Joan of the Tower

Joan was the daughter of King Edward II of England and Isabella of France. She was born July 5, 1321, in the Tower of London. Per the Treaty of Northampton, which brought about peace between England and Scotland in 1328 and effectively ended the First War of Scottish Independence, Joan was married to David, the son of Robert the Bruce, on July 17, 1328.

She was seven and David was four years old at the time of their marriage. Less than a year later, on June 7, 1329, Robert the Bruce died. David was made the King of Scotland, crowned in November 1331.

In 1332, with support of the English King Edward III, Edward Balliol sized the crown from David II, ignited the Second War of Scottish Independence. Shortly thereafter, Balliol was expelled from Scotland due to a popular uprising. Edward III seized his opportunity and declared a casus beli, which is an act or event used to justify a war. Under this declaration, England again invaded Scotland in 1333 at Berwick-upon-Tweed, a border town between the two countries.

On July 19, 1333, a Scottish army, led by Sir Archibald Douglas, attacked an English army under Edward III of England, and was heavily defeated at the Battle of Halidon Hill. For fear of safety, Joan and David II were sent to France in May 1334. They remained in France under the care of Phillip VI, the cousin of Isabella of France, until June 1341. Joan and David returned to Scotland and David took control of the Scottish government.

On October 17, 1346, David II was captured at the Battle of Neville’s Cross, and was imprisoned in England for eleven years. The Treaty of Berwick, a truce was signed as a condition of his release in 1357, ended the Second War of Scottish Independence. Part of the truce demanded that Scotland paid England £67,000 sterling over ten years. The first payment was made timely, the second was late and none came afterwards. The English increased taxes to make up for the missed payments and David was accused of embezzlement from his own ransom fund, causing immense resentment of the King. David also offered up succession to the throne of Scotland to England, which was swiftly rejected by the Scottish Parliament.

After David’s release, Joan decided to remain in England to care for dying mother. She had been estranged from David for several years and died on September 7, 1362. David died on February 22, 1371, and was succeeded by his nephew, Robert II.

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