Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent

Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (August 5, 1301 – March 19, 1330) was a member of the English Royal Family.

He was born at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, the son of King Edward I and his second wife, Queen Marguerite. He was 62 years younger than his father, who died when Edmund of Woodstock was only seven. Reportedly, he enjoyed his father's favour. He was summoned to Parliament by writ of summons on 5 August 1320, by which he is held to have become Baron Woodstock. On 28 July 1321 he was created Earl of Kent.

Kent was married to the 3rd Baroness Wake, daughter of the 1st Baron Wake of Liddell by Joan de Fiennes, sometime between October and December in 1325 at Blisworth in Northamptonshire.

In 1327, after the execution and forfeiture of the Earl of Arundel, Kent held the castle and honour (land) of Arundel, although he was never formally invested with the titles appropriate to this barony. He was the father of Joan of Kent, through whom the earldom eventually passed into the Holland family.

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Kent was sentenced to death by Sir Robert de Hauville for treason, having supported his half-brother, the deposed King Edward II, by order of the Regents the Earl of March and Queen Isabella, before the outer walls of Winchester Castle. It was said that he believed Edward II to be still alive and had conspired to rescue him from prison. Such was public hostility to the execution that "he had to wait five hours for an executioner, because nobody wanted to do it", until a convicted murderer offered to do the deed in exchange for a pardon.

He was buried on 31 March at the Church of the Dominican Friars in Winchester.

Kent's execution was the beginning of the end for March's regency. Thereafter, in October 1330, King Edward III assumed the full powers of King with the support of Kent's cousin, the powerful Earl of Lancaster. March was executed that same year for, inter alia, having assumed the royal powers. The children and widow of the Earl of Kent were treated as members of Edward III's Royal Household.

Family

The children of Edmund, Earl of Kent, by Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake, were:

*Edmund Plantagenet, 2nd Earl of Kent (1326 - Before 5 October 1331)
*Margaret Plantagenet (1327-1352). Married Arnaud-Amanieu VIII d'Albret, Viscount of Tartas.
*Joan Plantagenet ("The Fair Maid of Kent") (28 September 1328 - 7 August 1385). Married Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent and Edward, the Black Prince son of Edward III
*John Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Kent (7 April 1330 - 26 December 1352)

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Arms

As Earl of Kent, Edmund had use of the coat of arms of the kingdom, differenced by a "bordure argent". [ [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family] ] His arms, along with his peerages, were transmitted to his sons in turn.

References