Joan of Kent

1328–1385

Joan was a granddaughter of Edward I and grew up within the extended royal family. While still young, she secretly married Thomas Holland. During his absence abroad, her family arranged a second marriage to William Montagu, heir to the Earl of Salisbury. A papal investigation ultimately upheld the earlier marriage and ordered Joan to return to Holland.

After Holland's death, Joan married Edward, the Black Prince, and became Princess of Wales and the mother of Richard II. Historical fiction often presents her as the Fair Maid of Kent and emphasises romantic defiance, but the surviving record is shaped by legal testimony, dynastic politics and later traditions whose personal details cannot always be verified.

In Colin Falconer’s A Vain and Indecent Woman, Joan of Kent has secretly married the soldier Thomas Holland, but while he is abroad her royal family compels her into a second union with William Montagu. In Anne O’Brien’s The Shadow Queen, Joan of Kent secretly marries Thomas Holland while her family attempts to bind her to William Montagu, creating a dispute that reaches the papal court.

Series

Series featuring Joan of Kent (1 series)

Epic Historical Adventure in Order

by Colin Falconer 15 books 4.3

Epic Historical Adventure is Colin Falconer's publisher-defined collection of stand-alone historical thrillers rather than a continuous narrative sequence. The novels range from Alexander the Great, Cleopatra and the Mongol Empire to the Ottoman court, the conquest of Mexico, colonial India, shipwreck and twentieth-century Palestine. Most volumes can be…

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