Joan Beaufort (c.1400–45), queen of James I of Scotland. Daughter of John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, Joan was married to James I of Scotland at Southwark in February 1424, a match celebrated in James's poem ‘The Kingis Quair’. She was by James I the mother of twin sons, Alexander and James (later James II), and six daughters, and took some part in the business of government. A target for King James's assassins in 1437, the wounded queen escaped to head her infant son's administration. Following her second marriage (1439), to Sir James Stewart of Lorne, Joan lost support, and died at Dunbar castle in July 1445.

Norman Macdougall

Beaufort, Joan. See Joan Beaufort.