Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut

Marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and aftermath

In the meanwhile, the political situation had changed radically. The Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, was assassinated in September 1419, and the French Dauphin Charles, brother of Jacqueline's first husband, was considered an accomplice and was therefore disinherited in 1420 under the Treaty of Troyes. King Henry V of England then claimed to be the King of France. In February 1421 Jacqueline issued a statement where she stated that, because of the destructive behaviour of John IV of Brabant, she wanted the annulment of her marriage. The fight against John III, continued until the capture of the city of Leiden, the last city loyal to Jacqueline; after this, she had to admit defeat.

On 6 March 1421 Jacqueline fled to England asking the help of Henry V, who gave her a glamorous reception. She was an honoured guest at the court of England, and when the future Henry VI was born, Jacqueline was made one of his godparents. It was only after the unexpected death of Henry V in 1422 that Jacqueline obtained a dubious divorce from John IV of Brabant valid only in England that allowed her third marriage with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Henry V's brother and principal counsellor of the Kingdom on behalf of his infant nephew Henry VI. However, as not all rules were observed, the marriage was arranged in haste and in secret in the town of Hadleigh, Essex, sometime between February and 7 March 1423.

The news of this marriage shocked everyone. On 15 October 1423 it was announced that not only was Jacqueline married to one of the most powerful princes of Europe, but that she was also rumoured to be pregnant with his child. On 20 October, she was granted a letter of denization, which would allow her and her descendants to be treated as English under law, and it recorded her status as duchess of Gloucester. To secure her position, Jacqueline had to obtain the formal annulment of her marriage with John IV of Brabant. She asked Pope Martin V in Rome and Antipope Benedict XIII in Avignon to resolve her irregular marital status, but her uncle John III intervened against it. Unexpectedly, her cousin Philip the Good, who wanted to prevent an English invasion, supported the annulment.

In the autumn of 1424 Jacqueline joined Humphrey in the Duchy of Gloucester, where she had a stillborn child; this was her only recorded pregnancy.

Jacqueline and Humphrey landed in Calais and by the end of November they entered Mons, where on 5 December the Duke of Gloucester was recognized as the sovereign Count of Hainaut. Already on 3 January 1425 he signed with

"Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother and uncle of kings, Duke of Gloucester, Count of Hainaut, Holland, Zealand and Pembroke, Lord of Friesland and Grand Chamberlain of England".

War in Holland

Her situation changed when her uncle John III of Bavaria died on 6 January 1425, the victim of poisoning. John IV, Duke of Brabant, still claimed rights over Holland, Zeeland and Hainault and made Philip, Duke of Burgundy, regent of Holland and Zeeland, like he had done before with John III. Jacqueline escaped her imprisonment in Ghent disguised in men's clothing and fled to Schoonhoven and then Gouda, where she stayed with the leaders of the Hook faction. Now it was her former husband, John of Brabant, who tried to dispute her inheritance. In this matter, Humphrey did intervene, albeit with limited force; his efforts, however, had disastrous consequences for the English-Burgundian alliance that aided the English cause in France during the Hundred Years' War. Pope Martin V decreed that Jacqueline was still the wife of John IV, Duke of Brabant, and therefore her marriage to Humphrey of Gloucester was illegitimate. However, John IV had died a year earlier.

Peace and loss of lands

On 3 July 1428 Jacqueline had to agree to a peace treaty, Reconciliation of Delft (de Zoen van Delft), with the duke of Burgundy. By this treaty, Jacqueline kept her titles of Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut, but the administration of her territories was placed in the hands of Philip, who was also appointed as her heir in case she died without children. She was not allowed to marry without the permission of her mother, Philip and the three counties. (Her marriage to Humphrey was annulled in this same year.) However, her financial situation was dire. She barely had enough income to support her household. Furthermore, the duke of Burgundy did not stop after the peace treaty in 1428. He bought the loyalty of her allies or estranged them from her in another way. At Easter 1433, Jacqueline "voluntarily" signed a treaty with Philip which gave Philip all her lands and titles. In return she was allowed the income of several estates, mostly situated in Zeeland.

Marriage with Frank van Borssele and death

With the renunciation of her titles, Jacqueline retired to her land in Zeeland. There, she and Francis, Lord of Borssele ("Frank van Borssele"), a local and powerful nobleman, became close. In the spring of 1434 they married and Philip granted Frank the title of Count of Oostervant. This marriage, contrary to the other three, was one out of love, at least for Jacqueline. It did not last long. In 1436 she became ill and after a few months of illness she died of tuberculosis in Teylingen Castle on 8 October 1436. Since she had no children, Philip of Burgundy inherited Hainaut and Holland. Her husband Frank survived her for thirty-four years.

Legends

There are many legends surrounding the life of Jacqueline. The most prevalent one is her supposed secret marriage to Francis of Borssele in 1432, two years prior to their public and official wedding. This secret marriage was supposed to be the real reason why she had to give up her titles and give them to the duke of Burgundy as it would violate the regulations in the peace treaty of 1428. However, there is no evidence that such a secret marriage ever took place and contemporary sources only mention the rumours of an upcoming wedding between Jacqueline and Francis at the end of 1433, half a year after Jacqueline renounced her titles.

Popular culture She is the central protagonist of the 1831 novel Jacqueline of Holland by the Irish writer Thomas Colley Grattan.

Ancestry