Philippa, the youngest of six siblings, was born on July 4th 1394, as the daughter of English nobleman and member of the royal family Henry Bolingbroke, and Mary de Bohun. Mary died shortly after the birth, only 24 years old. Philippa and three of the youngest siblings were placed with their grandmother.
When Philippa was five years old, something that would define the rest of her life – and English history – happened. Her father led a rebellion against his cousin, king Richard II. In 1399, Richard was deposed and Henry ascended the throne as king Henry IV of England.
There are few sources about Philippa’s childhood, but if we consider how Henry and his sister – also named Philippa – were brought up, with focus on education also for girls, we can at least guess that our Philippa too had a good education and learned not just to read and write and how to run a household but also things like theology, literature and philosophy.
Another thing that came with the exaltation of the family was finding good marriages for the children. Negotiations were held between England and the Kalmar Union, recently established by Queen Margrete, regarding a marriage between Philippa and Margrete’s adopted son, Erik.
On November 26, 1405, when Philippa was eleven years old, they were married by proxy in Westminster. In August the following year, she set sail towards Denmark. When she arrived after three weeks hard voyage, she met her husband for the first time, the 24-year-old Erik, and his formidable adoptive mother, who was the true ruler of the Union.
On October 26 1406 they were married in person, and six days later, 12-year-old Philippa was crowned queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Not much is known about Philippa’s earlier years as queen of the Kalmar Union. Probably because she was so young, and because queen Margrete still ruled.
In 1412 however, when Philippa was 18, Margrete died of the plague. This is where history books generally says that Erik finally could rule on his own. Only he didn’t. He had a great deal of help from Philippa. I think it would be accurate to state that in reality, she ruled Sweden, while Erik was primarily occupied with the governance of Denmark, and the border conflicts there.
There are contemporary sources that claims that Erik suffered from ”frequently recurring states of weakness”, which has led modern historians to consider if he might have suffered from depression or other mental health issues. He disappears from contemporary sources from time to time throughout his reign, during which periods Philippa took over the rule of the entire Union.
While her husband is described as temperamental, stubborn, moody and even violent, Philippa was pleasant, calm and diplomatic. In Sweden, there was an opposition against the Union and it was probably the reason Philippa was the better choice as ruler. She was the link between the Swedish privy council and the king. On several occations when Erik needed troops, she convinced the Swedish lords to comply.
Philippa spent a lot of time in Sweden, something her husband did not – during his reign he was almost never there. In fact, the royal couple didn’t seem to spend much time together at all. Contemporary sources places them at the same location only rarely. As a result of this, years went by without Philippa getting pregnant.
For a royal couple, childlessness is not a private matter, but has consequences for the entire kingdom. Perhaps one can sense a sadness or desperation in Philippa when she instituted a new choir in the Vadstena monastery church dedicated to Saint Anne, patron saint of infertile women.
In the next post, we’ll see how Philippa’s power and influence grows, even if her belly does not.
Sources:
Flemberg, Marie-Louise. Filippa. Engelsk prinsessa – nordisk unionsdrottning. (2015)
Högberg, Stefan. Svenska kvinnor historien glömde. (2019)
Lindqvist, Herman. Erik. Nordens härskare och sjörövarkung. (2021)