Edward I and his offspring, especially Edward II, are not shrouded by the mists of time. Edward I’s two sons and daughter by his second marriage are lesser known, especially the eldest, Thomas Plantagenet of Brotherton. He made no particular impression on history, despite being Earl of Norfolk and Earl Marshal, but Thomas did father three children. Of these, only one is usually remembered: Margaret of Norfolk. Indomitable, defiant, respected and fiercely intelligent, she defied her cousin Edward III more than once and outlived most of her family. Her brother Edward of Norfolk died young but her sister, Alice of Norfolk, survived childhood. But not for long. In 1338, by the time she was fourteen, Alice was married to Sir Edward Montagu, younger brother of the famous earl of Salisbury, William Montagu and Bishop of Ely, Simon Montagu. Edward was a warrior knight at Crecy, involved in the wars with Scotland, loyal to his brother and his king. The marriage produced five children within a decade, but by 1350 Edward Montagu was showing his dark side and was part of the knightly criminal gangs that terrorized local areas. One day in June 1351, Alice of Norfolk paid the price. Despite being a Plantagenet, daughter of an earl, granddaughter, niece and cousin to kings, Alice of Norfolk has mostly been forgotten. Even looking at contemporary records, Alice hardly features apart from land and property dealings with her husband. A dusty reference to the unfortunate circumstances of her death marks the end of her life and one which will more than likely remain a mystery.

Edward III may be known for his restoration of English kingly authority after the disastrous and mysterious fall of his father, Edward II, and eventual demise of his mother, Queen Isabella. It was Edward III who arguably put England on the map as a military might. This show of power and strength was not simply through developments in government, success in warfare or the establishment of the Order of the Garter, which fused ideals of chivalry and national identity to form camaraderie between king and peerage. The expansion of England as a formidable European powerhouse was also achieved through the traditional lines of political marriages, particularly those of the king of England’s own granddaughters. This is a joint biography of nine of those women who lived between 1355 and 1440, and their dramatic, turbulent lives. One was queen of Portugal and was the mother of the Illustrious Generation; one married into the family of her parents' deadly enemies and became queen of Castile; one became pregnant by the king of England's half-brother while married to someone else, and her third husband was imprisoned for marrying her without permission; one was widowed at about 24 when her husband was summarily beheaded by a mob, and some years later bore an illegitimate daughter to an earl; one saw her marriage annulled so that her husband could marry a Bohemian lady-in-waiting; one was born illegitimate, had sixteen children, and was the grandmother of two kings of England.

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