by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant from Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on March 15, 1275, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Margaret of England was the sixth but the third surviving daughter and the tenth of the 14 – 16 children of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile, the first of his two wives. Margaret’s paternal grandparents were Henry III, King of England and Eleanor of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ferdinand III, King of Castile and Toledo and King of León, and Galicia and his second wife Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Aumale in her own right.

Margaret’s parents had 14 – 16 children. Only five daughters and one son survived to adulthood. The eleven siblings of Margaret listed below were those who were named and survived infancy for at least a couple of months. During the reign of the House of Plantagenet, their children were often identified by their place of birth. For instance, Margaret’s sister Joan was born in Acre (now in Israel) while her parents were on a crusade, and was called Joan of Acre.

• Katherine of England (born and died 1264), died in infancy
• Joan of England (born and died 1265), died in infancy
• John of England (1266 – 1271), died in childhood
• Henry of England (1268 – 1274), died in childhood
• Eleanor of England (1269 – 1298), married Henri III, Count of Bar, had one son and one daughter
• Joan of Acre (1272 – 1307), married (1) Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester, had four children (2) Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, had four children
• Alfonso, Earl of Chester (1273 – 1284), died in childhood, heir apparent to the English throne but never became king
• Berengaria of England (1276 – 1278), died in childhood
• Mary of Woodstock (1279 – 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury, Wiltshire
• Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (1282 – 1316), married (1) John I, Count of Holland, no children (2) Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, 3rd Earl of Essex, had ten children
• King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327), married Isabella of France, had four children

Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Margaret’s parents King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret’s parents Edward and Eleanor had a loving marriage and were inseparable throughout their married life. King Edward I is one of the few English kings of this time period to apparently be faithful to his wife. Eleanor accompanied her husband on crusade and other military campaigns. Because her parents were often away, Margaret lived with her siblings in her own household at the royal court.

Margaret and her husband Jean II, Duke of Brabant, among the statues in the Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium; Credit – By Mappo – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=120610127

At an early age, Margaret’s father betrothed her to the future Jean II, Duke of Brabant, the son of Jean I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. The Duchy of Brabant consisted of much of present-day Belgium and part of present-day the Netherlands. Today, the title of Duke or Duchess of Brabant is the title of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. On July 8, 1290, at Westminster Abbey in London, England, Margaret and Jean, both fourteen years old, were married. For two years after their marriage, Margaret and Jean lived in England. In 1292, they settled in the Duchy of Brabant. Margaret was unhappy at the Brabant court and unhappy in her marriage. She was forced to accept her husband’s mistresses and their illegitimate children who were raised at court along with Margaret’s only child.

Margaret and Jean had one son:

• Jean III, Duke of Brabant (1300 – 1355), married Marie d’Évreux, had six children

Four months after her marriage, Margaret’s mother Eleanor of Castile died. Only six of Edward I and Eleanor’s children, five daughters and one son, were still living. The only son, the future King Edward II, was the youngest child and just six years old. King Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession. On September 10, 1299, 60-year-old King Edward I married 17-year-old Margaret of France, daughter of  King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Margaret had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Margaret of France:

• Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1300 – 1338), married (1) Alice de Hales, had three children (2) Mary de Brewes, no children
• Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (1301 – 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell, had four children including  Joan, 4th Countess of Kent who married King Edward III‘s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince) and was the mother of King Richard II of England
• Eleanor of England (1306 – 1311), died young

On May 3, 1294, Jean I, Duke of Brabant, Margaret’s father-in-law was seriously wounded in a jousting tournament and died. He was succeeded by his son as Jean II, Duke of Brabant and Margaret became Duchess of Brabant. In 1307, Margaret’s father King Edward I of England died and was succeeded by Margaret’s younger brother King Edward II. In January 1308, Margaret and her husband traveled to Boulogne, France where King Edward II married Isabella of France, daughter of King Philippe IV of France and Joan I, Queen of Navarre in her own right. Margaret and Jean also attended King Edward II’s coronation at Westminster Abbey on February 25, 1308.

In 1311, Margaret’s husband Jean II, Duke of Brabant became ill. Because of his illness, Jean II wanted to ensure peace with France so that his son would have a peaceful transition of power. Jean II arranged a marriage for his eleven-year-old son to eight-year-old Marie of Évreux, the granddaughter of King Philippe III of France, and the niece of King Philippe IV, the current King of France. The young couple was married in 1311. Exactly one month after signing the Charter of Kortenberg, basically a constitution for the Duchy of Brabant that provided among other things, a representative council, Margaret’s husband Jean II, Duke of Brabant died, aged 37, on October 27, 1312, in Tervuren, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium. He was interred at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium.

Interior of the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula; Photo © Susan Flantzer

Margaret saw the birth of all her grandchildren, including Jeanne, Duchess of Brabant, who succeeded her father Jean III, Duke of Brabant in 1355 due to the deaths of all her brothers. Margaret’s exact death date is unknown. She died most likely in the Duchy of Brabant, sometime after March 11, 1333. On that date, fifty-eight-year-old Margaret sent a letter to her nephew King Edward III of England. After March 11, 1333, her name disappears from the historical record. Margaret was interred with her husband at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels, Duchy of Brabant, now in Belgium but where they were buried in the cathedral is now unknown.

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Works Cited

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