by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Eleanor of Woodstock, Duchess of Guelders; Credit – Wikipedia

Eleanor of Woodstock, the second wife of Reinald II, Duke of Guelders, was born on June 18, 1318, at Woodstock Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. Eleanor was named after her paternal grandmother Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth, and so Eleanor was called “of Woodstock”. She was the third of the four children and the elder of the two daughters of King Edward II of England and Isabella of France. Eleanor’s paternal grandparents were King Edward I of England and his first wife Eleanor of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were King Philippe IV of France and Joan I, Queen of Navarre in her own right.

Eleanor had three siblings:

• King Edward III of England (1312 – 1377), married Philippa of Hainault, had fourteen children
• John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall (1316 – 1336), unmarried
• Joan of The Tower (1321 – 1362), married King David II of Scotland, no children

Eleanor and her siblings had a difficult childhood. Their father Edward II was a weak king and his relationship with his favorites Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser the Younger, whether they were friends, lovers, or sworn brothers, was problematic and caused discontent both among the nobles and the royal family. Opposition to the regime grew, and when Edward II’s wife Isabella was sent to France to negotiate a peace treaty in 1325, she turned against Edward II and refused to return. Isabella allied herself with the exiled Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and invaded England with a small army in 1326. Edward II’s regime collapsed and he fled to Wales, where he was captured in November 1326. Edward II was forced to give up his crown in January 1327 in favor of his son 14-year-old son King Edward III, with Isabella and Mortimer acting as regents. King Edward II died in Berkeley Castle on September 21, 1327, probably murdered on the orders of Isabella and Mortimer.

In 1324, because of a war with France, Hugh le Despenser, the favorite of Eleanor’s father King Edward II, took custody of six-year-old Eleanor and her sister three-year-old Joan from their mother Queen Isabella, claiming that Isabella, who had been born in France, could possibly incite her children to betray their father. Eleanor and Joan were placed in the care of Hugh le Despenser’s sister Isabel le Despenser and her husband Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer. For the next two years, Eleanor lived at Pleshey Castle and Marlborough Castle, de Monthermer’s estates. When King Edward II was deposed in 1326, Eleanor and Joan were returned to the custody of their mother.

In 1328, things changed for Eleanor, her brother King Edward III, and her sister Joan. In January 1328, Edward III married Philippa of Hainault. Soon after, Eleanor was moved to the household of her new sister-in-law who became her guardian. England and Scotland signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in the spring of 1328, formally ending the First War of Scottish Independence. One of the terms of the treaty was that seven-year-old Joan of England would marry four-year-old David, the son and heir of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Eleanor and her mother accompanied Joan to Berwick-upon-Tweed, the northernmost town in England, 2 ½ miles from the border with Scotland, where the young couple was married in July 1328. Less than a year after the wedding, Robert the Bruce died, and Joan’s five-year-old husband became King David II of Scots and eight-year-old Joan became Queen of Scots.

There had been some negotiations for a marriage for Eleanor. In 1325, there were negotiations between England and Castile for Eleanor to be betrothed to King Alfonso XI of Castile, but the betrothal never occurred due to disagreements over the dowry. The future King Jean II of France was a prospective groom for Eleanor in 1329 and in 1330, there were negotiations for Eleanor to marry the future King Pedro IV of Aragon. Neither negotiation resulted in a marriage. Since marriages to a king or future king had failed, Eleanor had to settle for a count who was twenty-three years older than her.

Reinald II, Count of Guelders, later Duke of Guelders; Credit – Wikipedia

Eleanor’s brother King Edward III had negotiated an alliance with Reinald II, then Count of Guelders and later Duke of Guelders, in connection with the English-French conflicts, but marriage to his sister had not been one of the goals. Exactly how the marriage came about is not known. Eleanor did not have a dowry and so the initiative for the marriage may have come from Reinald. It is also possible that Willem II, Count of Hainault and/or his wife Joan of Valois, the parents of Edward III’s wife Philippa, played a role in arranging the marriage. Willem was interested in an English-Guelders alliance and Joan had a reputation as a talented mediator.

There appears to have been a proxy marriage on October 20, 1331, in England. In May 1332, 14-year-old Eleanor and 37-year-old Reinald II, Count of Guelders were married in person in Nijmegen, County of Guelders, now in the Netherlands. The County of Guelders, later the Duchy of Guelders, was located in parts of present-day the Netherlands and the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1339, during Reinald II’s reign, the County of Guelders was elevated to a Duchy.

Reinald had previously been married to Sophia Berthout, Lady of Mechelen who died in 1329. Reinald had four daughters from this marriage who were not much younger than their stepmother Eleanor. After Eleanor and Reinald’s two sons had no children, two of the four daughters became Duchess of Guelders in their own right.

Eleanor’s step-children, the children of Reinald and his first wife:

• Marguerite of Guelders, Lady of Mechelen (1320 – 1344)
• Mathilde of Guelders, Lady of Mechelen, Duchess of Guelders (1325 – 1384), married (1) Godfried van Loon-Heinsberg, no children (2) John, Count of Cleves, no children (3) John II, Count of Blois, no children
• Elisabeth of Guelders (circa 1327 – 1376), Abbess of Gravendaal, unmarried
• Marie of Guelders, Duchess of Guelders (circa 1328 – 1405), married Wilhelm II, Duke of Jülich, had two sons and one daughter, both sons succeeded as Duke of Guelders and Duke of Jülich

Eleanor and Reinald had two sons.

• Reinald III, Duke of Guelders (1333 – 1371), married Marie of Brabant, no children
• Edward, Duke of Guelders (1336 – 1371), unmarried

Eleanor and Reinald had problems in their marriage, and Reinald began to depend more upon Jan Moliart, his chaplain and chief adviser. Moliart was accused of isolating Reinald from Eleanor and spreading rumors that Eleanor was suffering from leprosy. Because of the leprosy rumors, Eleanor was banished from court. She lived in Rosendael Castle, near Arnhem, County of Guelders, now in the Netherlands, probably with her youngest son. When Reinald attempted to annul the marriage, an angry Eleanor walked from Rosendael Castle to the Valkhof, a royal palace in Nijmegen, to contest the annulment. In front of the court, Eleanor threw off her cloak and bared her arms to prove she did not have leprosy, forcing Reinald to take her back.

On October 12, 1343, 48-year-old Reinald II, Duke of Guelders died after a riding accident. The Council of State elected two guardians and regents for nine-year-old son Reinald III, Duke of Guelders, his mother Eleanor and Dirk van Valkenburg, and Dirk’s brother Jan van Valkenburg was elected stadtholder. The van Valkenburgs made the situation so difficult for Eleanor that she was forced to resign her post of regent, and in 1344, her son Reinald III, Duke of Guelders was formally declared to have reached his majority, and therefore, there was no need of a regency.

Broederenkerk, where Eleanor is buried; Credit – By Dguendel – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68105428

In 1350, with encouragement from his mother, Eleanor’s younger son Edward began a civil war against his brother Reinald III for control of the Duchy of Guelders. When Eleanor attempted to reconcile with her son Reinald, he rejected her reconciliation attempts and confiscated her property. Eleanor was then forced to retire to the Cistercian convent in Deventer, a city that was part of the Hanseatic League, now in the Netherlands. Eleanor did not want to ask her brother King Edward III of England for help. She died in poverty at the convent on April 22, 1355, aged 36. Eleanor was buried at the Broederenkerk (link in Dutch), officially the Roman Catholic St. Lebuinus Church in Deventer that had been built on the order of Eleanor.

Eleanor was buried somewhere in front of the high altar of Broederenkerk; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Eleanor did not live long enough to see the results of the civil war fought between her two sons. In 1361 Edward gained power and became Duke of Guelders, and Reinald III was captured and imprisoned. Edward reigned until August 24, 1371, when he was killed in a battle caused by a disagreement between his brother-in-law Wilhelm II, Duke of Jülich and Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg. Upon Edward’s death, his brother Reinald III regained the Duchy of Guelders but died shortly afterward, on December 4, 1371. As neither Edward nor Reinald had children, another war of succession for Guelders began.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Aliénor d’Angleterre (1318-1355) (2022) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali%C3%A9nor_d%27Angleterre_(1318-1355) (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
• Eleanor of Woodstock (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Woodstock (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) King Edward II of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-ii-of-england/ (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
• Foley, Liam. (no date) Reginald II of Guelders, European Royal History. Available at: https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/tag/reginald-ii-of-guelders/ (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
• Tuchman, Barbara. (1978) A Distant Mirror. The Calamitous 14th Century. New York: Random House
• Weir, Alison. (1989) Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Vintage Books.
• Williamson, David. (1996) Brewer’s British royalty: A Phrase and Fable dictionary. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall, from the Genealogical roll of the kings of England; family tree of Edward I; Credit – Wikipedia

John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall was born on August 15, 1316, at Eltham Palace in Eltham, southeast London, England. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth, and so John was called “of Eltham”. He was the second of the four children and the second of the two sons of King Edward II of England and Isabella of France. John’s paternal grandparents were King Edward I of England and his first wife Eleanor of Castile. His maternal grandparents were King Philippe IV of France and Joan I, Queen of Navarre in her own right.

John had three siblings:

• King Edward III of England (1312 – 1377), married Philippa of Hainault, had fourteen children
• Eleanor of Woodstock (1318 – 1355), married Reinoud II of Guelders, had two children
• Joan of The Tower (1321 – 1362), married King David II of Scotland, no children

A 15th-century depiction of John’s mother Isabella capturing King Edward II, John’s father; Credit – Wikipedia

John and his siblings had a difficult childhood. His father Edward II was a weak king and his relationship with his favorites Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser the Younger, whether they were friends, lovers, or sworn brothers, was problematic and caused discontent both among the nobles and the royal family. Opposition to the regime grew, and when Edward II’s wife Isabella was sent to France to negotiate a peace treaty in 1325, she turned against Edward II and refused to return. Isabella allied herself with the exiled Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and invaded England with a small army in 1326. Edward II’s regime collapsed and he fled to Wales, where he was captured in November 1326. Edward II was forced to give up his crown in January 1327 in favor of his son 14-year-old son King Edward III, with Isabella and Mortimer acting as regents. King Edward II died in Berkeley Castle on September 21, 1327, probably murdered on the orders of Isabella and Mortimer.

John was the heir to the English throne until 1330, when his nephew Edward, Prince of Wales, the first child of King Edward III, was born. Edward III was theoretically King of England, but the true ruler was Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. After the birth of Edward III’s first son, Mortimer realized that his situation had deteriorated. Many nobles were jealous and angry because of Mortimer’s abuse of power. In March 1330, Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, the half-brother of Edward II. After this execution, the nobles begged the young King Edward III to assert his independence, which he did shortly before his 18th birthday. In October 1330, a Parliament was summoned to Nottingham Castle, and Mortimer and Isabella were seized by Edward III and the nobles. Isabella begged for mercy for Mortimer, but he was accused of assuming royal power and of various other crimes and was condemned without a trial and hanged. Isabella was initially held at Berkhamsted Castle and then held under house arrest at Windsor Castle until 1332, when she moved back to her own home Castle Rising Castle in Norfolk where she died on August 22, 1358.

King Edward III began marriage negotiations for his brother several times – in 1328 with María Díaz de Haro, heiress of the Lordship of Biscay, in 1334 with Marie de la Cerda, a descendant of King Alfonso X of Castile, and in 1335 with Jeanne de Penthièvre, the niece and heiress of Jean III, Duke of Brittany. However, none of the negotiations led to a betrothal.

John participated in the Second Scottish War of Independence. He was one of the commanders at the 1333 Battle of Halidon Hill, a great victory for the English. In January 1335, John defeated the Scots when they raided Redesdale in Northumberland, England. King Edward III was impressed by his brother’s bravery in battle, and in 1335, he appointed John the Warden of the Scottish Marches – Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border.

John’s brilliant military career was similar to the later career of his nephew Edward, Prince of Wales, known as The Black Prince, who predeceased his father, and ended just as suddenly. John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall died on September 13, 1336, in Perth, Scotland at the age of 20. The cause of his death is uncertain. There are references to John dying from a fever and dying in a skirmish with the Scots.

Tomb of John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall; Credit – Wikipedia (Click on the link below, white alabaster tomb, to see photos of the tomb from the Westminster Abbey website.)

King Edward III was devastated by his brother’s death and ordered 900 masses to be said for John’s soul. John was given a magnificent funeral at Westminster Abbey in London. He was buried in St. Edmund’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey in a white alabaster tomb with a recumbent effigy wearing armor with a sword and a shield with John’s coat of arms carved on it. King Edward III is buried just to the north of John’s tomb, in the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor.

The effigy on John’s tomb; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) Isabella of France, Queen of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-of-france-queen-of-england/ (Accessed: November 2, 2022).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2016) King Edward II of England, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-ii-of-england/ (Accessed: November 2, 2022).
• Jean d’Eltham (2021) Wikipedia (French). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_d%27Eltham (Accessed: November 2, 2022).
• John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, Westminster Abbey. Available at: https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/john-of-eltham-earl-of-cornwall (Accessed: November 2, 2022).
• John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall (2022) Wikipedia (German). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Eltham,_Earl_of_Cornwall (Accessed: November 2, 2022).
• John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Eltham,_Earl_of_Cornwall (Accessed: November 2, 2022).
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

A depiction of Elizabeth of Rhuddlan from the Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan was born on August 7, 1282, at Rhuddlan Castle in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. The castle was built by her father King Edward I of England in 1277, following the First Welsh War. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth, and so Elizabeth was called “of Rhuddlan”. Elizabeth was the tenth but the fifth surviving daughter and the thirteenth or fourteenth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Elizabeth’s parents King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Elizabeth listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married Jean II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1278 – 1332), a nun at Amesbury Priory in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

In November 1290, when Elizabeth was eight-years-old, her mother Eleanor of Castile died. Only six of Edward I and Eleanor’s children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The only son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and just six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Elizabeth had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

In 1285, three-year-old Elizabeth was betrothed to an infant, the future John I, Count of Holland (1284 – 1299). Soon after this, the infant John was sent to England to be raised and educated at King Edward I’s court. In 1296, John’s father Floris V, Count of Holland was murdered, and John became Count of Holland.

On January 7, 1297, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth and twelve-year-old John were married at St. Peter’s Church in Ipswich, England. John I, Count of Holland was allowed to return to Holland at the end of January 1297, but Elizabeth remained in England and did not join her husband in Holland until November 1297. On November 10, 1299, childless and only fifteen years old, John I, Count of Holland died from dysentery although there were suspicions he was murdered. Now a widow, 17-year-old Elizabeth returned to England, stopping off to visit her sister Margaret in the Duchy of Brabant on the way. When Elizabeth arrived in England, she first met her stepmother Margaret, who had married Elizabeth’s father King Edward I while Elizabeth was in Holland. Margaret and Elizabeth became close friends, and Elizabeth’s first child was named after her.

Effigy of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford from a memorial at Hereford Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth settled at her father’s court. She had probably met 24-year-old Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Constable of England in the late 1280s, but they became reacquainted at court. By 1302, plans were being arranged for Elizabeth and Humphrey to marry. On November 14, 1302, Elizabeth and Humphrey were married at Westminster Abbey in London, England. After her marriage, Elizabeth continued to live at the royal court. She did not move to her husband’s estates until the death of her father King Edward I and the accession of her brother King Edward II in 1307.

Elizabeth and Humphrey had ten children

• Margaret de Bohun (1302 – 1304), died in early childhood
• Humphrey de Bohun (1303 – 1304), died in infancy
• Eleanor de Bohun (1304 – 1363), married (1) James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond, had three children (2) Sir Thomas de Dagworth, had one daughter
• John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (1306 – 1336), married (1) Alice FitzAlan, no children (2) Margaret Basset, no children
• Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford (1309 – 1361), unmarried
• Margaret de Bohun (1311 – 1391), married Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, had seventeen children
• William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton (1312 – 1360), twin of Edward, married Elizabeth de Badlesmere, had two children
• Edward de Bohun (1312 – 1334), twin of William, married Margaret de Ros, no children; during a military campaign in Scotland, Edward tried to save a soldier who had fallen into a river, but drowned
• Eneas de Bohun, (1314 – after 1322), died in childhood
• Isabel de Bohun (born and died 1316), both Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella died shortly after birth

Humphrey was imprisoned after the English defeat by the Scots at the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn. Humphrey had fought Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots in single combat but was forced to concede. Humphrey was ransomed by King Edward II, his brother-in-law. He was traded for Robert the Bruce’s second wife Elizabeth de Burgh, Queen of Scots and his daughter from his first marriage Marjorie Bruce, who had both been imprisoned by the English for eight years.

Elizabeth and especially her husband Humphrey had issues with King Edward II’s relationship with his favorite Piers Gaveston who Humphrey bluntly called a traitor. This caused years of estrangement between Elizabeth and her brother King Edward II. They were finally reconciled in 1315, three years after Gaveston’s murder by English nobles who had had enough of him. Elizabeth spent Christmas of 1315 with her brother King Edward II and his wife Isabella of France.

Tomb of Elizabeth of Rhuddlan; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After the 1315 Christmas celebrations, Elizabeth settled at her husband’s estate in Quendon, Essex, England to await the birth of her tenth child. She gave birth on May 5, 1316, to a daughter named Isabella in honor of the Queen. Sadly, 33-year-old Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella both died the same day. Elizabeth and her daughter Isabella were interred at Waltham Abbey Church in Waltham Abbey, Essex, England.

Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford survived Elizabeth by six years. He was brutally killed in battle, leading an attempt to storm a bridge, on March 16, 1322, aged 46, at the Battle of Boroughbridge during the Despenser War (1321 -1322), a revolt by nobles against King Edward II of England led by Humphrey and Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, 1st Earl of March. Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford was buried at the York Dominican Friary in North Yorkshire, England.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Rhuddlan (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• Елизавета Рудланская (2021) Wikipedia (Russian). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%95%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 November 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 1 November 2022].
• Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_de_Bohun,_4th_Earl_of_Hereford (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• John I, Count of Holland (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_I,_Count_of_Holland (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

A depiction of Mary of Woodstock from the Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Destined to be a nun, Mary of Woodstock was born at Woodstock Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, on March 11, 1278. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth, and so Mary was called “of Woodstock”. Mary was the ninth but the fourth surviving daughter and the twelfth or thirteenth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Mary’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Mary’s parents King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Mary listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Margaret of England (1275 – after 1333), married Jean II, Duke of Brabant, had one son
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

Mary’s paternal grandmother Eleanor of Provence, wife of King Henry III; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s paternal grandmother Eleanor of Provence, Queen of England, the widow of King Henry III, intended to retire to Amesbury Priory, a Benedictine monastery in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. Amesbury Priory was a religious community with a nunnery of more than seventy nuns, mostly from noble families, and a monastery with about twenty-five men, serving as priests or monks. Eleanor of Provence suggested that two of her granddaughters keep her company and devote their lives to God by becoming Benedictine nuns. Mary, the eldest daughter of King Edward I who was not yet betrothed in marriage, and her cousin Eleanor of Brittany, daughter of Eleanor of Provence’s daughter Beatrice of England and Jean II, Duke of Brittany were selected. Mary’s mother Eleanor of Castile was strongly against her young daughter being sent off to become a nun. However, King Edward I sided with his mother, and with great reluctance, Eleanor of Castile agreed.

Eleanor of Brittany, who was three years older than Mary, entered Amesbury Priory in 1281, and her cousin Mary entered in 1285. In August 1285, on the Feast of the Assumption, seven-year-old Mary and thirteen daughters of English nobles were consecrated as future nuns. Mary was formally veiled as a nun in December 1291 when she was thirteen years old. King Edward I and his wife Queen Eleanor visited their daughter Mary in 1286, 1289, and 1290. In 1291, King Edward I visited three times: in February 1291, for the burial of his mother Eleanor of Provence, in September 1291, and again in December 1291 when Mary took her vows as a nun.

Mary lived in comfort in private quarters at Amesbury Priory. In the early 1280s, Mary’s grandmother Eleanor of Provence had begun building a suite of rooms at the priory where she would live with her two granddaughters in a style befitting royalty. Eleanor of Provence arrived at Amesbury Priory in 1286 and she lived there until she died in 1291, when she was buried at the priory. By order of her father, during the rest of her life, Mary received an extremely generous allowance, double the amount needed to provide entire households for two knights. She also received a double quota of clothing and a special right to wine from the Southampton docks.

In November 1290, Eleanor of Castile, Mary’s mother died. Only six of Edward I and Eleanor’s children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The only son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and just six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of  King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Mary had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

Despite living in a style that befitted a princess, Mary followed the daily routine of a nun,  communal prayer throughout the day and night, private religious reflection, and silence during the day. Although nuns were not allowed to leave their convents except for necessary business, Mary, as the daughter of the king, was an exception. She was allowed to leave Amesbury Priory to visit her family and go on pilgrimages. On several occasions, Mary was enlisted by the priory’s abbess to represent the priory in negotiations with her father.

Mary died on May 29, 1332, aged 54, and was buried in Amesbury Priory church near her grandmother Eleanor of Provence but all the graves and tombs have been lost. Amesbury Priory was disbanded and the priory church was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 in the reign of King Henry VIII. The priory and its land were then granted to Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, later Duke of Somerset, the brother of Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII’s third wife. Some of the priory buildings were destroyed and others were reused to form a house for the Seymours. The house was rebuilt in 1660 – and 1661 and became known as Amesbury Abbey.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-28-1290-death-of-eleanor-of-castile-first-wife-of-king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 22 October 2022].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward I of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-i-of-england/> [Accessed 22 October 2022].
• Jones, Dan, 2012. The Plantagenets. New York: Viking.
• Mary of Woodstock (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Woodstock (Accessed: October 22, 2022).
• Мария Вудстокская (2021) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%92%D1%83%D0%B4%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F (Accessed: October 22, 2022).
• Williamson, David, 1996. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.
• Wilson-Lee, Kelcey, 2019. Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks. New York: Pegasus.