Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: Philippe de Hainaut; 24 June 1310? (in or by 1315)Williamson, David. (1986) Debrett's Kings and Queens of Britain. London: Webb and Bower Publishers, Ltd., London. p.81. – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III.Strickland, Agnes, Lives of the queens of England from the Norman conquest, Vol.2, (George Barrie and Sons, 1902), 222. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickland, Agnes. Lives of the Queens of England: From the Norman Conquest when her husband was away for the Hundred Years' War.
Daughter of William I, Count of Hainaut, and French princess Joan of Valois, Philippa was engaged to Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1326.Geoffroy G. Sury, Guillaume Ier (d'Avesnes) comte de Hainaut et sa fille Philippe, in " Bayern Straubing Hennegau : la Maison de Bavière en Hainaut, XIVe – XVe s. ", Edit. Geoffroy G. Sury, Bruxelles, 2010 (2e éd.), p. 55 : – Un parchemin daté du 27 August 1326 à Mons, au sceau brisé, énonce qu'Edouard, duc de Guyenne (futur Edouard III roi d'Angleterre), fils aîné du roi Edouard (II) d'Angleterre, s'engage à prendre pour épouse, endéans les deux ans, Philippa, fille du comte Guillaume (Ier) de Hainaut, etc. In, G. Wymans, " Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut ", aux A. E. Mons, n° d'ordre (cote) 574, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 128. Their marriage was celebrated in York Minster on 24 January 1328, some months after Edward's accession to the throne of England and Isabella of France's infamous invasion.Un parchemin daté du 15 August 1328 à Northampton, au sceau disparu, énonce qu'Edouard (III), roi d'Angleterre, confirme la fixation du douaire de son épouse Philippa de Hainaut. In, G. Wymans, " Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut ", aux A.E. Mons, n° d'ordre (cote) 596, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 132. After her husband took the throne, Philippa influenced King Edward to take interest in the nation's commercial expansion, was part of the successful Battle of Neville's Cross, and often went on expeditions to Scotland and France. She won much popularity with the English people for her compassion in 1347, when she successfully persuaded the King to spare the lives of the Burghers of Calais. This popularity helped maintain peace in England throughout their long reign.Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 10 March 2010
Childhood
Philippa may have been born on 24 June 1310, but it is possible that she was born as late as 1315, in Valenciennes, Low Countries. She was one of eight children and the second of five daughters born to Count William I of Hainaut and Joan of Valois, granddaughter of King Philip III of France.Leese, Thelma Anna. (2007) Blood Royal: Issue of the Kings and Queens of Medieval England, 1066-1399 : the Normans and Plantagenets. Heritage Books Inc. p. 140.
King Edward II of England decided that an alliance with Flanders would benefit England and sent Bishop Stapledon of Exeter on the Continent as an ambassador. On his journey, he crossed into the County of Hainaut to inspect the daughters of Count William, to determine which daughter would be the most suitable as an eventual bride for the king's son Edward. The bishop's report to the King describes one of the Count's daughters in detail. A later annotation says it describes Philippa as a child, but historian Ian Mortimer argues that it is actually an account of her older sister Margaret.Mortimer, Ian. (2008) The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation. Random House. p. 34. ISBN 9780099527091. The description runs:
Growing up in the Low Countries in the period when this region was growing into a major trading centre, Philippa was well versed in finances and diplomacy. Her older sister Margaret succeeded their brother, William II, upon his death in battle. The counties of Holland and Zeeland and the seigniory of Frisia were devolved to Margaret after agreement between the sisters.Geoffroy G. Sury, Bayern Straubing Hennegau: la Maison de Bavière en Hainaut, XIVe – XVe s., Edit. Geoffroy G. Sury, Bruxelles, © 2010 (2e éd.), p. 66 : – Un chirographe sur parchemin daté du 17 October 1346 à Ypres (Ieper), dont le sceau est détruit, énonce un accord conclu entre l’impératrice Marguerite II comtesse de Hainaut (épouse de Louis IV de Bavière, empereur germanique) etc., et sa sœur Philippe (Philippa de Hainaut), reine d’Angleterre (épouse du roi Edouard III) touchant la succession de leur défunt frère, Guillaume II comte de Hainaut, etc. Philippa, renonçant à ses prétentions sur le Hainaut, la Hollande, la Zélande et la Frise. In, G. Wymans, « Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut », aux A.E. Mons, n° d’ordre (cote) 869, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 190.; – Un parchemin daté du 7/09/1346 à Francfort (Frankfurt am Main), dont le sceau est détruit, énonce que Louis IV de Bavière empereur du St.-Empire Romain Germanique s’engage pour lui-même et ses héritiers, et au nom de son épouse, l’impératrice Marguerite, à ne jamais céder, diviser ni engager les comtés de Hainaut, de Hollande, de Zélande et de la seigneurie de Frise, qui appartiennent à la dite Marguerite (Marguerite II (d’Avesnes) comtesse de Hainaut) et à ses héritiers, sauf les droits de ses sœurs, et, après le décès de cette dernière, à leur deuxième fils, Guillaume (futur Guillaume III comte de Hainaut) duc (I) de Bavière, et, celui-ci décédé, à Albert (futur Albert Ier comte de Hainaut), duc (I) de Bavière, leur troisième fils. In, G. Wymans, « Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut », aux A.E. Mons, n° d’ordre (cote) 868, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 190. (Or. sur pch.; dét. (Frankfurt am Main, 7/09/1346.); – Un autre parchemin daté du 8/09/1346 à Geertruidenberg, d’après une traduction latine de l’allemand datée du 16 March 1347 (date nouv. st.), énonce que Marguerite II comtesse de Hainaut (épouse de Louis IV de Bavière, empereur germanique) etc., commet son fils Guillaume (futur Guillaume III comte de Hainaut) au gouvernement des comtés de Hainaut, de Hollande, de Zélande, et de la seigneurie de Frise durant son absence. In, G. Wymans, « Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut », aux A.E. Mons, n° d’ordre (cote) 868, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 190.
Four years later, in the summer of 1326, Isabella of France, the queen of England, arrived at the court of Hainaut to seek aid from Count William in order to depose her husband, Edward II, from the throne. Her son Edward had accompanied his mother to Hainaut, where she arranged the betrothal to 13-year-old Philippa in exchange for assistance. As the couple were second cousins (as great-grandchildren of Philip III of France), a papal dispensation was required;David Williamson, Debrett's Kings and Queens of Britain, p.81 it was sent from Pope John XXII at Avignon in September 1327. Philippa's retinue arrived in England in December, escorted by her uncle John. On 23 December, she reached London where a "rousing reception was accorded her".Costain, Thomas Bertram. (1958) The Three Edwards: The Pageant of England, 1272-1377. New York: Doubleday and Company. p. 249.
Queen of England
First years In October 1327, Philippa married Edward by proxy through the Bishop of Coventry in Valenciennes.Sury Geoffroy G., "Guillaume Ier (d'Avesnes) comte de Hainaut et sa fille Philippe", in, Bayern Straubing Hennegau : la Maison de Bavière en Hainaut, XIVe – XVe s., Edit. Geoffroy G. Sury, Bruxelles, 2010 (2e éd.), p. 55 : – Un parchemin daté du 30 August 1327 à Avignon, à un sceau, énonce que le pape Jean (XXII) accorde les dispenses nécessaires pour le mariage du roi Edouard (III) d'Angleterre et de Philippa, fille du comte Guillaume (Ier) de Hainaut, etc., sa parente au troisième degré. In, G. Wymans, " Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut ", aux A.E. Mons, n° d'ordre (cote) 583, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 130.; – Un parchemin daté du 8/10/1327 à Nottingham, au sceau disparu, énonce qu'Edouard (III), roi d'Angleterre, donne procuration à R., évêque de Coventry, pour épouser en son nom, Philippa, fille du comte Guillaume (Ier) de Hainaut, etc., et régler la constitution de son douaire. In, G. Wymans, " Inventaire analytique du chartrier de la Trésorerie des comtes de Hainaut ", aux A.E. Mons, n° d'ordre (cote) 587, Editions A.G.R., Bruxelles, 1985, p. 131. The official marriage was at York Minster on 24 January 1328, eleven months after Edward's accession to the English throne; although the de facto rulers were Queen Mother Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, who jointly acted as his regents. Soon after their marriage, the couple retired to live at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire. Unlike many of her predecessors, Philippa did not alienate the English people by retaining her foreign retinue or bringing large numbers of foreigners to the English court. In August, her dower was fixed. She became a patron of the chronicler Jean Froissart and owned several illuminated manuscripts, one of which currently is housed in the national library in Paris. Froissart began to describe her as "The most gentle Queen, most liberal, and most courteous that ever was Queen in her days."
As Isabella did not wish to relinquish her own status, Philippa's coronation was postponed for two years. She was crowned queen on 18 February 1330 at Westminster Abbey, when she was almost five months pregnant.Vale 2010. She gave birth to her first son, Edward, the following June. In October 1330, King Edward commenced his personal rule by staging a coup and ordering the arrest of the regents. Shortly afterward, Mortimer was executed for treason and the Queen Mother was sent to Castle Rising in Norfolk, where she spent a number of years under house arrest but with her privileges and freedom of movement eventually restored.
She was invested as a Lady of the Order of the Garter (LG) in 1358.Collins, Hugh E. L. (2000) The Order of the Garter, 1348-1461: Chivalry and Politics in Late Medieval England. Clarendon Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780198208174.
Political influence
Philippa worked tirelessly for the crown, maintaining balance between royal and familial duties. She was loved and respected even in tumultuous times as the queen who managed to have a successful marriage with Edward.
As the financial demands of the recent Hundred Years' War were enormous, Philippa wisely advised the King to take interest in the nation's commercial expansion as a different method of covering the expenses.Costain, p.242 She established the textile industry in Norwich by encouraging Flemish weavers to settle there and promoted coal mining in Tynedale.
While her husband was away for the Hundred Years' War, she was appointed to serve as regent in 1346.