Queen of Scotland from 1424 to 1437
Joan Beaufort
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Tenure
| 2 February 1424 ? 21 February 1437
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Coronation
| 21 May 1424
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Born
| c.
1404
[1]
The Palace of Westminster, England
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Died
| 15 July 1445
(1445-07-15)
(aged 40?41)
Dunbar Castle
, East Lothian, Scotland
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Burial
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Spouse
| -
(
m.
1424; died 1437)
-
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Issue
Detail
| - Margaret, Dauphine of France
- Isabella, Duchess of Brittany
- Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria
- Mary, Countess of Buchan
- Joan, Countess of Morton
- Alexander, Duke of Rothesay
- James II, King of Scotland
- Annabella, Countess of Huntly
- John, 1st Earl of Atholl
- James, 1st Earl of Buchan
- Andrew, Bishop of Moray
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House
| Beaufort
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Father
| John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
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Mother
| Margaret Holland
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Joan Beaufort
(
c.
1404 ? 15 July 1445) was
Queen of Scotland
from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King
James I of Scotland
. During part of the minority of her son
James II
(from 1437 to 1439), she served as the
regent
of Scotland.
Background and early life
[
edit
]
Joan Beaufort was a daughter of
John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset
, a legitimised son of
John of Gaunt
by his mistress (and later third wife)
Katherine Swynford
.
[2]
Joan's mother was
Margaret Holland
,
the granddaughter of
Joan of Kent
(wife of
Edward the Black Prince
) from her earlier marriage to
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
. Joan was also a half-niece of King
Henry IV of England
, first cousin once removed of
Richard II
, and great-granddaughter of
Edward III
. Her uncle,
Henry Beaufort
, was a cardinal and Chancellor of England.
[4]
King
James I of Scotland
met Joan during his time as a prisoner in England, and knew her from at least 1420.
She is said to have been the inspiration for King James's famous long poem,
The Kingis Quair
, written during his captivity, after he saw her from his window in the garden.
The marriage was at least partially political, as their marriage was part of the agreement for his release from captivity. From an English perspective an alliance with the Beauforts was meant to establish Scotland's alliance with the English, rather than the French.
Negotiations resulted in Joan's dowry of 10,000
marks
being subtracted from James's substantial ransom.
Queen of Scotland
[
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]
On 12 February 1424, Joan Beaufort and King James were wed at
St Mary Overie
Church in Southwark.
They were feasted at
Winchester Palace
that year by her uncle,
Cardinal
Henry Beaufort
. She accompanied her husband on his return from captivity in England to Scotland, and was crowned alongside her husband at
Scone Abbey
. As queen, she often pleaded with the king for those who might be executed.
The royal couple had eight children, including the future
James II
, and
Margaret of Scotland
, future spouse of
Louis XI of France
.
Regency
[
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]
James I was assassinated in
Perth
on 21 February 1437. Joan had also been a target of assassination along with her husband, but managed to survive her injuries.
She successfully directed her husband's supporters to attack his assassin
Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl
, but was forced to give up power three months later.
The prospect of being ruled by an English woman was unpopular in Scotland.
The
Earl of Douglas
was thus appointed to power, though Joan remained in charge of her son.
Near the end of July 1439, she married
James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne
after obtaining a
papal dispensation
for both
consanguinity
and
affinity
. James was an ally of the latest
Earl of Douglas
, and plotted with him to overthrow Alexander Livingston, governor of Stirling Castle, during the minority of James II.
[
citation needed
]
Livingston arrested Joan in August 1439 and forced her to relinquish custody of the young king.
In 1445, the conflict between the Douglas/Livingston faction and the queen's supporters resumed, and she was under siege at
Dunbar Castle
by the Earl of Douglas when she died on 15 July 1445. She was buried in the
Carthusian
Priory at Perth
.
Issue
[
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]
With James I of Scotland:
[9]
- Margaret Stewart, Princess of Scotland
(1424?1445) married Prince Louis, Dauphin of Viennois (later King
Louis XI of France
)
- Isabella Stewart, Princess of Scotland
(1426?1494) married
Francis I, Duke of Brittany
- Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan
(c. 1428 ? 1465) married
Wolfart VI van Borsselen
- Joan of Scotland, Countess of Morton
(c. 1428?1486) married
James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton
- Alexander Stewart, Duke of Rothesay
(born and died 1430); twin of James II
- James II of Scotland
(1430?1460)
- Eleanor Stewart, Princess of Scotland
(1433?1484) married
Sigismund, Archduke of Austria
- Annabella Stewart, Princess of Scotland
(c. 1436 ? 1509) married and divorced 1stly
Louis of Savoy
, and then married and divorced 2ndly
George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
With James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne:
Ancestry
[
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]
Ancestors of Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots
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Notes
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- ^
"Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland"
.
Medievalists.net
. 27 February 2014
. Retrieved
31 October
2021
.
- ^
"James I and Joan Beaufort: A Royal Love Story"
.
History... the interesting bits!
. 31 March 2015
. Retrieved
30 March
2018
.
- ^
"James I and Joan Beaufort: A Royal Love Story"
.
History... the interesting bits!
. 31 March 2015
. Retrieved
30 March
2018
.
- ^
Richardson, Douglas. Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.).
Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011
. Douglas Richardson. pp. 579?582.
ISBN
978-1-4610-4520-5
.
- ^
Weis, Frederick Lewis; Beall, William Ryland (1999).
The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215: The Barons Named in the Magna Charta, 1215, and Some of Their Descendants who Settled in America During the Early Colonial Years
. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 117.
ISBN
978-0-8063-1609-3
.
- ^
Morrison, Elspeth (18 December 2007).
The Dorothy Dunnett Companion: Volume II
. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 73.
ISBN
978-0-307-42844-8
.
References
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Royal consorts in England until 1603
| Royal consorts in Scotland until 1603
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Spouses of debatable or disputed rulers are in
italics
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Titles
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Branches
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Royal
Stewarts
| | 1st generation
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- Robert III of Scotland
- Walter, Earl of Fife
- Robert, Duke of Albany
- Alexander, Earl of Buchan
- Elizabeth, Lady Erroll
- Isabella, Countess of Douglas
- Jean, Lady Keith
- Katherine Logan
- Margaret, Lady of the Isles
- Marjorie, Countess of Moray
- David, Earl of Strathearn
- Walter, Earl of Atholl
- Elizabeth, Countess of Crawford
- Egidia, Lady Douglas
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2nd generation
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3rd generation
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4th generation
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5th generation
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6th generation
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7th generation
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8th generation
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9th generation
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10th generation
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11th generation
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12th generation
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