Edward the Black Prince Margaret, daughter of Philip III of France, and widow of Thomas lord Holland, and in right of his wife earl of Kent, then in her thirty-third year, and the mother of three children. As the prince and the countess were related in the third degree, and also by the spiritual tie of sponsorship, the prince being godfather to Joan's elder son Thomas, a dispensation was obtained for their marriage from Pope Innocent VI, though they appear to have been contracted before it was applied for. The marriage was performed at Windsor, in the presence of King Edward III, by Simon
Edward the Black Prince already warned his father of the intentions of the French king, but there was evidently a party at Edward's court that was jealous of his power, and his warnings were slighted. In April 1369, however, war was declared. Edward sent the Earls of Cambridge and Pembroke to his assistance, and Sir Robert Knolles, who now again took service with, him, added much to his strength. The war in Aquitaine was desultory, and, though the English maintained their ground fairly in the field, every day that it was prolonged weakened their hold on the country. On 1 January 1370 the Black