Joan, Lady of Wales

Joan, Lady of Wales, or Joan of England (died March 1236) was the wife of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd and effective ruler of most of Wales.

Joan was an illegitimate daughter of King John of England and a woman named Clemence. She should not be confused with her legitimate half-sister Joan, Queen Consort of Scotland. Little is known about her early life; she was evidently born before her father, King John of England, married his first wife in 1189. Her mother's name is known only from Joan's obituary in the Tewkesbury Annals, where she is mysteriously called "Regina Clementina" (Queen Clemence). Joan seems to have spent her childhood in France, as King John had her brought to England from Normandy for her wedding in December 1203.

Joan married Llywelyn the Great between December 1203 and October 1204. She and Llywelyn had at least two children together:

1. Elen ferch Llywelyn (died 1253), married (1) John the Scot, Earl of Chester and (2) Robert de Quincy
2. Dafydd ap Llywelyn (after 1211-1246)

Some of Llywelyn's other recorded children may also have been Joan's:

1. Gwladys Ddu (died 1251), married (1) Reginald de Braose and (2) Ralph de Mortimer
2. Susanna, who was sent to England as a hostage in 1228

In April 1226 Joan obtained a papal decree from Pope Honorius III, declaring her legitimate on the basis that her parents had been unmarried at the time of her birth, but without giving her a claim to the English throne. In 1230, Joan was alleged to have committed adultery with William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny, a relation by marriage who was Llywelyn's nominal prisoner at the time. Some sources say that the couple were discovered together in Llywelyn's bedchamber. William de Braose was hanged, and Joan herself was imprisoned for some time before Llywelyn accepted her back as his wife.

Joan was never called Princess of Wales, but she was sometimes known as "Lady of Wales". Llywelyn's great grief at her death is recorded. She was buried at the priory of Llanfaes near Beaumaris, and her stone coffin can be seen in Beaumaris parish church.

Fiction

This princess Joan and her affair with William de Braose was the subject of Saunders Lewis's Welsh verse play Siwan.

Joan appears as a main character in Sharon Kay Penman's historical novel Here Be Dragons.

Sources

• Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinensi I, p. 12.
• Luard, Henry. Annales Monastici 1, 1864
• Tewkesbury Annals
• Chronicle of Ystrad Fflur