Born in 1314 at Valceinnes to Count William “The Good” of Hainault and Joan of Valois. Died at Windsor Castle in 1369 of “dropsy” during a country-wide recurrence of the bubonic plague. Philippa met the teenage Edward when they sought aid from Hainault in the revolt against his father and married him as soon as he was settled on the throne. Unusually for the middle ages, they lived and traveled together as much as possible and Edward appears to have been faithful until Philippa was near the end of her life. Beloved by all of England, she is perhaps best remembered for publicly pleading with her husband to spare the lives of the burghers of Calais after the siege of Calais in the 100 years war. This moment was sculpted by Rodin and dramatized by Shakespeare. She had fourteen children by Edward III and outlived nine of them.
For an interesting theory on her African origins, check out
Erin Lawless.