The New Murrey and Blue blog

Philippa was the daughter of the famous Lady Mohun and her husband Sir John Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster. The first interesting thing to know about her is that no one has established when she was born. Her parents had quite a long period of estrangement, which only serves to complicate matters. Philippa had at least two sisters and possibly more.

Elizabeth, probably the eldest sister, married the Earl of Salisbury. The same one who was ‘divorced’ by Joan of Kent. Their only son was killed in tragic circumstances – by his own father in a joust in 1383. The title was eventually passed to their nephew, John Montagu.

Another sister, Maud, married John le Strange, Lord Strange.

Philippa was (probably) either the youngest sister or a year or two older than Maud. Elizabeth was possibly as much as 20 years her elder.

Philippa’s first husband was Walter Fitzwalter, Lord Fitzwalter. She was his second wife and they had no children together, although he had children with his first wife. However, Fitzwalter died in 1386, while taking part in John of Gaunt’s adventure in Spain.

Philippa’s next husband was Sir John Golafre. Illegitimate by birth, Golafre had nevertheless advanced himself by service to and favour of Richard II. He had a reputation as a jouster and served as a diplomat on more than one occasion. Richard also made him Constable of Wallingford. He died on 18 November 1396, and on Richard II’s order was buried in Westminster Abbey.

At some point before 7 October 1398, Philippa married Edward of York, then Duke of Aumale and from 1402 Duke of York.

This marriage is inexplicable in the usual terms of medieval marriage. Philippa was at least 10 years Edward’s elder, and possibly more. She had no children by either previous husband, implying that she was not fertile – a key qualification, you might think, for the heir of York. She was not a great heiress – her mother, having been given a jointure of all the Mohun lands, had already sold the reversion to the Luttrell family.

Philippa did have her Fitzwalter dower lands, and possibly something from Golafre, but anything she had was for life tenure only, and could not be passed on to the York family.

Socially, she was a long way below Edward, who had but recently but recently been touted as a husband for a daughter of the King of France. Her mother was not without influence at court, and, as mentioned, John Golafre had been in good odour with King Richard. Even so, she was not remotely in the first rank of the English nobility. Her most important connection was perhaps that she was first cousin to Elizabeth Despenser, Constance of York’s mother-in-law.

The most likely explanation is that Edward loved her. She may well have had an X-factor. One is reminded of the relationship between Edward’s great-nephew Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, one with a similar social gulf.

Edward of York’s political career had its moments. His greatest power fell with King Richard, but he survived. Survived also at least two strong suspicions of treason against Henry IV, and ended up as an elder statesman, favoured by Henry V. One chronicler referred to him as ‘a second Solomon.’

Philippa gained the status of Lady of the Garter in 1408. As Henry IV was not as generous with this award had his cousin had been this was a relatively rare honour. A year later in 1409 she and Edward were living at Hanley Castle, which, like much of the Despenser inheritance, had fallen into Edward’s temporary ‘care’. Their accounts survive, and record Philippa’s horses being reshod and also the existence of her carriage – which was also borrowed to convey loads of fish on occasion.

Edward was killed at Agincourt in 1415, and Philippa was left a widow for the third time. Although much of Edward’s lands had been put in trust to pay for Fotheringhay College, she retained, among other things, the Isle of Wight. Indeed, for the rest of her life, she was known as ‘Lady of Wight’ and resided principally at Carisbrooke Castle.

Philippa died in July 1431 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Her tomb has lost its canopy over the years but at least it still survives. Indeed, she is the only member of the House of York in that generation who has a surviving tomb. (1)

(1) Her sister-in-law, Anne Mortimer, is thought to share that of Edmund of Langley and Isabelle of Castile at Langley. Her husband’s, at Fotheringhay, is of course an Elizabethan replacement.