Death Of Plantagenet Princess Eleanor Of Woodstock
Plantagenet Princess Eleanor, was born on 18th June 1318, at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire.
She was the daughter of King Edward II of England, and Isabella ‘the she-wolf’ of France.
Eleanor was named after her paternal grandmother, Eleanor of Castile.
In May 1332 fourteen year old Eleanor married the Count of Gelders, Reinoud II “the black.”
The groom was quite dark of colour, and also of character…..
He was a widower with four daughters.
Reinoud was mostly known for having imprisoned his father for over six years.
As Eleanor sailed from Sandwich in Kent, her wedding trousseau included a beautiful wedding gown of Spanish cloth, caps, gloves, shoes, rare spices, sugar, and a bed hung with green velvet with silk curtains.
When she arrived in Gelders, she was given a warm welcome by the people.
The marriage started off successful with the birth of two sons, Reginald and Edward.
By this time the marriage had seemingly disintegrated. Alison Weir writes, that Eleanor had grown into a nervous, anxious young woman.
She was so eager to please her husband – and required so much attention, that he was repulsed by her.
In 1338 Reinoud claimed Eleanor had leprosy.
He sent her from the court, and tried to annul the marriage.
However, Eleanor had that feisty Plantagenet blood running through her veins.
She inherited the stubbornness, resourcefulness and tenacity of the Plantagenets.
Eleanor turned up in Court to contest the annulment.
Eleanor then proceeded to strip naked, to prove that there were no signs of leprosy on her body
Reinoud was humiliated and outed as a liar.
He was forced to take Eleanor back.
Clever girl!
When Eleanor’s husband Reinoud died from a fall from his horse on 12th October 1343, she became the regent of Guelders, for her nine-year-old son Reginald.
Her regency was formally recognised, but she was forced to confront a relative of her late husband, Jan van Valkenburg, who demanded his right to share the regency with her.
The situation was soon so difficult for Eleanor, that she was forced to resign her post of regency.
After her resignation she formally retired under the title Lady of Veluwe.
Eleanor spent much of her time acting as a benefactor of convents, particularly the beggar convents such as the Order of Saint Clare.
On 22nd April 1355, twelve years after she became a widow, Eleanor died at the age of 36.
She was buried in the Franciscan church in Deventer, Netherlands.
Her tombstone was given the simple inscription
‘ELEANOR’
However in England, on the south side of Philippa of Hainault’s tomb in Westminster Abbey, there is an image of Eleanor and her husband, Reinoud.
🌹 Eleanor is buried in front of the high altar of Broederenchurch, Deventer in the Netherlands.
Picture credit – Moniek Bloks
