Joan of England, Queen of Sicily
| Joan of England | |
|---|---|
Joan of England
|
|
| Queen consort of Sicily | |
| Tenure | 13 February 1177 – 11 November 1189 |
| Coronation | 13 February 1177 |
| Countess consort of Toulouse | |
| Consort | October 1196/7 – 4 September 1199 |
| Born | October 1165 Château d'Angers, Anjou |
| Died | 4 September 1199 (aged 33) Rouen |
| Burial | Fontevrault Abbey |
| Spouse |
William II of Sicily (m. 1177; d. 1189) Raymond VI of Toulouse (m. 1196/7; her death 1199) |
| Issue |
Bohemond, Duke of Apulia Raymond VII of Toulouse Joan of Toulouse Richard of Toulouse |
| House | Plantagenet / Angevin |
| Father | Henry II of England |
| Mother | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
Joan of England (October 1165 – 4 September 1199) was a queen consort of Sicily and countess consort of Toulouse. She was the seventh child of Henry II, King of England and his queen consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Joan was born at Château d'Angers in Anjou, and spent her youth at her mother's courts at Winchester and Poitiers. In 1176, William II of Sicily sent ambassadors to the English court to ask for Joan's hand in marriage. The betrothal was confirmed on 20 May and on 27 August Joan set sail for Sicily, escorted by John of Oxford, the bishop of Norwich and her uncle, Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. In Saint Gilles, her entourage was met by representatives of the Kingdom of Sicily: Alfano, Archbishop of Capua, and Richard Palmer, Bishop of Syracuse.
After a hazardous voyage, Joan arrived safely, and on 13 February 1177, she married William II of Sicily and was crowned Queen of Sicily at Palermo Cathedral. Joan produced no surviving heir, although there were rumours that she had given birth to a boy called Bohemond. When William II died in November 1189 he was succeeded by his bastard cousin Tancred, who seized the lands given to her by William with the sound strategic reason that Monte Sant'Angelo lay on the route taken by the invading forces of Heinrich VI of Germany.
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