Remembering Joanna Plantagenet - dowager queen of Sicily, dutiful daughter, dutiful sister
Joanna, dowager queen of Sicily, countess of Toulouse, died on 4 September 1199. She would have been 34 in October. Because she accompanied her brother Richard I to the Holy Land, I 'met' her and was thrilled to include her in my Battle Scars series. She counted my fictional characters Henry de Grey and Stephan l'Aigle as friends. Enjoy this excerpt from Battle Scars III, Swords of the King . September 1196 Joanna smiled and read [her brother Richard's letter] with rapt attention. Her breathing grew rapid, fingers clutching the parchment. She rested it in her lap and stared out the window for a long moment. With a shake of her head, she said, “I am to be married.” Henry watched her, unable to decide whether she was happy or was going to cry. “Richard has made a deal with the enemy,” she added. Flanders, Boulogne, Ponthieu—might it be one of them? God in heaven, could it be Philip Capet himself? He couldn’t read Joanna’s face. She would know that Philip had aske...
