devout Catholic. This made him suspicious from the start. He first supported Queen Elizabeth who visited him in Great Hallingbury in 1561. However, later in the decade, he refused to subscribe to the Act of Uniformity. He was also linked to the rising of noble earls and fled England in 1570. He died in exile in 1577.
The Howard family
Additionally, Jane’s own reputation was already ruined. She had been executed alongside Henry VIII’s fifth queen Katherine Howard in 1542. There was no reason to clear childless Katherine Howard’s reputation. Any endeavour to do so would have been much more difficult if not impossible.
While Anne Boleyn was accused of infidelity and incest to remove her for political reason, Katherine Howard certainly had been unfaithful to her husband, even if her clandestine meetings with her paramour Thomas Culpepper did involve nothing more serious than talking and a chaste kiss on the hand as the two claimed. Jane had been present at the meetings as a chaperone of sorts, though she claimed that she had not heard or seen what happened between the queen and Thomas Culpepper as she sat too far away and moreover during at least one of the meetings, she had fallen asleep. Jane did state that she thought Katherine and Thomas had been lovers.
Who of the three, Katherine Howard, Jane Boleyn, or Thomas Culpepper, had been the main instigator of these meetings was and is still debated. Naturally, all three tried to play down their own role and blame the others. Thomas Culpepper used the time-honoured excuse that he had been helpless against the wily ways of the two women. Katherine claimed that Jane had been encouraging her and that it had been her lady-in-waiting who wanted her to befriend Thomas in the first place. It had also been Jane who searched out the places where they could meet Thomas. Jane insisted that she had only followed the orders of the queen.
In the end, all three participated in illicit meetings and they all should have known what would happen if they were found out. The execution of Anne Boleyn and her alleged lovers was only a few years in the past.
In his biography of Anne Boleyn Eric Ives wonders ‘whether the incrimination of Lady Rochford in the crimes of Katherine Howard may not have owed something to revenge’. There was, however, no need to incriminate Jane Boleyn in any way, she did so herself by her actions.
Scapegoat Ceremony shown in Stained Glass window in Lincoln Cathedral
I think Ives’s argument should be put on its head: Jane Parker has become the much-maligned ‘key witness’ in Anne Boleyn’s trial, since she was guilty in the case that brought down Katherine Howard, Thomas Culpepper, and herself. What was more natural than to assume that she was equally deeply involved in the fall of Anne Boleyn?
Perhaps it is not wholly imaginary to think that makes Jane a particularly satisfying scapegoat for Anne Boleyn’s fall because of her close relationship to Anne. To suggest that Anne’s own sister-in-law, the wife of her brother George, who provided the charge of incest, is particularly piquant. The people nearest to us are those who can reveal our deepest secrets and the fear of being betrayed by them runs deep.
The trial of Anne Boleyn and her alleged lovers was a means to an end and the charges spurious. Today it is merely fascinating to discuss the alleged contribution of individuals to the proceedings and interesting to observe how Jane’s action both before and after Anne Boleyn’s trial are today interpreted completely different, depending on whether or not an author regards Jane as the traitor.
Back in the second half of the sixteenth century, the trial of Anne Boleyn was not discussed (at least openly) as a political manoeuvre conducted on trumped up charges to remove a no longer wanted queen. This would have fundamentally damaged the reputation of Henry VIII, the father of Elizabeth I. Since her mother had to be cleared of any allegations of infidelity, somebody else had to be blamed. Jane Parker was the best choice for that role. She was the perfect scapegoat.
Further Reading:
James P. Carley, ‘The Writings of Henry Parker, Lord Morley: A Biographical Survey’, in: Marie Axton and James P. Carley (eds.), ‘Triumphs of English’. Henry Parker, Lord Morley, Translator to the Tudor Court (London, 2000).
Julia Fox, Jane Boleyn.The Infamous Lady Rochford (London, 2007).
Eric Ives, The Live and Death of Anne Boleyn. ‘The Most Happy’ (Oxford, 2004).
Monika E. Simon, From Robber Barons to Courtiers. The Changing World of the Lovells of Titchmarsh (Barnsley, 2021
Monika E Simon was born as the third of four sisters in 1969 in a small city in southern Bavaria. Interested in history from an early age, she wrote her MA thesis about the tenth-century Empress Adelheid at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universtität in Munich. Having spent a year of her studies at the University of York (Yorkshire), she fell in love with the city and decided to transfer there for her doctoral thesis. For her DPhil thesis she studied the history of the Lovells of Titchmarsh which she submitted in 1999.
Coming 30 March: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody and Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes. Available now fromAmazon and Pen and Sword Books. Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
A first edition of The Canterbury Tales, held in Lincoln Cathedral Library
Geoffrey Chaucer is often referred to as the father of English Literature. The author of The Canterbury Tales was patronised by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. after entering the household of Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Ulster and wife of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, as a page, he rose high, to become a clerk, diplomat and courtier. Geoffrey Chaucer had married Philippa de Roelt (or Rouet), sister of Katherine Swynford, the third wife and Duchess of John of Gaunt, and the mother of Gaunt’s legitimised children, the Beauforts, loyal supporters of their Lancastrian half-brother, King Henry IV.
The granddaughter of the famous poet, Alice Chaucer was the only child, and heir, of Geoffrey’s son, Thomas Chaucer. Alice’s mother was Maud (or Matilda) Burghersh, co-heir of the Burghersh estates, which included the manor of Ewelme in Oxfordshire, where Alice was probably born, sometime around 1404. Nothing is known of Alice’s childhood, although, given her later success in estate management and preserving her son’s inheritance, we can assume that she had some level of education.
She is first mentioned in 1414, when she was around ten years old. Alice became the wife of Sir John Phelip, who was some twenty-four years her senior. Poor Alice had little time to get used to married life, and was still not old enough to consummate the marriage when she was widowed. Phelip died of dysentery at the Siege of Harfleur, a prelude to the Battle of Agincourt, on 2 October 1415. In his will, Alice was left a gold cup and all the furniture from one room of Phelip’s house at Grovebury. Still a minor, Alice probably returned home to her family after Phelip’s death, if she had ever left home.
Alice was married again by 1421, this time to Thomas Montagu, Earl of Salisbury. Salisbury’s daughter by his first wife, Eleanor Holland, was also called Alice, and was of a similar age to her new stepmother. Alice Montagu would marry Richard Neville, son of Joan Beaufort and Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. Through his mother, Richard Neville was a grandson of John of Gaunt and first cousin, once removed, of Alice Chaucer.
Effigy of Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk, from her tomb at Ewelme
Alice’s new husband was a soldier, and fought in the Hundred Years War in France. It was during a visit to France in 1424, to her husband, that Alice was at a banquet in Paris, hosted by Philip the good, Duke of Burgundy. Renowned for her beauty, it appears that Duke Philip was far too attentive to the Earl of Salisbury’s wife, infuriating the earl in his attempts to seduce poor Alice. Relations between the duke and the earl soured significantly, with Salisbury going against the interests of Burgundy in besieging Orléans. The siege was a disaster for Salisbury, the French were rallied by Joan of Arc. During the fighting, Salisbury was struck in the face by a splinter from a French cannon on 27 October 1428. He died a week later, on 3 November. In the same engagement, Salisbury’s good friend, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, was captured by the French. Suffolk, it seems, was also fond of Alice and it is thought Alice was the mystery woman to whom he wrote love poetry during his two years of captivity.
Salisbury’s death left Alice a widow for a second time, but this time she was a very wealthy one. According to the terms of Salisbury’s will, Alice was left half of his net goods, 100 marks in gold and 3,000 marks in jewellery and plate, plus the revenues of his Norman lands. As a sign of his trust in Alice and her abilities, Salisbury had also named her as the supervisor of the will.A wealthy and beautiful widow, and still in her twenties, it is not surprising that by 1432, and possibly as early as 1430, Alice had made her third and final marriage. Her husband was the same William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, friend of her husband and, apparently, an admirer of Alice. It seems likely that they married shortly after his release from his French imprisonment.
The de la Pole family had risen from being wealthy wool merchants to the nobility, to nobility themselves. William’s grandfather, Michael de la Pole, was a favourite of Richard II, who had been promoted to the peerage as Earl of Suffolk. However, when Richard II’s personal rule was curbed by the Lords Appellant, Suffolk was one of those to take the brunt of the criticism. He fled into exile in 1388 and was sentenced to death in absentia; he died in Paris the following year. His son, another Michael and William’s father, was allied with the Appellant Lords and saw his goods and titles forfeit when Richard II regained control.
Alice’s grandfather, Geoffrey Chaucer
They were restored to him in 1398. Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, had five sons, of whom William was the second oldest. The de la Pole family gave everything fighting in the French wars, the second earl died of dysentery in 1415, during the same siege of Harfleur during which Alice’s first husband died, and his oldest son, another Michael, died in October of the same year, as one of the few noble casualties of the Battle of Agincourt; he was nineteen and had held the title Earl of Suffolk for just one month. William therefore succeeded to the earldom of Suffolk, but would lose his three remaining brothers to the French over the next twenty years: Alexander was killed in 1429, at the Battle of Jargeau, John died a prisoner in France and Thomas died while acting as hostage for William.
William himself spent decades fighting in France, as one of Henry VI’s senior commanders. This military service may well be the reason why, although William and Alice were married in the early 1430s, their only known child, John de la Pole, was not born until 27 September 1442. When still a child, John would be betrothed to his parents’ ward, Margaret Beaufort, sole heiress of Alice’s cousin, John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset.
William and Alice appear to have had a genuinely close, affectionate and trusting relationship. In his will of 1448, William appoints Alice as his sole executrix, giving her guardianship of their son, John, stating; ‘And last of all, with the blessing of God and of me as heartily as I can give it, my dear and true son, I bequeath between him and his mother love and all good accord and give him to her wholly’.1
The village of Ewelme, with the parish church and almshouses
Although William’s family seat was a house at Wingfield, the couple spent most of their time at Alice’s house at Ewelme, where they enlarged the manor house, even receiving a papal dispensation to have a font installed in the chapel. They also rebuilt the parish church of St Mary the Virgin and established a school to educate local boys, the master of which was to be selected from the University of Oxford. William and Alice also built a series of almshouses, known as God’s House, to house thirteen almsmen and two priests, one of whom was to be the schoolmaster.
William de la Pole was deeply involved in the politics of the time. One of Henry VI’s most trusted advisers, it was William who led the embassy to arrange the king’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou, a cousin of the King of France. In November 1444, Alice accompanied her husband to France, along with the Earls of Shrewsbury and Salisbury, to bring back the king’s bride. Alice was to act as Margaret’s senior lady-in-waiting for the journey home and became her close friend; Queen Margaret would visit Alice at her husband’s manor of Wingfield during a progress through the Midlands in 1452. William, however, was to receive the brunt of the criticism for the marriage, which brought no benefit to England, as Margaret came without a dowry, and a secret clause in the marriage contract returned the conquered counties of Maine and Anjou to France.
Arms of Alice Chaucer
In 1448 William was created Duke of Suffolk by Henry VI. However, while he still had the confidence of the king, the lords turned against him and his downfall soon followed. He had fallen foul of the powerful Duke of York and became the scapegoat for the ineptitude of Henry VI’s policies. On 7 February 1450, the Paston Letters recorded Suffolk’s impeachment, which charged that:
William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, late of Ewelme, in the county of Oxford, falsely and traitorously hath imagined, compassed, purposed forethought, done and committed divers high, great, heinous, and horrible treasons against your most royal person, your commons of your realms of England and France, your duchy of Guienne and Normandy, and your whole inheritance of your county of Anjou and Maine, the estate and dignity of the same, and the universal wele and prosperity of all your true subjects.2
The king tried to stand by Suffolk, and refused to accept the charges of treason; he banished the Duke from the realm for five years. William de la Pole was given six weeks to set his affairs in order before leaving England on 1 May 1450. The Duke wrote a moving letter to his six-year-old son, John, full of fatherly advice and commending him to his mother, saying: ‘Thirdly, in the same wise, I charge you, my dear son, always, as you’re bound by the commandment of God to do, to love, to worship your lady and mother, and also that you obey always her commandments and to believe her councils and advice in all your works, the which dread not, but shall be best and truest to you. And if any other body would stir you to the contrary, to flee the counsel in any wise, for you shall find it nought and evil.’3
19th century illustration depicting Suffolk’s murder
The letter is all the more poignant, as it turned out to be William de la Pole’s last communication with his son. He left England on the ship Nicholas of the Tower, but it was intercepted by unknown persons and on 2 May, 1450, the Duke of Suffolk was forced to endure a mock trial before he was gruesomely beheaded with a rusty sword. His body was left on the beach at Dover and his head stuck on a pole beside it. He was later buried at his family’s manor of Wingfield in Suffolk.
Widowed for a third and final time, Alice devoted her time and energies to protecting her son’s inheritance. On 8 May she secured the keeping of all the lands belonging to her husband. However, she was still an object of derision among the malcontents; she was one of those mentioned by name in a Commons petition to have people removed from court. Henry initially acquiesced, but failed to keep his promise to banish the twenty-nine people named in the petition and Alice remained at court as one of Queen Margaret’s ladies. She was with the queen at her churching on 18 November 1453, following the birth of Edward, prince of Wales. The magnificent ceremony was attended by six duchesses, including Alice, eight countesses and seven baronesses.
Alice proved to be a formidable Duchess, pursuing her family’s interests with the utmost vigour. Following her husband’s death, she continued in his claims to some manors in East Anglia, which belonged to John Fastolf. The Pastons, a prominent East Anglian family who wrote a remarkable number of letters during this period, also laid claim to the lands following Fastolf’s death in 1459. The dispute over Caistor Castle continued long into the next decade. In 1469, John Paston wrote to his younger brother, another John, that ‘the Quene hath sent a letter unto my Lady of Suffolk the elder [Alice] desyryng theym to common [speak] with my lordis that all such matters as the Kyng wrote unto them fore mabe kept so that no defaute be founden in them, as ye may understand by youre lettre sent frome the Quene’.4 Suffolk’s claim on the properties had been dubious, but Alice’s litigation was successful, despite the opposition of the Pastons.
Tomb of Alice’s son, John de la Pole and his wife, Elizabeth of York, Wingfield
The mid-15th century was a dangerous time. Powerful lords were squaring up to each other, looking to take advantage of Henry VI’s weak rule. A woman alone, with her son’s inheritance to protect, Alice needed powerful allies. And so, she broke her son’s betrothal to the Lancastrian heiress, Margaret Beaufort, and turned to the House of York. In 1458, Alice negotiated John’s marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville. Her son and grandsons would become stalwarts of the Yorkist cause. Of the eleven children of John and Elizabeth, their eldest son, another John, having been named as his heir by Richard III, was killed fighting Henry VII’s Lancastrian army at the Battle of Stoke Field, the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses, in 1487. He was succeeded as Duke of Suffolk by his brother, Edmund, who was executed, because of his Yorkist blood, by Henry VIII in 1513.
Alice was favoured by Edward IV, who won the throne for the Yorkists in 1461, gaining exemptions in his Acts of Resumption. She was among the more honoured guests at the sumptuous feast, hosted by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, for the enthronement of his brother, George Neville, as Archbishop of York. The feast was held at the Archbishop’s castle of Cawood in 1465, and Alice was given a place of honour at a high table in a second chamber – a sign of distinction as opposed to a place on a secondary table in the great hall – alongside the Countess of Warwick and the new Archbishop’s sisters, the Countess of Oxford, Lady Hastings and Lady Fitzhugh.
The ruins of Wallingford Castle
A further sign of trust came in 1471; following the Battle of Tewkesbury and the capture of Margaret of Anjou. Edward entrusted the former queen to Alice’s custody. Margaret was held at Wallingford Castle, which was held by Alice and was close to her estate at Ewelme. The Duchess was the queen’s jailer for the last four years of her life. Following Alice’s death, Margaret of Anjou was ransomed by Louis XI of France, and returned to France in 1476.
Through her family inheritance and three marriages, Alice Chaucer had become an incredibly wealthy woman. She held estates in twenty-two counties; in 1454 she received an income of £1300 from three of them alone. Given that her grandfather was Geoffrey Chaucer, it is no surprise that Alice was a patron of the arts, particularly literature, including John Lydgate. An inventory of her goods, taken in 1466 during a move back to Ewelme, included many books.
Alice’s tomb in the church of St Mary the Virgin at Ewelme
Alice died sometime between 20 May and 9 June, 1475, aged around seventy-one. She was laid to rest in the church of St Mary the Virgin, at Ewelme, where her parents were also buried. Her magnificent tomb lies between the nave and the chapel of St John the Baptist, an effigy of Alice lies atop the tomb, with the Duchess wearing a ducal coronet and the Order of the Garter on her arm.
Alice had led a remarkable life, successfully weathering the political turmoil that claimed the life of her third husband. She was a survivor, successfully negotiating the pitfalls and dangers of the medieval world – and particularly the turmoil of the 15th century – forging her own path to see herself and her son safely through.
Notes:
Notes: 1. K.L. Clark, The Nevills of Middleham: England’s Most Powerful Family in the Wars of the Roses; 2. Matthew Lewis, Richard Duke of York, King by Right; 3. Clark, The Nevills of Middleham; 4. David Baldwin, Elizabeth Woodville, Mother of the Princes in the Tower.
Rowena E. Archer, Chaucer, Alice, Duchess of Suffolk (c.1404–1475) (ODNB); K.L. Clark, The Nevills of Middleham: England’s Most Powerful Family in the Wars of the Roses; Kristie Dean, On the Trail of the Yorks; Matthew Lewis, Richard Duke of York, King by Right; David Baldwin, Elizabeth Woodville, Mother of the Princes in the Tower; John Gillingham, The Wars of the Roses; Martin J Dougherty, The Wars of the Roses; Susan Higginbotham, The Woodvilles, the Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family; Amy Licence, Red Roses, Blanche of Gaunt to Margaret Beaufort; David Santuiste, Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses; Amy Licence, Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou: A Marriage of Unequals
Coming 30 March: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody and Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes. Available now fromAmazon and Pen and Sword Books. Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
I am delighted to have been asked to take part in this year’s Online History Festival hosted by British History Events!
The theme and title of this year’s festival (their 6th) is ‘Defining Moments in British History’ – exploring six defining moments that have shaped Britain today. The festival is all online, taking place from the evening of Friday, 20th March until the evening of Sunday, 22nd March 2026.
Magna Carta: From Inception to Legacy
By 1215, the English barons’ objections to King John were almost beyond number. He had failed to face the French and had lost not only most of his family’s Continental possessions, but also those of his barons. Few had forgotten his treachery against his brother – his attempts on the throne whilst Richard was away on Crusade. His barons even complained that he forced himself on their wives and daughters.
The barons had had enough.
And the result was Magna Carta; a detailed document created to stave off civil war. It touched on the whole system of royal government. And it was granted to ‘all free men of the realm and their heirs forever’. It brought the king within the law, rather than above it.
It is the closest thing England has to a Constitution.
How significant was Magna Carta really?
In this lecture, I will explore the reasons for Magna Carta, the civil war that followed its creation and the people who fought for it and used it to assert their own rights. And we will look at how relevant it still is today, even beyond England’s shores.
So, I have been spending this week tweaking my PowerPoint presentation and recording the lecture.
There will be 6 talks from leading historians (including myself!), a live Q&A with all 6 historians, a live quiz, and a prize draw. Here is the line up!
Julian Humphrys explores ‘The Battle of Hastings: What Happened and What Followed’. Sharon Bennett Connolly (me!) traces ‘Magna Carta: From Inception to Legacy’. Matthew Lewis examines ‘How the Black Death Changed England Forever’. Gareth Russell tackles ‘Crisis of Faith: The Reformation in British History’. Jonathan Healey delves into ‘The British Civil Wars: How They Happened and Why They Matter’. Gareth Streeter looks at ‘The Birth of Britain: How the Glorious Revolution and the Act of Union Forged a Modern Nation’.
And I am really looking forward to the online Q&A and discussion.
Of course, Magna Carta is THE defining moment, but I will let the fellas have their say …
Don’t worry if you can’t watch all the talks as they go out – your ticket will give you access to everything in the festival until 31st May 2026.
Coming 30 March: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest explores the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them.
Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword and Amazon.
Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody and Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes. Available now fromAmazon and Pen and Sword Books. Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
History... the interesting bits! 